Hope for Linux?

Posted by Vic Laurie
July 22, 2008

Could it be that there’s hope for Linux on the desktop after all? It is my firm belief that until an average PC user can walk into a store and see a variety of Linux-based systems with all that the user needs pre-installed, Linux will remain absent from home use. But looky here- all of a sudden PC vendors are installing Linux. Computerworld reports:

It used to be that finding a PC with pre-installed Linux was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Now, though, all the major PC vendors are offering Linux-powered PCs.

Last week, for example, Dell announced that it was selling PCs with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, Ubuntu 8.04 installed. What they didn’t point out was that Dell will soon be offering Ubuntu Linux on six different systems, including its forthcoming UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) Dell E line. In the past, Dell usually offered Ubuntu on no more than three systems.

Dell is not a charity. If people weren’t buying desktop Linux, they wouldn’t be selling it. And, if more people weren’t asking for it, they wouldn’t be offering it on more systems.

It’s not just Dell. I’ve spoken recently to numerous PC vendors, including HP, Lenovo, and Asus. All of them are not just continuing to sell pre-installed desktop Linux; they all have plans to expand their offerings.

Now admittedly the author of the post, Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols, is no fan of Windows so his conclusion, “Today, it’s still not as easy to buy a Linux PC as it is a Windows PC, but that day is coming and its coming sooner than you might think,” may be optimistic. I never underestimate the incredible grip that Microsoft has on the market. Windows is not an appropriate operating system for hundreds of millions of PC users who only want to go on the Internet. But they end up with Windows anyway.

Other operating systems

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