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Story: 2004: The year of desktop Linux?

Posted by: Anonymous (Thursday 1 January 2004, 7:41 PM)

Most Linux advocates seem to see the boogeyman behind every word and action. If you do not agree with them, you must get pay by Microsoft, why not also, Apple? So here we go. I am a new Linux user, I bought Suse 9.0 to try it and check it out four weeks ago. I am open to anything,. I was using the Geoworks GUI before Windows 3.1 came out.

Well, Suse 9.0 is alright as OS go. You can expect OS code to be always perfect. I wish that the different desktops in Linux would use a common set of ways for doing things. With KDE is easier to get things done, like changing themes, background, etc., but I personally prefer the looks of Gnome even though I use KDE most of the time since I find it more user friendly. I heard so much that Linux was much more stable and safe, so I went ahead and decided to try it. Well, yesterday it crashed on me. I left it on with the screensaver runining and it crashed. Isn't that what most of you blame Windows of doing? Well, how often is Linux going to crash on me? Then, there are the updates and patches. Yes, there are updates and patches for Linux too! Two days ago I downloaded a Kernel patch, 154 MB., I am so glad I have cable! Besides I have downloaded many other patches already. So, it is not much different than Windows. I guess I never heard about that because it is such a small share of the OS market. How about viruses? Yes, there are viruses for Linux, but no one to get daily or weekly definitions updates from. Of course there are much less Linux viruses out there. The market just do not support the effort, but if the market share rises, so will the virus threat. Viruses are market share driven!
Let's talk about cost, like the writer above discussed. I bought Suse 9.0 for $ 79.00 ( I rather buy it so i can get 60 days of support since I am new at Linux, and get the manuals for it. Also, not many can download 3 or more CD from the Internet). Wine if i want to run Windows programs cost $49.00. I can buy Star Office ( I want the manuals) for $ 79.00. Anyone can buy a PC with Windows XP Home installed, with either Works Suite or Wordperfect Suite installed and not have to pay anymore. So in the cost basis is a wash.
Yes, Linux can be a great OS and a threat to any other OS out there one day. But right now, useability, programs, support, etc. are not there yet. So, Linux advocates, continue working on it, follow the HIG guidelines, make it user friendlier, intuittive ( where do the programs go after you install them for example? Bury the command line deep, very deep. Users do not care for that. Mounting and unmounting dirves and CD-Roms? Please. Many of you want it that way, hard, but then, do not complaint when people do not embrace your Linux), and hopefully in a few years we will have more competition in the desktop market. It is always nice to get something for nothing, but in the end we all end up paying. In Linux, if you don't pay for the distribution, you will pay in time spent figuring out how things work. To me and most people, except the hobbyist, time is more expensive than the dollars you pay for a store bought software package, and even then, in Linux I still have to spend too much time figuring out how to do things that should be by now very easy, even in Linux.