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Why Has a Free Operating System not Eliminated Windows? Part IV

July 26, 2010

We have gone through plenty of explanations for why Linux has yet to replace Windows in the world we live and work in every day. There are cost considerations, availability of personnel to manage the operating systems (OS), and compatibility, to name a few. This is a serious inquiry into this interesting situation, so we will not stop at what we already have. There is much more to the story, and it will do very well for the Linux acolytes to listen. That way, the open-minded of them may start to work on something which will make people want to say goodbye to Microsoft (without having to spend so much on an Apple – and then another one when that one becomes obsolete in six months) and hello to a better OS.

An area we have touched on before, and which may have been a negative for Microsoft and the Windows empire, is the release of Windows Vista. It was panned from the get-go; as early as the Beta – when the hardware specifications for the OS were released – many figured it would not do very well. They were right in many ways. It was so bad, as you know by now, that Microsoft agreed to continue to support Windows XP, their previous release. That says something when you consider that Windows XP is now eight years old.

That sales disaster was not as big of a problem as it may seem. Sure, it probably cost Microsoft billions of dollars in lost revenue, but they had plenty of money and were never in danger of losing much of their status. To be direct, Vista did not hurt as much as it could have had Linux been a much simpler OS and as feature-rich as Windows. People who did not upgrade to Windows Vista, simply continued to use their familiar Windows XP system since Microsoft supported this. The number of people actually defecting away from Windows was smaller than expected and most of those went to Apple. Windows 7 has been well-received, though it is not being quickly adopted yet (mostly due to a very sick economy). However, the numbers moving to Windows 7 will be significantly larger than those who moved to Windows Vista. And, in the end, Windows 7 will be what Vista was supposed to be and even available at about the same overall price. Vista will be dismissed and become the butt of jokes for some time, but that will fade. Linux could simply not pull enough of the corporate or casual user away from something so very familiar. Even a rather un-civilized OS like Vista couldn’t help Linux.

Since you have likely never (knowingly) touched Linux, you probably have no idea how tough it can be to find a driver for some brand new piece of hardware. In several cases, there will be something available to help you, but it usually takes weeks (or months in some rare cases) for the driver to be good enough to be completely relied upon. Of course, if you know how to build a driver, you can always work on it yourself; how many out there can do that? That’s what I thought. As hardware becomes more and more advanced, and there are daily releases of new technology, it would be tough to keep up when using Linux if you handle more than one computer.

OK, if you only have your own computer and it comes with Linux built into it and the drivers working, you would be fine. However, it is very likely that you will upgrade it at some point and you will also have to find a Linux driver to fulfill that purpose. Every product, hardware or software, which is made to function in the Windows OS will have a Windows driver. Back in the ‘more than one’ computer situation, with Linux, most corporations would find the cost of updating all computers in the enterprise in situations like this prohibitively expensive. It would be a great deal of work for their IT department. With Windows, as long as you have access to the Internet, you will have updates available to you with no configuration necessary.

The hardware technology moves much too fast to put yourself in a situation where you cannot use the most recent of it right away. Linux will need to work on this and make the process much easier if it is ever to succeed on the larger market of computer users.

Even when Microsoft launches something so flawed as Windows Vista, people still find the other operating systems from them to be perfectly usable, efficient and familiar – one of the most important features an OS can have. Plus, the Linux driver situation is not nearly as fleshed-out as the Windows ecosystem in general. There is much which must be done for Linux to get past either of these problems. There is another part coming up and it will cover more reasoning for the continued proliferation of the Windows OS versus Linux. It will even address the angry letters from Linux aficionados; they will be upset and it should be explained. So, move on over to Part V and enjoy.We have gone through plenty of explanations for why Linux has yet to replace Windows in the world we live and work in every day. There are cost considerations, availability of personnel to manage the operating systems (OS), and compatibility, to name a few. This is a serious inquiry into this interesting situation, so we will not stop at what we already have. There is much more to the story, and it will do very well for the Linux acolytes to listen. That way, the open-minded of them may start to work on something which will make people want to say goodbye to Microsoft (without having to spend so much on an Apple – and then another one when that one becomes obsolete in six months) and hello to a better OS.

An area we have touched on before, and which may have been a negative for Microsoft and the Windows empire, is the release of Windows Vista. It was panned from the get-go; as early as the Beta – when the hardware specifications for the OS were released – many figured it would not do very well. They were right in many ways. It was so bad, as you know by now, that Microsoft agreed to continue to support Windows XP, their previous release. That says something when you consider that Windows XP is now eight years old.

That sales disaster was not as big of a problem as it may seem. Sure, it probably cost Microsoft billions of dollars in lost revenue, but they had plenty of money and were never in danger of losing much of their status. To be direct, Vista did not hurt as much as it could have had Linux been a much simpler OS and as feature-rich as Windows. People who did not upgrade to Windows Vista, simply continued to use their familiar Windows XP system since Microsoft supported this. The number of people actually defecting away from Windows was smaller than expected and most of those went to Apple. Windows 7 has been well-received, though it is not being quickly adopted yet (mostly due to a very sick economy). However, the numbers moving to Windows 7 will be significantly larger than those who moved to Windows Vista. And, in the end, Windows 7 will be what Vista was supposed to be and even available at about the same overall price. Vista will be dismissed and become the butt of jokes for some time, but that will fade. Linux could simply not pull enough of the corporate or casual user away from something so very familiar. Even a rather un-civilized OS like Vista couldn’t help Linux.

Since you have likely never (knowingly) touched Linux, you probably have no idea how tough it can be to find a driver for some brand new piece of hardware. In several cases, there will be something available to help you, but it usually takes weeks (or months in some rare cases) for the driver to be good enough to be completely relied upon. Of course, if you know how to build a driver, you can always work on it yourself; how many out there can do that? That’s what I thought. As hardware becomes more and more advanced, and there are daily releases of new technology, it would be tough to keep up when using Linux if you handle more than one computer.

OK, if you only have your own computer and it comes with Linux built into it and the drivers working, you would be fine. However, it is very likely that you will upgrade it at some point and you will also have to find a Linux driver to fulfill that purpose. Every product, hardware or software, which is made to function in the Windows OS will have a Windows driver. Back in the ‘more than one’ computer situation, with Linux, most corporations would find the cost of updating all computers in the enterprise in situations like this prohibitively expensive. It would be a great deal of work for their IT department. With Windows, as long as you have access to the Internet, you will have updates available to you with no configuration necessary.

The hardware technology moves much too fast to put yourself in a situation where you cannot use the most recent of it right away. Linux will need to work on this and make the process much easier if it is ever to succeed on the larger market of computer users.

Even when Microsoft launches something so flawed as Windows Vista, people still find the other operating systems from them to be perfectly usable, efficient and familiar – one of the most important features an OS can have. Plus, the Linux driver situation is not nearly as fleshed-out as the Windows ecosystem in general. There is much which must be done for Linux to get past either of these problems. There is another part coming up and it will cover more reasoning for the continued proliferation of the Windows OS versus Linux. It will even address the angry letters from Linux aficionados; they will be upset and it should be explained. So, move on over to Part V and enjoy.

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Tags: free linux, free windows, linux, os, win 7, windows 7, windows xp