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2006 is NOT the year for Linux on the desktop
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Comments (2)
OK...I flinched...
video games, the only good point, but a double-edged sword
The article's claims run 180° to my experiences, with the exception that I do use an ndiswrapper (until I finally get around to installing that Atheros-equipped card) and video games have kept one box in our house on XP. Otherwise, I can get flashplayer, MP3's, Realplayer, etc. going on a new Linux install in about 5 minutes. Video is far better on our Linux PC, but that may be because the onboard-graphics on the Linux motherboard is more modern and higher end than the Nvidia card on the XP box. Linux hardware support has been far superior in our experiences; Linux saw the SMART error on a hard drive that XP missed, Fedora 2 with Gnome was faster on our 466 MHz Celeron than Win-98, Fedora 4 with Gnome was far faster on an Athlon 2.2 than XP (and it eliminated a need to reboot twice daily to restore internet access), Fedora handles our Sony CD-RW although Windows intermittently fails to finish a disk write. Back to the point, though...
My kids like the Sims 2, and I like the way the game makes them think, but there is no emulator or service that will presently allow the Sims 2 to run under Linux. For a month, we had the main family computer running Fedora 4, but the kids missed the Sims 2. So, I put the PC back on XP. Ironically, there was universal whining about going back to Windows' instability and slowness, but they can use the Linux PC for internet surfing.
The other edge to the video game sword is that PC games are not nearly so big of a factor now as they were 5 years ago. It was MS's Xbox that enabled me to pry Windows off of one PC for my original Linux/'BSD experiments. Except for the above-mentioned game, my kids focus on the Xbox.
Later, mcinsand
My kids like the Sims 2, and I like the way the game makes them think, but there is no emulator or service that will presently allow the Sims 2 to run under Linux. For a month, we had the main family computer running Fedora 4, but the kids missed the Sims 2. So, I put the PC back on XP. Ironically, there was universal whining about going back to Windows' instability and slowness, but they can use the Linux PC for internet surfing.
The other edge to the video game sword is that PC games are not nearly so big of a factor now as they were 5 years ago. It was MS's Xbox that enabled me to pry Windows off of one PC for my original Linux/'BSD experiments. Except for the above-mentioned game, my kids focus on the Xbox.
Later, mcinsand
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I do wish those who choose to write things like this would be a bit more knowledgeable about the subject matter. Appgen has provided Linux Accounting Software for a while now, and it imports Quickbooks data. Sure it costs money...what developer do YOU know that would keep up with the tax and financial changes on a weekly basis for free? that's my point...I doubt there is anyone who would, for free anyway.
Let me quote...
I'm just trying to quell some of the hype that generally accompanies a new year. If some of that energy went to lobbying software and hardware makers to take another look at the burgeoning Linux desktop market, perhaps some real change could be affected that would spur Linux desktop adoption....
The author raises some good points, albeit a bit abruptly, but they are valid none-the-less. It does me good to see him hammer the lack of wireless drivers first rattle out of the box. I got hammered for my piece on this deficiency. I just wonder where he was when I was at Dell, Samsung/Austin and IBM; lobbying for just what he complains about.
I guess he is leaving that for the rest of us. That's fine...it gives us who are without code something "meaningful" to do.