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p2pnet.net News:- What’s the biggest threat to Microsoft’s continuing dominance?
Linux? Wrong.
Older versions of Windows.
And the biggest threat to Linux doesn’t come from Bill and the Boyz. Rather, it stems from integration and interoperability issues among various Linux distributions and their applications.
So says NewsFactor Network and, “With no apologies to the partisans and protagonists on either side of the Linux-versus-Windows debate: It’s not an either-or, all-or-nothing proposition.”
Yankee Group recently polled 500 North American corporations on their use of Windows and Linux, says the story and, “The high-level findings show that there is no universal clear-cut TCO (total cost of ownership ) basis to compel the corporate masses to do a wholesale switch from Windows to Linux as there is for a migration from Unix to Linux. And there is no indication that users are replacing Windows with Linux.”
Most wholesale defections to Linux continue to come at the expense of midrange Unix installations, although Linux is being installed as an OS that’s complementary to existing Windows servers
“Nearly two-thirds of Windows environments now have Linux or some other open-source distribution present in their environments” and “This trend will continue,” , says NewsFactor, adding that the Yankee Group report also suggests businesses should continue to expand the ways they use Linux.
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See:-
NewsFactor Network - Linux vs. Windows: TCO Comparison, August 16, 2005
August 17th, 2005 at 1:29 am
is microsoft is going to try to completely take linux and put it in their systems completely change it to linux and sell it?
August 17th, 2005 at 11:09 pm
In spite of repeated propaganda to the contrary, Linux distributions are NOT user friendly and they most certainly do not appeal to the “newbie”, unless that newbie has a degree in rocket science or microbiology or quantum physics.
For an inordinate amount of time, I have applied myself to learning as much as I can about Linux or its various distributions – primarily Mandrake and/or Fedora. The one common thread that runs through every book, user guide, tutorial, online instruction course, and general discussion centered around Linux is a tacit assumption that even a still-wet-behind-the-ears newbie must have some degree of understanding or experience. The most rudimentary elements are never taught or discussed. By way of example, I offer the following:
I recently took a course through HPLearningCenter.com – an introduction to Linux and a hands-on project to download, install, and learn how to run Fedora Linux. I downloaded the iso files and burned the CDs (I never did find the download for creating a DVD instead of CDs). I own a Hewlett Packard Pavilion with a 160 Gbyte hard drive, Pentium 4, 2.80 GHz, 512 MB RAM, DVD+RW optical drive, CD-RW optical drive, and so on. Of the 160 GB memory on my HDD, I have used 56 GB on C:\ drive and 5.5GB is reserved on D:\ drive for Windows XP’s Restore program. Simple math shows there is approximately 90 GB of space on the HDD.
All along, I have suffered the trepidation of having to face up to that spine tingling, dreaded, and feared – “Disk Partitioning”! However, I’ve ben assured that Fedora is “User Friendly” and that the Installation process will handle all of that FOR me! In fact, here are the very words which appear on screen, as one gets ready to plunge ahead:
“One of the largest obstacles for a new user during a Linux installation is partitioning. This process is made easier by providing automatic partitioning. By selecting automatic partitioning, you will not have to use partitioning tools to assign mount points, create partitions, or allocate space for your installation.” It gives you a choice of three options (1. remove all previous Linux partitions, 2. remove all partitions, or 3. keep all partitions and use existing free space). Naturally, I chose the third option then clicked on “NEXT”.
Suddenly, a dreaded Error Message Screen appeared: “AUTOMATIC PARITIONING ERRORS. The following errors occurred with your partitioning [MY partitioning???]: You have not defined a root partition (/) [who, ME? You told me YOU would take care of all that!], which is required for installation of Fedora Core to continue. This can happen if there is not enough space on your hard drive(s) for the installation [if 90 GBytes isn’t enough, we’re in serious trouble, here!]. You can choose a different … option, or click “BACK” to select manual partitioning. Press OK to continue.”
I beg your pardon! “Root Partition?” No one ever mentioned “Root Partition until this error screen popped up! “ Youhave not defined a root partition!” I certainly hope not!!! I haven’t got the foggiest idea what a root partition is – I wouldn’t dream of trying to define one! And I was told just a few moments ago that I wouldn’t have to do anything – the automatic partitioning was supposed to take care of all that! What do I do now? The HP online course is over with – there’s no instructor to ask. And to add insult to injury, it won’t let me go any further or do anything else, and there is no way to get out of the Installation process! Except by unplugging my computer, of course.
Try to imagine the average, typical Windows user – how far into Linux do you think he or she will get after being confronted with such an insurmountable predicament?
Since the matter of a “Root partition” was never mentioned, discussed, or even hinted at prior to that error message, am I to suppose that I should already know all about it? I was never confronted with something like that when learning PC-DOS, then MS-DOS, then Windows 3.1, then Windows 95, etc. In fact, whenever I installed a Windows OS, it seems to me that all I had to do was tell it what kind of keyboard I use and what time zone I’m in. Windows did everything else FOR ME!
As much as I detest Microsoft and all that Billy and the Boyz stand for, I must give them credit for having created a truly “user-friendly” OS. I try to imagine my older sister trading in her Gateway PC with Windows ME for a promising “user friendly” machine operating under Fedora Linux. I wopuld give her ten minutes, then (without a word) she would get up and never return to sit in front of her monitor again.
I realize that by its very nature, there is no accountability in any of the Linux distributions; and since Fedora is free, I certainly can’t go screaming and demanding my money back! But I feel betrayed. I was, figuratively speaking, promised a “Rose Garden”. I’ve read the testimonials of numerous Linux devotees; they’ve extolled the superiority of the Linux operating systems and the software which stands up against Microsoft (StarOffice v. Office 2000, for example) and I wonder if I’ll ever know.
With time, I would like to become familiar enough with a Linux OS to tweak it this way or that, to put it through its paces, to brag and boast about this terrific OS. I genuinely want to rid myself of those cyber burglars who indulge themselves by invading the privacy of my personal computer, who think nothing of spying on me and drowning me in unwanted advertising, who callously interfere with the pleasures I once enjoyed by surfing the wide open spaces of the Internet.
Does Linux pose any threat to Windows? At this point in time, the answer is a definite and resounding NO! That’s really too bad, because I was genuinely looking forward with great expectations to all the silver-lined promises of a Linux OS.
October 22nd, 2005 at 3:30 pm
The threat to microsoft is not from linux but open office.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
I would agree that all the linux distributions could improve, especially in the area of simplification. Unfortunately there is also a proliferation of geek speak, especially the linux version (distribution for you linux geeks), and assumptions that everyone speaks geek. Examples: Yours’ (root user) & implied understanding of C++, servers, PHP (whatever that is), Scripts…. Look I hate microsoft, especially since we are all too familar with CONTROL-ALT-DELETE, but for now I will stay with using them until I can afford a Mac.,because linux still needs a lot of polish. My father taught me the better written the software the less you should have to know to use it,.. also make it as bulletproof as you can. On a brighter note I believe Rube Goldberg might appreciate the “Simplicity” of using current versions of linux.