Is Linux ready to enter the desktop market?

carrja99 · 10-21-2002, 08:59 PM

Sorry, don't know if this may have already been posted before in the past, but I would be interested in you're opinions.

Personally, I believe that as soon as some form of "standard" distribution gets ironed out and more commercial suppoert picks up, it may perhaps be ready for the layman to use.

My friend isn't very computer literate and I set him up with Mandrake 9.0. Luckily, all he uses his PC for is to write papers for college (OpenOffice), download music (lime wire OR kazaa using WINE), and browsing the internet, in which he has a choice of Mozilla, Netscape, Konquer, and Opera. I got it all set up for him in about two hours, and he's been happy with it for the past 2 months!

hostensteffa · 10-22-2002, 04:43 AM

Ehhh linux is too good and always will be for the desktop market. True it's awesome, but if you just take someone out of the blue and sit them in front of a linux machine, they're going to be more lost than a ****ing sailor in a space shuttle. It is also too open source to be out on the market. I believe that to put it out on the market as so, would limit the opensource. I like it the way it is and personally hope it stays like it is.

Troll_King · 10-22-2002, 04:53 AM

It's a damn fine hackers operating system, with great looking desktops. Some of the desktops that Linux is producing make you think that it's more than ready to hit the homes, however it's fundamentally too complex for the average home user. You would have to find a more computer literate audience, maybe the next generation of kids who learn about computers beginning in the first grade.

They will produce Home versions of Linux, it's already happening. In part, it isn't a question of whether or not they can make a Linux variant ready for home users, but it's a matter of financing, and paying off corporations for the rights to use their software (multimedia especially) and have their hardware support your platform out of the box (device drivers).

Eibro · 10-22-2002, 08:39 PM

Personally, I think it is. Mandrake 9.0 is so newbie-friendly.. you don't really need to learn what goes on behind all those GUI applications. Hell, you don't even have to use the shell if you don't want to. Once up and running, it's about as user-friendly as Windows is.

Sure it's fundamentally complex, but the companies coming out with the amazing packages (RH, MDK etc..) mask all the complexity so that it seems no different than Windows to the average user. I encourage anyone who hasn't tried linux to go download it now. It comes with almost everything! Hell, it's even got an amazing IDE parallel to Visual C++ called KDevelop; best of all, it's all FREE and OPEN SOURCE. www.redhat.com www.mandrake.com www.linux-iso.org programs @ www.freshmeat.net

I still use windows, i'm on windows now... as I just (messed) up my Linux installation trying to install new video drivers. I'll eventually get it all sorted out. (Tommorow hopefully)

Imperito · 10-23-2002, 05:51 AM

I think it may be a tad shy of a home operating system, not because a "layman" isn't able to use it, but because said layman might not be able to properly administer it.

When everything works fine, Linux is quite user-friendly, in that you obvoisly just click on the app you want, the UI's for all the main apps are pretty conformant for the norm. (AbiWord looks like Word, XMMS looks like Winamp, Opera looks like, well, like Opera for Windows...)

The only problem is that the administration is a little different. Adding and removing programs is getting better, but still I think its what first puts ff a "layman" user, because it is usually the first thing they would want to try and do.

I gotta go, I'll be back later (I hope...)

stormbringer · 10-23-2002, 11:05 AM

i think that linux is a good joice for somebody who really is interestet how stuff works. but others will have more problems than with windows or macos. if they want to install new software, re setting up the sistem, changing stuff....
but really, i don't want to be linux as comercial as windows, because linux already now is beginning to slip in a role where it looses his best features. simplicity comes together with bugs and security holes. it was made for nerds and that it shall always be.....
windows wouldn't be that unstable if microsoft could count on it, that the user really knows whats going on and would care to set up the system himself that it fits his neds. a standard distro installation isn't much more secure than a windows2000 standard....

Klinerr1 · 10-27-2002, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by carrja99
Sorry, don't know if this may have already been posted before in the past, but I would be interested in you're opinions.

Personally, I believe that as soon as some form of "standard" distribution gets ironed out and more commercial suppoert picks up, it may perhaps be ready for the layman to use.

My friend isn't very computer literate and I set him up with Mandrake 9.0. Luckily, all he uses his PC for is to write papers for college (OpenOffice), download music (lime wire OR kazaa using WINE), and browsing the internet, in which he has a choice of Mozilla, Netscape, Konquer, and Opera. I got it all set up for him in about two hours, and he's been happy with it for the past 2 months!

the purpose of linux is to be free and opensource. made by programmers for programmers. not by programmers for other peoples. plus you cannot sell linux. its udner gnu liscence meaning it must be opensource and free. thats why its there!

linux wasnt ever meant for the layman. if it were it would turn into a dead clone of windows.

10-27-2002, 01:07 PM

more people will need to make software(and more importantly drivers) for it before it becomes mainstream. Better documentation wouldn't jurt either. However on the surface it is just like windows which is all that most people would really care about any way. If everything was set up for the user and they wouldn't have to do any mantenence then home users would do fine.

salvelinus · 10-27-2002, 02:33 PM

Where linux could make some inroads is in the business market. Not servers maintained by IT staff, but desktops for regular business users set up by IT, pretty much the way most mid - large size business's use Windows now.
I don't buy the argument that it should be made for programmers/tech heads only. If it was, you wouldn't need a gui, office apps, etc. Plain old Unix exists for that.

itld · 10-27-2002, 09:46 PM

howdy,
not yet, try to install a GeForce4 Ti4200 driver on a RH 7.2 smp kernel and you'll see it's still a long ways from being user friendly.

M.R.

damonbrinkley · 10-28-2002, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Klinerr1
the purpose of linux is to be free and opensource. made by programmers for programmers. not by programmers for other peoples. plus you cannot sell linux. its udner gnu liscence meaning it must be opensource and free. thats why its there!

linux wasnt ever meant for the layman. if it were it would turn into a dead clone of windows.

You can't sell Linux?? You're pretty misinformed aren't you? Most all distributions have boxed copies that they sell in software stores and you can't get Suse unless you buy it....they don't offer ISOs for download.

Imperito · 10-28-2002, 08:56 AM

You can get SuSE W/O buying it. I did. You download a remote installation image (CD or floppies) and work from that.

Open source doesn't mean you can't sell anything, it just means you can't sell the code itself. It has to be offered freely. But any kind of support (Making the CD's, technical/implementation support, a box with shrink wrap, etc) can be and is sold for profit by the corporations.

Klinerr1 · 10-28-2002, 09:56 AM

atleast i got 1/2 of that right

well techncly all. notice how cheap linux is in stores? that mainly covers labor costs.

moi · 10-28-2002, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Klinerr1
plus you cannot sell linux. its udner gnu liscence meaning it must be opensource and free. .

better reread the gnu-gpl

Davros · 10-29-2002, 05:33 AM

Is SuSe Linux pronounced suzie or suss?

I have come to an important decision in my life. When I get back to the UK, I am putting Linux on my second machine.

I won't be able to use Borland's AnsiString class anymore! Nor TList or TStringList. I'll have to learn all the STL classes instead & re-write thousands of lines of my code, in some editor where crtl-c & ctrl-v are on different keys! So things will be tough, but I am determined this time. Are there any patches you can get when giving up Windows, you know, like for giving up smoking. Linurette patches maybe?

So how do you pronounce SuSe? I like to think it's like Siouxsie (suzie), that way I get a nice warm feeling everytime I think about it. I can pretend Siouxsie Sioux has something to do with Linux, can't I?

View Poll Results: Is linux ready for the desktop environment
Yes!	3	18.75%
No!	9	56.25%
Maybe sometime soon.	2	12.50%
yes... if they make installing software easier for laymen.	2	12.50%
Voters: 16. You may not vote on this poll

10-21-2002, 08:59 PM	#1
carrja99 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 56	Is Linux ready to enter the desktop market? Sorry, don't know if this may have already been posted before in the past, but I would be interested in you're opinions. Personally, I believe that as soon as some form of "standard" distribution gets ironed out and more commercial suppoert picks up, it may perhaps be ready for the layman to use. My friend isn't very computer literate and I set him up with Mandrake 9.0. Luckily, all he uses his PC for is to write papers for college (OpenOffice), download music (lime wire OR kazaa using WINE), and browsing the internet, in which he has a choice of Mozilla, Netscape, Konquer, and Opera. I got it all set up for him in about two hours, and he's been happy with it for the past 2 months! __________________ I am Error. When all else fails, use fire. My Current Screenshot
carrja99 is offline

10-22-2002, 04:43 AM	#2
hostensteffa Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 178	Ehhh linux is too good and always will be for the desktop market. True it's awesome, but if you just take someone out of the blue and sit them in front of a linux machine, they're going to be more lost than a ****ing sailor in a space shuttle. It is also too open source to be out on the market. I believe that to put it out on the market as so, would limit the opensource. I like it the way it is and personally hope it stays like it is.
hostensteffa is offline

10-22-2002, 04:53 AM	#3
Troll_King Banned Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,784	It's a damn fine hackers operating system, with great looking desktops. Some of the desktops that Linux is producing make you think that it's more than ready to hit the homes, however it's fundamentally too complex for the average home user. You would have to find a more computer literate audience, maybe the next generation of kids who learn about computers beginning in the first grade. They will produce Home versions of Linux, it's already happening. In part, it isn't a question of whether or not they can make a Linux variant ready for home users, but it's a matter of financing, and paying off corporations for the rights to use their software (multimedia especially) and have their hardware support your platform out of the box (device drivers).
Troll_King is offline

10-22-2002, 08:39 PM	#4
Eibro I lurk Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,361	Personally, I think it is. Mandrake 9.0 is so newbie-friendly.. you don't really need to learn what goes on behind all those GUI applications. Hell, you don't even have to use the shell if you don't want to. Once up and running, it's about as user-friendly as Windows is. Sure it's fundamentally complex, but the companies coming out with the amazing packages (RH, MDK etc..) mask all the complexity so that it seems no different than Windows to the average user. I encourage anyone who hasn't tried linux to go download it now. It comes with almost everything! Hell, it's even got an amazing IDE parallel to Visual C++ called KDevelop; best of all, it's all FREE and OPEN SOURCE. www.redhat.com www.mandrake.com www.linux-iso.org programs @ www.freshmeat.net I still use windows, i'm on windows now... as I just (messed) up my Linux installation trying to install new video drivers. I'll eventually get it all sorted out. (Tommorow hopefully)
Eibro is offline

10-23-2002, 05:51 AM	#5
Imperito Evil Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 638	I think it may be a tad shy of a home operating system, not because a "layman" isn't able to use it, but because said layman might not be able to properly administer it. When everything works fine, Linux is quite user-friendly, in that you obvoisly just click on the app you want, the UI's for all the main apps are pretty conformant for the norm. (AbiWord looks like Word, XMMS looks like Winamp, Opera looks like, well, like Opera for Windows...) The only problem is that the administration is a little different. Adding and removing programs is getting better, but still I think its what first puts ff a "layman" user, because it is usually the first thing they would want to try and do. I gotta go, I'll be back later (I hope...)
Imperito is offline

10-23-2002, 11:05 AM	#6
stormbringer Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90	i think that linux is a good joice for somebody who really is interestet how stuff works. but others will have more problems than with windows or macos. if they want to install new software, re setting up the sistem, changing stuff.... but really, i don't want to be linux as comercial as windows, because linux already now is beginning to slip in a role where it looses his best features. simplicity comes together with bugs and security holes. it was made for nerds and that it shall always be..... windows wouldn't be that unstable if microsoft could count on it, that the user really knows whats going on and would care to set up the system himself that it fits his neds. a standard distro installation isn't much more secure than a windows2000 standard....
stormbringer is offline

10-27-2002, 01:07 PM	#8
eats only heads Guest Posts: n/a	more people will need to make software(and more importantly drivers) for it before it becomes mainstream. Better documentation wouldn't jurt either. However on the surface it is just like windows which is all that most people would really care about any way. If everything was set up for the user and they wouldn't have to do any mantenence then home users would do fine.

10-27-2002, 02:33 PM	#9
salvelinus Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 559	Where linux could make some inroads is in the business market. Not servers maintained by IT staff, but desktops for regular business users set up by IT, pretty much the way most mid - large size business's use Windows now. I don't buy the argument that it should be made for programmers/tech heads only. If it was, you wouldn't need a gui, office apps, etc. Plain old Unix exists for that. __________________ Truth is a malleable commodity - Dick Cheney
salvelinus is offline

10-27-2002, 09:46 PM	#10
itld In The Light Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 598	howdy, not yet, try to install a GeForce4 Ti4200 driver on a RH 7.2 smp kernel and you'll see it's still a long ways from being user friendly. M.R. __________________ I don't like you very much. Please post a lot less. Cheez and then No, I know you were joking. My point still stands.
itld is offline

10-28-2002, 08:56 AM	#12
Imperito Evil Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 638	You can get SuSE W/O buying it. I did. You download a remote installation image (CD or floppies) and work from that. Open source doesn't mean you can't sell anything, it just means you can't sell the code itself. It has to be offered freely. But any kind of support (Making the CD's, technical/implementation support, a box with shrink wrap, etc) can be and is sold for profit by the corporations.
Imperito is offline

10-28-2002, 09:56 AM	#13
Klinerr1 Sir Mister Insane Sako Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 608	atleast i got 1/2 of that right well techncly all. notice how cheap linux is in stores? that mainly covers labor costs. __________________ Email: Klinerr1@nc.rr.com \|\| AIM: MisterSako \|\| MSN: sakotheinsane@hotmail.com -the shroom has spoken
Klinerr1 is offline

10-29-2002, 05:33 AM	#15
Davros Code Monkey Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 812	Is SuSe Linux pronounced suzie or suss? I have come to an important decision in my life. When I get back to the UK, I am putting Linux on my second machine. I won't be able to use Borland's AnsiString class anymore! Nor TList or TStringList. I'll have to learn all the STL classes instead & re-write thousands of lines of my code, in some editor where crtl-c & ctrl-v are on different keys! So things will be tough, but I am determined this time. Are there any patches you can get when giving up Windows, you know, like for giving up smoking. Linurette patches maybe? So how do you pronounce SuSe? I like to think it's like Siouxsie (suzie), that way I get a nice warm feeling everytime I think about it. I can pretend Siouxsie Sioux has something to do with Linux, can't I?
Davros is offline

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