What is really holding Linux back?
I came across this blog entry and it got me thinking about another blog entry which I cannot find at the moment. The latter briefly covered a topic which made a lot of sense. One reason for Linux not gaining wider market share is that it was not available as a pre-installed operating system.
Face it, no matter how user friendly, stable and well performing the operating system becomes, the majority of basic PC users will never get a chance to touch it because they will never install it. Think about it. An individual whose only objective and limited knowledge of personal computing is to turn on the PC, wait for the OS to finish loading and open up a web browser or an office productivity application. The most they know is what already comes pre-installed. So if they walk into a Best Buy or order from Dell’s website, they trust that whatever comes with the PC will work for them. They do not know the difference.
So when I read entries like the one I linked to above on where to obtain copies of Linux, does it really matter? Are you going to tell your neighbor’s mom or your co-worker’s grandfather that he/she should go to the download sites of Ubuntu, Fedora or <enter other distro here>. And even if you do, what are the chances that they will really understand the installation process enough to be able to feel comfortable in doing it. Yes, Ubuntu is easy to install, but if a user has never done it before they may be reluctant in doing it for the first time and scrap the idea altogether.
What we need to find is more of a combined effort in getting some of the major distributions pre-installed on more desktop/laptop solutions. I have seen articles and advertisements (and the link above mentions it also) for Ubuntu on Dell and ZaReason PCs. I am not talking about netbooks here but instead regular PCs. On the UNIX front, I know I have seen an article about OpenSolaris pre-installed on certain models of Toshiba laptops. I do not think we will see any changes until we see more offerings of a reliable solution: a GNU/Linux solution.
Piracy!
I stumbled upon your blog by mystake but got intrigued about the “it was not available as a pre-installed operating system.”
Where I live, most (80%+) PCs get sold with a random flavour of Linux, but theres a catch … and that is the reason why there is a Linux there in the first place.
No, it’s not about free as in freedom, it’s about free as in free beer. The “majority of basic PC users” get to buy a cheaper PC. But why? Why would they want a cheaper PC “that doesn’t work” (it doesn’t have Windows on it).
Two main reasons:
1. A preconceived idea: Windows sucks, and if it sucks so much why should someone pay money for it? Why should someone pay for it even if it doesn’t suck, they’re not using it to make money, they use it for entertaining purposes… like playing music/movies and playing games. (this is another sad part I’ll get back to)
2. Even if the person getting the PC is a total PC illiterate there are others who are not and can help “fix” the “new bought, but broken” PC, as in they can get Linux out/Windows in.
So they basically get the same thing but for less money, they end with a Windows PC that once had Linux on it and was cheap due to this fact.
So yes, my point is that preconceived ideas kill the usual home user market share. Ideas like it’s ok to download an illegal copy of Windows, nobody cares anyway.
There is still another bothering fact with Linux, can’t play all those illegal copies of games you’re about to download on it, it can’t play them even if the games were not obtained illegaly.
Do I make some sense? :)
Comment by Radu — 22. July 2009 @ 13:08
Radu,
You make a lot of sense and thank you very much for your comment. You bring up some very good and interesting points. I do apologize for doing some secret detective work behind your back but I did a look up on your IP address to see where in the world ~80% PCs are sold with Linux. Apparently they are sold in Amsterdam. ;-)
Comment by admin — 22. July 2009 @ 13:32
I left that out by “mistake” :) It’s not Amsterdam, but an ex-comunist east european country that’s not struggling enough to embrace the “your freedom stops where my freedom starts” concept.
Comment by Radu — 22. July 2009 @ 22:49
Mulţumesc.
Comment by admin — 23. July 2009 @ 07:44