[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Linux article

[Steve Baker]

Chris Cox wrote:

> Do I live with some Linux limitations on the applications side??
> Yes... but it's no different than what was available on Windows
> a few years ago... we often forget that some of the more
> sophisticated applications really haven't been available on
> Windows for very long.

There is no doubt that the OS and windowing systems are now
'good enough'.

There are two remaining kinds of limitations on Linux growth:

1) Consequences of closed data formats:  For example, I cannot
    watch many video's on web sites that are using .wmf rather
    than .mpg/.mov/.avi or whatever.  There really isn't much
    the OpenSource world can do about this - but if Linux somehow
    magically had more desktop users, market pressures would force
    more people to publish stuff in Open formats.

2) Applications that are used by a tiny minority of users and which
    require a lot of man-hours to write.  These are poor targets for
    OpenSource development.  However, people generally don't mind
    spending big $$$ for this stuff - so again, if there were more
    Linux penetration, more developers would target it with high
    dollar applications.

It's all back to the chicken-and-egg thing.  Without more users
there is no pressure on manufacturers or content producers to
support Linux - and without their support, it's hard to get more
users.

I think Linux is breaking this lock gradually by making the
bigger markets more accessible.  We did that with the server business,
and I think we're making good in-roads with the office automation
business.   CAD and other smaller markets are going to be much harder
to break into.

But if our "office worker" market share was as good as our "server"
share currently is, then the pressure on the smaller market segments
to come out with compatible solution would increase and maybe we'd
start to break in there too.

The thing here is to drop the expectation that ALL of the software
for Linux will be OpenSourced.  There are some things you're going to
have to pay for or you won't have them at all.

> And how many people are really buying
> (the act of taking physical cash out one's own pocket and
> obtaining software) the Windows applications?  My own guess is
> that >75-85% of those complaining about lack of sw applications
> don't truly OWN the Windows versions.

So if Microsoft clamped down on piracy, there would be a lot more
Linux users!   Maybe we should be more enthusiastic about content
management and it's application to the prevention of piracy?

> Send good positive messages to those supporting Linux.  Give
> them some bucks, buy their products... let then know they
> matter (ooops, that might have been a Linksys advertisement).

Yep - that's always a good thing.

---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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