Why Microsoft fears Linux

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Netbooks running Linux are gobbling up the laptop market..

http://blogs.computerworld.com/why_microsoft_fears_linux

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An Fear Aniar

I hear that a lot of those Linux distros on the netbooks are really badly designed and don't really show off the best of Linux capabilities. Still, I'm amazed so many people are taking the leap into buying an unknown OS.


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PhantomBeaker

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

I hear that a lot of those Linux distros on the netbooks are really badly designed and don't really show off the best of Linux capabilities. Still, I'm amazed so many people are taking the leap into buying an unknown OS.
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I dunno. One thing one of my old bosses used to say was that so long as you gave folks a browser and an office suite, the rest kinda falls by the wayside. In the case of netbooks, you might not even want/need the office suite... and if most folks use firefox anyway, who cares that "explorer" looks a little different.

The customer wants a product that just works... and find that they are less tied to the Windows brand than they would believe.

Just my 2c,
Aoife

aidan_walsh

I can't find it at the minute, but there is research that shows that the majority of people who buy these are only doing so for a lower price and end up installing some variant of Windows on it. So, not much for MS to be afraid of.

ntlbell

this is the year for linux on the deskop

ms is dead

er i mean..wait..

is this slashdot?

*lost*

An Fear Aniar

ntlbell wrote: »

this is the year for linux on the deskop

ms is dead

er i mean..wait..

is this slashdot?

*lost*

Is Windows 7 the Linux Killer? :rolleyes:


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ntlbell

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

Is Windows 7 the Linux Killer? :rolleyes:


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While you're throwing your eyes up to heaven you might want to have a look up there for a bit of clue.

Did I suggest it was?

dont know how it would be killing linux when ms has about 90% desktop market

shrug..

EvilMonkey

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

Is Windows 7 the Linux Killer? :rolleyes:


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Microsoft aren't interested in killing Linux their interested in making money.

Are those netbooks not the same idea as those ultra mobile PCs Microsoft were pushing a while ago? So they are continuing with the same policy not reacting to Linux grabbing some market share. Why wouldnt they make their new os run on them it would be pretty stupid not too. It has nothing to do with linux its about selling a product consumers want.

Windows 7 is a mac Killer! /joke

An Fear Aniar

ntlbell wrote: »

While you're throwing your eyes up to heaven you might want to have a look up there for a bit of clue.

It wasn't directed at you.

I was referring dismissively to all these kinds of articles...

Will Linux this... can Microsoft that....

It's all a little silly really, fanboy stuff.


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democrates

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 only reached end of life on 1st Oct 2008.

Windows 7 is currently set to arrive in the late-2009/early-2010 timeframe, so it's fair to ask if we'll be seeing similar end-of-life notices for it (or Windows XP Embedded) come 2023.

As pointed out, the lifespan of any os will relate to the demand for it on devices capable of running it. In time netbooks will be able to run vista but not win 7, while mobile phones will arrive that can support xp, then eventually vista and so on.

This trench war of many fronts has been going on for years and the discussion keeps being framed as though there'll be a particular magical year which historians will point to as significant. I've come to the view that the theatre is so complex that the "tipping point" meme is too simple to apply, so scanning every snippet with that hope is just putting yourself on an emotional drip-feed.

GNU/Linux distros and Unix variants from the Macintosh camp would seem to show steady increases in popularity if that's the right word, but I really don't see any indications of the sudden tectonic change we'd like to see.

Another little victory for freedom is the Bilski Decision reported on at groklaw, which it's said will limit the enforceability of software patents. This undermines credibility in Microsofts legal threats, but how much will that affect OS deployment decisions?

An Fear Aniar

There's also Splashtop Linux being shipped on computers now, another interesting addition to the mix.


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democrates

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

There's also Splashtop Linux being shipped on computers now, another interesting addition to the mix.
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Reminds me of the Arthur movie where he's prospecting for an apartment and the landlord pitches-
"Has IOL in every room"
"IOL?"
"Instant-On Lighting" and flips the lightswitch.

But yes it's an interesting approach, at the same time I wonder about it's relevance in the long term. They promise more instant-on applications in the future, will it start to creep toward being a full OS over time I wonder, and how instant will it be then.
Also if you stick an ssd in your desktop/laptop and that contains your os you'll have faster boots for the full os anyway, and ideally if more flexibility in the kernal allows easy user choice of what's available on 'quick boot' versus what's loaded on demand later we'd be well laffin.

If I had splashtop I'm afraid I might develop a psychological resistance to full boot and spend more time surfing and what not, but for a netbook that's probably no biggie as the desktop with the big screen will remain productivity central.
As things stand it seems to be the only show in town for that convenience factor, and can only be a good thing especially if it prompts slicker boot configs in the wider distro field. Maybe even for Win7 in light of this story: Employees sue for unpaid Windows Vista overtime

Moriarty

aidan_walsh wrote: »

I can't find it at the minute, but there is research that shows that the majority of people who buy these are only doing so for a lower price and end up installing some variant of Windows on it. So, not much for MS to be afraid of.

What he said ^. Who'd lay money down on linux currently running on even a majority of these machines now?

1- buy machine with free OS
2- install pirated windows flavour of choice
3- profit!

An Fear Aniar

Moriarty wrote: »

1- buy machine with free OS
2- install pirated windows flavour of choice
3- profit!

No revenue for MS in that though. And if you download the Genuine Advantage patch you're gonna be annoyed all over again.


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ntlbell

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

No revenue for MS in that though. And if you download the Genuine Advantage patch you're gonna be annoyed all over again.


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Isn't that fairly easy to circumvent now? if they're "cute whoors" enough to pirate windows :eek: I'm sure they'll master GA avoidance

Capt'n Midnight

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

No revenue for MS in that though.

it keeps down the spread of alternatives
microsoft don't make all their money from OEM

RandomAccess

democrates wrote: »

As pointed out, the lifespan of any os will relate to the demand for it on devices capable of running it. In time netbooks will be able to run vista but not win 7,

Actually win 7 will have lower requirements than vista by all reports

democrates

RandomAccess wrote: »

Actually win 7 will have lower requirements than vista by all reports

Good point, easy to see vista not getting a look in.

An Fear Aniar

Yeah, the whole point of Windows 7 is that they want to release a fixed up version of Vista.



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Capt'n Midnight

RandomAccess wrote: »

Actually win 7 will have lower requirements than vista by all reports

the marketing for most versions of windows have claimed that they will be faster than the previous one

People have used windows 2003 / windows 2008 trial versions as workstations because of the lighter user interface , bit like the desktop choices of xubuntu / kubuntu / ubuntu with all the bells and whistles like opaque cube desktop.

democrates

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

the marketing for most versions of windows have claimed that they will be faster than the previous one

People have used windows 2003 / windows 2008 trial versions as workstations because of the lighter user interface , bit like the desktop choices of xubuntu / kubuntu / ubuntu with all the bells and whistles like opaque cube desktop.

Yeah I guess there's no accounting for taste, when I first saw compiz and beryl on youtube the wow factor wore off as fast as a gift card that plays a recording when you open it. Seen it, don't want it, alt-tab works fine and is less distracting.

Spend most of my time using applications(!) so the os I want does it's job in the background as much as possible. XP totally annoyed me by popping up unnecessary interruptions and processes that are all about trying to organise me and my data, that's overstepping the mark in my book.
I know, I'm like Jack Black (Tenacious D) at the drive-thru "Shut up and listen to my order! Take the six nuggets, and throw two of them away".