Has Vista opened the door for Linux?
Vista’s heavy hand may be providing an opening for Linux, at least at the low end of the computer price scale. An AP article, Time is right for Linux PCs to emerge, says:
The free Linux operating system handles big tasks like running supercomputers and ATMs. Now Linux has a chance to finally crack Microsoft Corp.’s hold on computing’s most visible domain — mainstream PCs — because of the rise of innovative, inexpensive machines.
Windows is not likely to be displaced from the mainstream desktop but a niche for Linux is appearing. The article notes:
Laptops under $400 are real possibilities now, and some of the most buzz-worthy use Linux, such as Asustek Computer Inc.’s EeePC and the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s $200 “XO” computer for schoolchildren. Linux also is available on slim little “netbooks” being pushed by Intel Corp.
Not only is Linux essentially free to the PC vendor, but the operating system also is better suited than Vista for cheap PCs’ spartan hardware designs. (Windows XP is available on scaled-back PCs like Intel’s Classmate, but it’s unclear what will happen after Microsoft soon stops selling XP to the general public.)
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Comments
Adrian Kingsley Hughes says Ubuntu is becoming the generic Linux.
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Linux still has a basic problem that is exemplified by these new systems.
It is that most of these new computers come with new, and different, Linux implementations. There are no support organizations for these many different implementations to provide support and upgrades for the OS and the applications that are included with these systems.
This is exemplified by the large number of purchasers of the Asus EeePC computer (currently the most popular Linux-based personal computer) whohave removed the version of Linux on the system and replaced it with Ubuntu Linux. Users of the Asus EeePC forum have instructions on how to do this. They did this because Ubuntu Linux has an excellent support
organization, with a user forum, and frequent upgrades of the the OS and applications. There are also several excellent printed Ubuntu books. The group seems to provide major Ubuntu upgrades every six months.
The manufacturers of these systems seem to think that users would never want to upgrade the software, or the applications, on their systems. Upgrading is difficult on these systems because of the uniqueness of the hardware. The hardware manufacturers seem to have the impression that the user should never upgrade the OS or the applications. This is a real disservice to the purchasers of these systems as it means that these systems will quickly not be able to keep up with the rapid changes in technology.
I think that Microsoft has recognized this basic problem and has introduced a special version of Windows just for these systems. The only problem is that this has caused significant increases in the prices of what were initially low-cost systems.
Sol