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What can Linux learn from Microsoft?

Linux learning from Microsoft? Is that possible? If you don't think so, then …

Linux can learn from Microsoft? Nooooo. Yes, someone out there actually believes that! In reality, all the different operating systems beg, borrow, and steal from one another, and Linux-Watch's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has an article detailing five things that Linux can learn from Microsoft. After reading through it, most of the author's arguments seem agreeable, but Linux supporters may feel differently.  So what can Linux learn from Microsoft?

The first item on the list is the MSDN, or the Microsoft Developer Network. It's a great starting place for developers. It offers tutorials, samples, SDKs, articles, documentation, message boards, blogs, and everything else you could dream of when programming for a Microsoft platform. The only downside is the search, which the company is apparently working on. Linux, on the other hand, has all the things that the MSDN has, but it's not all that well organized. Typically, I find myself going to Google when I need help with some Linux programming. Everything that the MSDN offers is available for Linux, but it's just not all in one place.

The second item is a common interface, which basically means that the environments all look and feel the same. Some may argue that Linux is a better OS because of the options, but for a common user, it can be very confusing. Microsoft has kept the same look and feel for not just Windows, but for almost all of its applications. But as Vaughn-Nichols points out, that may change with Office 2007, and let's not forget that the "Start" button no longer has the word "Start" on it in Vista.  Egad!

Like the common interface, a third area where Linux can learn from Microsoft is in a common format. Microsoft has kept its Office formats consistent enough through the years that the newer applications can read the older formats, and they are all easily identifiable. With the Open Document Format gaining popularity, it poses a threat to Microsoft's stranglehold on global formats, but it still lacks support from a broad range of users. In this area, Linux has learned, but there's a long road ahead.

The fourth item, in my opinion, is the biggest reason why Linux isn't as popular as it could be: marketing. Microsoft pushes its products like none other. If it isn't in a magazine, it's on the web. If it's not on the web, it's on television. Microsoft is everywhere, which means that the company advertises to everybody. Linux, on the other hand, isn't everywhere. Vaughn-Nichols really hits the nail on the head with this excerpt:

Why do you think Linux sites, like this one, Linux Today, and many others have Microsoft ads running on them? Because, Microsoft buys the ad space, and the Linux companies almost never do. It's that simple.

For a long time, Linux distributors have lived off the Linux news sites, yes, like this one, which report on every small Linux move. Guess what guys. That's great for building a niche. Congratulations, it worked. It also worked for the Amiga and OS/2, It sucks at growing a mass-market.

It's also beginning not to work. Oh, more people every month are reading our family of Linux publications. I'm sure that's true of the other Linux news sites. I remember, however, when the new generation of online news sites, like Slashdot, also carried all the big Linux news and a lot of the small stuff. Now, many big Linux stories don't even make Slashdot or Digg.

Basically, Linux needs to fork out the advertising dollars to get more customers. I'd love to see the day where I open up the mail and find a Linux postcard advertising the next Open Office release. Simple things like that garner the attention of common users. It may not work all of the time, but it's better than nothing at all.

The last thing that Linux could learn from Microsoft is that it needs more OEM support. Windows comes pre-installed on almost every desktop. You can get Linux pre-installed, but it's only from certain vendors. If the smaller OEMs successfully started pushing Linux out on desktops, then there's a good chance that bigger OEMs would hop on board. OEM support is also contingent upon advertising, so Linux would need item four—marketing—locked down before mass OEM backing would be possible.

Now that you've seen the five concepts, do you agree with them? If Linux were to follow this list, do you think that more users would try out the operating system? If you are a Linux user, do you really want more users trying out the operating system? When an unknown musical artist becomes popular, he sometimes loses his support from fans that were with him on day one. Could you see this type of trend happening if Linux were to start advertising to a larger audience?

Channel Ars Technica