Alternative operating systems

Posted by Vic Laurie
October 21, 2008

It may be mostly a Darwinian world but just because something is the best doesn’t mean it will succeed. History has many examples of this and so does technology. Consider the universal “qwerty” keyboard layout. This is not the most efficient way but better layouts such as the Dvorak never became accepted. Everybody had learned to type on a qwerty layout and the obstacle of having to learn a new system was too much for most people. Inertia overcame innovation.

The AOL Internet Service is another example. By vigorous marketing, AOL got itself adopted by many computing newcomers. Year after year consumer satisfaction surveys placed AOL last, but for years AOL still remained the most commonly used ISP. Once AOL was entrenched, people didn’t want to have to go through the problems of changing their email address and learning new ways. Only the advent of broadband finally broke through the barrier to switching from AOL.

And that brings me to Windows. In many ways, Windows is not the best operating system for the majority of home PC users. Some sort of extensible Internet oriented system would better suit their needs. However, the Windows grip is so strong that a realistic view is that Windows will remain dominant for the next few years at the very least. The Microsoft monopoly may be eroding slightly around the edges but it remains by far the biggest force. Whatever its merits and flaws, Windows remains the consumer operating system. I don’t think that’s good for consumers but that’s the way it is.

Nonetheless, there are those who continue to use and talk about alternate operating systems. A number of posts have appeared recently and I thought I would list a few.

History of technology, Other operating systems

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