Desktop Linux as the Entry Level for most Linux Users
Its an interesting question – while most hobbyists and computer tinkerers swear by Linux as their desktop software – Linux industry experts , for example the CEO of Redhat Linux themselves , are questioning the function and market share of Linux as a desktop piece of software – the desktop OS – where it can be used instead of Windows – be it the current generation Microsoft Vista ( Windows Vista) , Windows XP or the coming “Windows 7 ) ( note not its back to Windows designation). Windows 7 is being referred to as simply Vista 1.5 ( that is a properly patched form of Vista , with upgrades and service packs and now “passable” as an OS ( operating system), albeit with a tons of computer hardware and loads of currently inexpensive ddr2 ram).
Its an interesting concern and viewpoint – seeing Linux only from a marketing and profit version – almost as if it Coca Cola vs Pepsi or the pharmaceutical industry. What drives linux , its evoltion and immovatons , product development is users . The Red Hat Linux companyay derive most of its dollars from server side sales and support. Yet it akin to the automotive industry – that if there are not entry level models for users and buyers to become familiar then they are going to start , grow and stay with another product.
The desktop versions of Linux serve that purpose. After all how many computer users have a physical commercial server at their beck and call with which to learn and become famuliar with the Linux Operating System , only as a server utilization.
Linux has achieved success on servers, but can it make a go of it on the desktop? Panelists at a technical conference Tuesday evening debated the question, with a Red Hat official wondering whether the issue is even relevant anymore.
Representatives from organizations such as Red Hat, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and Fidelity Information Services offered perspectives on Linux and open source on the desktop during a session at the InfoWorld Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) in San Francisco. The session was entitled “End Users and Linux: Do We Have a Participation Problem?”.
[ Related: "Desktop Linux: Ready for the mainstream." | Follow the latest news and trends in open source with InfoWorld's Open Sources blog. | Read about the very best open source software products in InfoWorld's Best of Open Source Software Awards 2008. ]
Red Hat’s CEO Jim Whitehurst pointed out several issues with running Linux on the desktop, including financial concerns the company has as a Linux vendor.
“First of all, I don’t know how to make money on it,” Whitehurst said. “Very few people are running a desktop that’s mission-critical,” so they do not want to pay the company for a desktop OS, he said.
There is some money in the Linux desktop, but not much, Whitehurst said. “We do have a desktop [version of Linux], but we typically sell it to big server customers who want some desktops.” Red Hat offers its Red Hat Enterprise Desktop product, but Whitehurst added he was uncertain how relevant the desktop itself will be in five years, with the advent of concepts such as cloud-based and smartphone computing and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure).
“The concept of a desktop is kind of ridiculous in this day and age,” said Whitehurst. “I’d rather think about skating to where the puck is gong to be than where it is now,” he said, using a hockey analogy.
Interoperability issues also are a hindrance, according to Whitehurst. “There’s a reason Microsoft doesn’t want to certify Evolution [a Linux mail client] hooking into [Microsoft's mail server] Exchange,” he said. Microsoft has key control points locked up on the desktop, he said,
“There’s a desire [to use desktop Linux] but practicality sets in,” said panelist Vinod Kutty, associate director of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. “There are significant barriers to switching.”
Even Linux developers he has known prefer a Macintosh to a Linux desktop, Kutty said.
Another panelist, Timothy Golden, senior vice president for Unix engineering, security, and provisioning at Bank of America, concurred with Whitehurst. “I have to agree with Jim on this one,” he said. How people view the desktop is going to change, said Whitehurst.
But another panelist, K.S. Bhaskar, senior vice president of Fidelity Information Services, gave a thumbs-up to Linux on the desktop, adding that his family even uses it at home.
“I kicked the Windows habit 10 years ago,” Bhaskar said. “In the group that I have at work, Linux is our primary desktop that we’ve been using since 2000,” he said.
An industry analyst in the audience agreed with the panel’s skepticism toward desktop Linux. “I think they’re right, there are barriers to adoption,” said analyst Tim Clark, partner at The FactPoint Group.
Earlier in the day, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian was optimistic about Linux on the desktop, particularly on netbooks.
Panelists also discussed topics such as whether the economic downturn was good for open source. The downturn has benefitted open source because it gets people to try new things, Whitehurst said. Many new projects are getting done on Linux, he said.
Prior to the panel session, Whitehurst gave a speech proclaiming the economic situation as a “fantastic time for open source.”
“I almost feel bad,” because open source software proponents profit from other people’s misery,” Whitehurst said. In tough economic times, “people get out of their comfort zone,” he said. Companies that would never have considered open source are now looking at Red Hat, said Whitehurst. He added a significant chunk of Red Hat’s revenue has come from Unix to Linux conversions.
Welcome to the North End People Before Profit
The Kernel
Advantages of Knowing Some Basic Linux Terms and Terminology
February 12th, 2009
Linux can seem heavy on jargon – especially for beginners – with such terms as “X Windows” , “desktop environments” , “file managers” , “X servers” and GUI ( graphic user interfaces). While it is not essential to know or understand how all these components fit together , it is most useful to be somewhat familiar with what might be considered the basics or the basic terminologies . It can be said with time and experience you will come to be familiar with these basic terms. Oft stated “If you hang around with flakes you will become a flake”.
Just as you do not have to be a mechanic to drive a car, but it will help you if you have a basic understanding of the components and parts of a car , their use and description and basic automotive diagnostic skills, it sure comes in handy if you have a basic and simple comprehension of these. This way if problems occur you are a better situation to get things going and fix themselves or at the worst be able to explain them to others more experienced and adroit in the field in order to solve the problem and get your Linux based computer system up and running and as well perform basic maintenance and updates.
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Tags: Automotive Industry, Beck And Call, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Commercial Server, Computer Users, Desktop Linux, Desktop Os, Desktop Software, Desktop Versions, Entry Level Models, Evoltion, Hobbyists, Industry Experts, Linux Operating System, Linux Users, Microsoft Vista, Os Operating System, Panelists, Server Utilization, Software Linux
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April 8th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
What a breath of fresh air to take the edge off after a horrible day. Excellent article that really gets the thought across. Thanks for taking the time.