Linux Desktop Turns 10: World Yawns?

[zridling]

Got a kick out of this SJVN article: "while there are many excellent Linux desktops available, including Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE and SLED, the Linux desktop remains a niche player. "

[attach]

[tomos]

It's very interesting to learn the history about Corel trying to make a go of it as a desktop OS -
pity they didnt make it...

[40hz]

Not much of surprise about Corel not making it.

When the average person wants to buy a proprietary system, most will choose the well-established Windows environment. Corel didn't have a compelling enough reason for anybody to switch.

And I can't bring myself to feel all that bad about Corel not being able to make it as a NIX standard. Especially since they always seemed to be trying to figure out a way to circumvent the spirit (and legalities) of FOSS and somehow make CorelLinux a fully proprietary product.

You see this all the time. Somebody sees a FOSS product, uses it as the basis for their own product, and then tries to figure out a way to get around the"give back" clause of the GPL. Sometimes it's accidental, as (I'd guess) was the case with the recent issues between Microsoft and the ImageMaster Project. Unfortunately, there's been many times when these attempted 'end runs' have been quite deliberate.

[zridling]

I remember that Corel Linux clearly. It had prominent placement in the PC stores for a brief time, and then in less than a year, it was dead. Problem was, they were trying to sell you WORDPERFECT!!! through Linux. One or two apps wasn't enough to make the switch back then. I think that was about the time that Apple began its second life as a gadget design company (neon bubble Macs).
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@40hz: Cisco is one of "those" code thief companies this past decade who thinks they can dip into open code and not return the favor. Been in court for a while now.
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On the desktop side, whenever I show others my Linux setup -- great fonts, good scripts, KDE, integrated Firefox, several good screen fonts, easy Win7 virtualization through VirtualBox, etc. -- they wonder where all this has been hiding. Like those Mac switchers, I'm having a blast on the platform.

[40hz]

@zridling - Yeah, Cisco Kid ain't a friend of mine, that's for sure! The only reason it's gone on in court as long as it has is because of the depth of some pockets rather than for any legal merit.

Even Apple had the 'decency' (or at least the legal savvy) to adapt something licensed under BSD rather than GPL when they 'wrote' their 'new' OS.

[Innuendo]

I used to run a Cisco router here at home, but when I went to look for an upgrade it seemed they had lost their way. Their replacement SOHO router had a gigabit WAN port and four Fast Ethernet LAN ports. Can anyone tell me where there's a SOHO environment where that would make sense?

I ended up replacing my Cisco with a Linksys that has gigabit WAN and LAN ports, wireless G & N, a faster CPU, and runs Linux for a fraction of what a Cisco router costs. Seems very fitting given the tone of this topic.

[zridling]

I ended up replacing my Cisco with a Linksys that has gigabit WAN and LAN ports, wireless G & N, a faster CPU, and runs Linux for a fraction of what a Cisco router costs. Seems very fitting given the tone of this topic.

Thanks for the tip, Innuendo. I'm shopping for a new router by January.

[zridling]

Mike Doyle has had enough of Macs. Here's another switcher in progress. Both good arguments for open computing. (It's my hardware; it's my data. I should be able to take it with me when I leave.)

I Am a Future PC: Why I’m Dumping Apple after 15 Years
http://www.chicagocarless.com/2009/11/04/i-am-a-future-pc-why-im-dumping-apple-after-15-years/

Control Issues: Why Apple Doesn’t Want You to Use Linux
http://www.chicagocarless.com/2009/11/12/control-issues-why-apple-doesnt-want-you-to-use-linux/

[Innuendo]

Thanks for the tip, Innuendo. I'm shopping for a new router by January.

Just read up on 3rd-party firmwares such as DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato, and others by visiting their web sites & then choose a router to buy that supports your chosen firmware. For about $100 you'll have a router that can do everything the $500+ routers can.

[Innuendo]

Mike Doyle has had enough of Macs.

Mike Doyle also has a passing resemblance to Stuart Pankin.