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Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux as a
serious contender along with ms office products in business as well as every
day household use ?

Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

Nick wrote:
> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use
> linux. setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you
> see Linux as a serious contender along with ms office products in
> business as well as every day household use ?
>
> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the
> apple users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

It is well known how much I dislike Linux advocates but Linux is not a flash
in the pan. It has its uses. There will be a day where business ventures
will adopt Linux much more readily than they do now and no doubt if your
looking for a job, will need to know how to use Linux. But then it will
probably be specific programs and in job training. As for the home market.
I think Microsoft has a firm hold on that and if Linux is going to make any
headway into the home market it is going to have to seriuosly look at
getting commerical. Of course that opposes what Linux stands for so I guess
it will be a long time coming.

Nick wrote:

> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
> setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux as
> a serious contender along with ms office products in business as well as
> every day household use ?
>
> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

Its inevitable
Its not alway a Windows replacement, often an enhancement.
Tim O'Reilly has an anecdote about where he asks his conference audience,
"Who uses Linux ?", and gets a percentage show of hands, then he asks "Who
uses Google?" and gets 100%. And it dawns on people that they are using
Linux all the time they connect online.
Its a good article
http://tim.oreilly.com/opensource/pa...hift_0504.html

I first got into Linux with Redhat 5.2 because I needed a samba and apache
server.
I had to learn quite a lot about it to use it
Now the same stuff is automated in Xandros control centre tab under Windows
Networks, so any Windows user can feel at home. NFS is handled the same
way.
Learning is a bag of general skills, the same ancestry and concepts apply to
all the current PC operating systems.
If you can't work the command prompt in Windows, you will find a Mac or
Linux console foreign.
If you can work Windows desktop, you can work KDE, if you can work MSWord
you can work KWord AbiWord OpenOffice.
The time will come when we look back and laugh at x86 desktops and CRT
monitors like we do with 128k Macintoshes and Osborne luggables and Lotus
123 on MSDOS so its all a flash in the pan.

In article <40df586d$>, says...
> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
> setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux as a
> serious contender along with ms office products in business as well as every
> day household use ?
>
> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

Apple is both a hardware and software platform, unlike Linux which is
cross platform.

The only way Linux is going to become a major player is if MS somehow
loses a chunk of market share. Apple have failed to achieve that for the
last decade.

In article <cbnmar$qpv$>, "cowboyz" <> was seen to type:
>Nick wrote:
>> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use
>> linux. setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you
>> see Linux as a serious contender along with ms office products in
>> business as well as every day household use ?
>>
>> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the
>> apple users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom
>
>It is well known how much I dislike Linux advocates but Linux is not a flash
>in the pan. It has its uses. There will be a day where business ventures
>will adopt Linux much more readily than they do now and no doubt if your
>looking for a job, will need to know how to use Linux. But then it will
>probably be specific programs and in job training. As for the home market.
>I think Microsoft has a firm hold on that and if Linux is going to make any
>headway into the home market it is going to have to seriuosly look at
>getting commerical. Of course that opposes what Linux stands for so I guess
>it will be a long time coming.

It already has made an impact ionto the home market. I got it.
Admitedly I was using win 3.11 before that ... but that's one from
windows to linux.
Anyone made the reverse choice ?


Bruce


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to
think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone´s fault.
If it was Us, what did that make Me ? After all, I´m one of Us. I must be.
I´ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No-one ever thinks
of themselves as one of Them. We´re always one of Us. It´s Them that do
the bad things. <=> Terry Pratchett. Jingo.

Caution ===== followups may have been changed to relevant groups
(if there were any)

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:35:34 +1200, Nick wrote:

> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
> setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux as a
> serious contender along with ms office products in business as well as every
> day household use ?
>
> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

Why do people only talk about Linux?

I think BSD has a better future.


--
....check out the nametag.. you're in MY world now grandma...

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:35:34 +1200, Nick wrote:

> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use
> linux. setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows.

Which people?

At the moment some people already do, and some don't. That won't change,
although the proportions probably will somewhat.

> can you see Linux as a serious contender along with ms office products
> in business as well as every day household use ?

What's a serious contender? 10% desktop market share? 20%? 50%?

For business use, it really depends on the type of users and how much the
rest of the companies infrastructure isn't tied to proprietary protocols
and services.

Some tasks are suitable for Linux now, some aren't (eg CAD).

I could foresee Linux getting up to maybe 15-25% of corporate desktops in
3 to 5 years. But a lot of that will depend on how successful Novell is
IMO.

For home users it would be less than that I reckon. Except for
computer enthusiasts, the only segment of the home market that could
maybe work out for Linux is with users that just want email and web
browsing. They could have a specialised appliance type distro designed for
that.

>
> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan.

Definitely no flash in the pan. And even if Linux does fade away, the apps
that got Linux where it was will no doubt continue on a Linux successor.
And it is all about the apps don't forget - there is nothing inherently
Linux specific in the world of Linux apps.

I think specialist Linux distros could fill many smaller profitable
niches. Because most of the work is already done, they only have to put
effort into the customising of the software rather than creating it all
from scratch. The low cost of entry allows them to be profitable in small
niches rather than try to please everyone.

> Or something akin to the apple
> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom

I think Linux will seriously outgrow Apple in marketshare unless Apple
changes it's strategy. I'm not saying Apple should though - it's not clear
cut to me whether Apple would be better off if they moved to a low margin
high volume type business.

Cheers
Anton

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 13:23:23 +1200, wrote:

> Why do people only talk about Linux?
>
> I think BSD has a better future.

Netcraft confirms it!

Seriously, I suspect Linux got where it is over the BSDs due to the more
'controversial' license. Controversy creates media attention, which then
creates interest etc etc.

Another aspect of the GPL is that in some ways it is friendlier to
strategic corporate contributions than the BSD license. Giving away stuff
under the GPL restricts what their competitors can do with it, forcing
them to either contribute as well or not use it.

But the apps are pretty much the same between the BSDs and Linux, and it
will be the apps that allow either of them to grow. I think more attention
need to be placed on the applications of the open source world. eg the
Apache Software Foundation is producing a lot of Java and XML based
projects that are becoming pretty influential.

Cheers
Anton

Route wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:35:34 +1200, Nick wrote:
>
>> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
>> setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux
>> as a serious contender along with ms office products in business as well
>> as every day household use ?
>>
>> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
>> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom
>
> Why do people only talk about Linux?
>
> I think BSD has a better future.
>
>

It would if something happened to Linux, Both use BSD GNU and X components
to make up a complete OS, so all the license tubthumping rhetoric is a bit
moot.

Patrick Dunford wrote:

> In article <40df586d$>, says...
>> Do you see a time when people are going to need to know how to use linux.
>> setting up cross platforms, interfacing with widows. can you see Linux
>> as a serious contender along with ms office products in business as well
>> as every day household use ?
>>
>> Or do you think it's a flash in the pan. Or something akin to the apple
>> users of this world. eg, somewhere down the bottom
>
> Apple is both a hardware and software platform, unlike Linux which is
> cross platform.

Agreed.

> The only way Linux is going to become a major player is if MS somehow
> loses a chunk of market share. Apple have failed to achieve that for the
> last decade.

Agreed. The uptake of Linux is increasing though, and the rate of increase
is increasing too.

Allistar.