Originally Posted by
ScottC
See, it's reasons like this that Linux will NEVER EVER catch on in the consumer market. People get freaked out if you make them go to their control panel in XP, so telling them thinks like they'll have to make sure their sources list in /etc/apt is up to date is gonna ensure nobody in their right mind (short of the geek population) will ever make the full switch.
Linux was meant to take over the world 10 years ago, and today it's still limping along.
I have to disagree...
While I'm not sure I was part of a discussion about linux taking over the world 10 years ago, I think it certainly has made a huge dent in the server market (to become the dominate platform).
I agree that there have historically bern problems with the steep learning curve involved with using linux, but I'm not entirely sure that was due to technology. Sure in the early days the paid UI designers were cranking out something more visually appealing than the open source guys (who were probably more concerned with a faster bubble sort). But I'd assert that the real reason the learning curve was so steep had more to do with the users themselves. That is to say that in the 90s computers stopped being the tool of mathematicians and become mainstream. So there was a flood of new and novice users whos first exposure to a desktop was Windows and MS products. Now that we are a generation or two removed from that there is a user base of people who are platform agnostic. So the concept of surfing the web is less tied to that little blue "e" and more synonymous with the website itself.
Distributions like Ubuntu are a little late to the game really, and its not 100% complete or perfect. But given a little time it will be a pretty nice desktop. I agree totally that they have to sort out the issues with closed-source software, but it looks like the new 7.10 release goes a long way towards that compromise. Once thats done, it becomes a web/email/office platform just like OS X and Windows. I'm sure there are lot of proprietary applications that will continue to exist on only one platform, but for the average (and new breed of system agnostic) user it won't matter b/c most things are done online anyway.
Theres the added problem that linux users are a picky lot, which makes it quite hard, as
Mark Shuttleworth pointed out...which makes it hard for a major vendors to sell desktops pre-loaded desktops.
I guess my point is this... a lot of XP users don't feel any more comfortable installing opera or flash than ubuntu users...but if you could get a ubuntu desktop pre-loaded the way XP comes pre-loaded (often times) then I think there are a lot of people who would find it every bit as capable and suitable for the desktop.
and in case you are wondering...I had too much caffeine... Im going back to work now