Life without Windows or OS X

GNU/Linux is quite possibly the most important free software achievement since the original Space War, or, more recently, Emacs. It has developed into an operating system for business, education, and personal productivity. GNU/Linux is no longer only for UNIX wizards who sit for hours in front of a glowing console. Are you thinking about switching to Linux and want to learn how to use it? Have you been using GNU/Linux for some time and want to learn even more? This is the place for you.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Windows 7 is seen as a Linux killer?

Im really not understanding why Windows 7 is seen as a Linux killer and not a Mac killer. Most people simply don’t know what GNU/Linux is. They don’t even know what an operating system is. Theres only PCs and Macs. They don’t know that they are essentially the same hardware with different software on top. Linux is unusable, right? All software running on top of it sucks, and when there is a problem, it is impossible to find somebody around to fix it. The problem with linux is that there are too many different distros & non-existent or incomprehensible documentation, incompatibility between the distro and lacks the key applications people want to run. Windows by far has the most software, and the most different hardware supported and will be for a long time. When Windows 7 ships, you can expect a massive marketing war pushing it mainly to digital nomads with special deals, and Ultraposrtable laptops hardware taking advantage of Windows 7 capabilities, including touch screens. But I have question. Why would a billion dollar Inc spend time fighting an OS (GNU/Linux) that is only 1% of the desktop market? As of 2009, every new Macintosh computer ships pre-loaded with currently Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard. According to Apple, Leopard contains over 300 changes and enhancements. In fact in the U.S.A. the Mac accounts for 7.48% of the market while Linux has only 0.61%

Now it is true that GNU/Linux accounts for like 20% of all Ultraportable computers(which Intel calls ''Netbooks'') sold world wide. Thats still not much of the market when XP home still holds over 80%, and at brick-and-mortar retailers, MS windows is sold with mini-systems 99% of the time. So again is there a need for a "LINUX KILLER"? MiniBooks have become an important segment of the PC market, but overall growth has been stunted some by the current global economic crisis. Ultraportable computers are loved because their designed to be highly portable even at the expense of certain features. A typical MiniBooks or ultraportable weigh less than 3 pounds making it very easy for people to carry while traveling. Most offer 802.11 g wireless, which is more than adequate for basic needs around the home, office, airport, or hotel room. Screen sizes range from 6 to 10.1-inches in size and they are cheap at 200-600. Cheap is the key word. There meant for doing simple things like web browsing, text-editing, and so on. And the windows price point could bother some. Microsoft isn't just worried about the 20%-30% of the mini-books market being Linux base. It's also worried that if people get used to running Linux on that plat form , they'll consider buying powerful GNU desktop PCs as well. I mean think about this...If GNU/Linux is used on those netbooks, it means that Microsoft Office 2007 & Out Look may not be.

Microsoft has targeted late this year or early next year for the release of Windows 7. The OS is currently in its first public beta

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