Desktop Linux: The Dream Is Dead

[Fabio FZero]

For North America and Europe, I agree.

For the rest of the world, not so much - simply because Macs are too
expensive. Because, you see, lots of Mac people are Linux/Unix people
too. And you know why? Because, given the option, a Mac is much better
at being a desktop than Linux. Sorry, it's a fact.

Having said that, I'd still take Linux over Windows any time. The
problem is I'm a regular person who needs to get things that are not
server or development related done. If you've ever tried to make music
on Linux, you know how absolutely PAINFUL it is to set everything up
just to find out that most programs are too unstable to be useful --
and the stable ones have horrid UIs. That applies to design, video and
illustration applications too.

But I would worry too much, since the desktop itself is kind of dying
too. Things are changing, people. That's not necessarily bad.

- Fabio

On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 10:05, Michael Lauzon <mlauzon-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Don't blame me for the title, it's taken directly from the article.
> I'll post a link to the full article after the brief excerpt.  Do you
> agree or disagree with his conclusions?
>
> "It kills me to say this: The dream of Linux as a major desktop OS is
> now pretty much dead.
>
> "Despite phenomenal security and stability--and amazing strides in
> usability, performance, and compatibility--Linux simply isn’t catching
> on with desktop users. And if there ever was a chance for desktop
> Linux to succeed, that ship has long since sunk.
>
> "Over the past few years, modern Linux distributions such as Ubuntu
> have utterly transformed the open-source desktop user experience into
> something sleek and simple, while arguably surpassing Windows and Mac
> OS in both security and stability. Meanwhile, the public failure of
> Windows Vista and the rise of the netbook gave Linux some openings to
> capture a meaningful slice of the market. But those opportunities have
> been squandered and lost, and Linux desktop market share remains
> stagnant at around 1 percent.
>
> "I should emphasize that I'm not by any means talking about the demise
> of Linux itself. New projections from the Linux Foundation credibly
> show that demand for Linux on servers will outstrip demand for all
> other options over the next few years. And, as I'll discuss at length
> in this article, Linux has already established itself as a dominant
> operating system on mobile and embedded devices ranging from tablets
> and phones to TVs and printers.
>
> "But for anyone who has longed for a future in which free, open-source
> Linux distributions would rival premium commercial operating systems
> from Microsoft and Apple on desktop PCs, now might be a good time to
> set more-realistic expectations. Though I personally wish that the
> opposite were true, the year of the Linux desktop will never come."
>
>
> http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/207999/desktop_linux_the_dream_is_dead.html
>
> --
> Sincerely,
>
> Michael Lauzon
> --
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