- Related Stories
-
Linux PCs: Customer service or lip service?
November 2, 2005 -
Linspire giving away desktop Linux OS
September 2, 2005 -
Desktop Linux backer gets new CEO
October 29, 2003 -
SuSE plans 2003 Linux desktop push
November 19, 2002 -
Linux company to release key software
March 12, 2001 -
Corel looks at selling Linux operation
November 20, 2000
Linux has been widely used on networked computers called servers, but it has comparatively little success on personal computers, beyond technically savvy users. Many companies have argued the open-source operating system is on the verge of breaking out in PCs and have been proven wrong. But Hovsepian sees some changes that he believes make the market ripe.
He's not the first to make such bold predictions, but so far Linux hasn't caught on widely beyond a small, technically savvy minority. Several companies--among them Corel, Linspire (formerly Lindows), Eazel and Suse itself--haven't dented Microsoft Windows' dominance.
Hovsepian believes that Novell's software--he pointed to his company's own forthcoming Suse Linux Desktop 10--has matured enough that three markets will be interested, he said in an interview here Friday.
First are large corporate users with employees who don't need full-featured PCs but rather just basic software such as a Web browser. Second are small business owners who see the savings from Windows license fees going straight to their own wallets. Third are residents of Brazil, Russia, India and China--the so-called BRIC countries--who are price-sensitive and who haven't already made a big investment in Windows, he said. China in particular is interesting because of pressure to curtail Windows piracy, Hovsepian said.
Naturally, he touted his company's upcoming Suse Linux Desktop as the product that will turn the tide. He predicted sales will begin with large "anchor accounts" buying the software for 3,000 to 5,000 computers at a time this year, with more aggressive sales in 2007.
But skepticism remains. Large companies already have a massive investment in Windows tools and technologies, said Gartner analyst Steve Kleynhans, and "sustaining what they've got tends to be easier because it's a more straightforward approach" than switching to new technology. As for developing countries, people want the same software as first-world nations, and that means Windows still has an advantage.
See more CNET content tagged:
SuSE Linux Desktop,
Linux desktop,
Novell Inc.,
Linspire,
SuSE
What the Linux proposition provides, at least with the latest offering, is a real *complete* stack. You can argue the same is possible on Windows, but people prefer to have all bundle in one package compared to assembling all that mess themselves.
About AD connectivity you're not updated: the latest Linux DO HAVE IT, and SAMBA v4 goes even further (up to AD Domain Controller level).
Pro to get AD connectivity, but they wont get
that with SUSE either."
Yet, AD (I'm assuming you mean Microsft Active
Directory) connectivity is available without
charge for SuSE (and, for that matter, any
distribution, if you want to use it). Albeit,
Novell might suggest that you try out NDS
instead.
What the Linux proposition provides, at least with the latest offering, is a real *complete* stack. You can argue the same is possible on Windows, but people prefer to have all bundle in one package compared to assembling all that mess themselves.
About AD connectivity you're not updated: the latest Linux DO HAVE IT, and SAMBA v4 goes even further (up to AD Domain Controller level).
Pro to get AD connectivity, but they wont get
that with SUSE either."
Yet, AD (I'm assuming you mean Microsft Active
Directory) connectivity is available without
charge for SuSE (and, for that matter, any
distribution, if you want to use it). Albeit,
Novell might suggest that you try out NDS
instead.
As an example, a recent Associate Press article states "the Norwegian government said Friday it will increase its use of freely shared, open-source software to reduce its dependency on large computer companies like Microsoft Corp."
Similarly, if memory serves, the most outspoken anti-Bush head of state in Latin America is actively promoting open-source amongst Latin countries for the same reason.
As an example, a recent Associate Press article states "the Norwegian government said Friday it will increase its use of freely shared, open-source software to reduce its dependency on large computer companies like Microsoft Corp."
Similarly, if memory serves, the most outspoken anti-Bush head of state in Latin America is actively promoting open-source amongst Latin countries for the same reason.
I still don't see it, they run into the same problem Apple does. Applications, familiarity, and pre-exisiting environments.
I worked extensively with Novell in its day, and it certainly was the better NOS, too bad they aren't relevant anymore.
familiarity, and pre-existing environments" is
mostly a hindrance in the US.
Linux penetration is much higher outside the US
and Canada. Most applications that people feel
are not available for Linux are widely available
outside the US save for US-specific things like
tax software, etc. Many Windows applications are
not localized for foreign languages and some
have issues with non-US versions of Windows.
Familiarity is not much of an issue. The popular
Linux desktop environments have all the features
of Windows and operate quite similarly, and in
many cases, more intuitively.
The average user is not going to take a hardware inventory of their computer before installing Linux.
for Linux than any other operating system. True,
the latest greatest device has a driver later than
on Windows, but, your assertion that there aren't
built-in drivers for Linux is an ancient fallacy.
These myths are one reason people are afraid of
switching. Unfortunate.
devices in the basic kernel than Windows does. A
whole lot more. With Windows, it's fairly common
to install a device driver when you install a
piece of hardware. With Linux these days, that's
very rare. The notable exception being certain
models of flatbed scanners and some newer
wireless cards (though most popular desktop
distributions typically have those drivers
installed).
Anyway, in the case of OEMs, the vendor will
pre-install drivers for the supplied hardware
just as they would for Windows (very little OEM
hardware is supported out-of-the-box by
Windows).
The issue is with the manufactures... They need to be providing drivers for their hardware... In the meantime, we the Linux community has had to make due by reverse engineering hardware technology and writing our own drivers.
If you take a new PC, and install Windows XP on it, your driver support is close to ZERO. It will not detect your videa card, IDE controller, ... Except for some generic drivers. If you want to use you hardware fully, expect to get out some CD's with some old versions of drivers on it, or dl them from the web.
I've been installing Opensuse on lots of different hardware, (4 yr old penPC, 3 yr old laptops, 0 year old desktops), and they all worked. No missing pieces. The newest PCs are now running the 64 bit version of OpenSuse, latest new I heard from XP-64 was that is was not usable...
The average user is not going to take a hardware inventory of their computer before installing Linux.
for Linux than any other operating system. True,
the latest greatest device has a driver later than
on Windows, but, your assertion that there aren't
built-in drivers for Linux is an ancient fallacy.
These myths are one reason people are afraid of
switching. Unfortunate.
devices in the basic kernel than Windows does. A
whole lot more. With Windows, it's fairly common
to install a device driver when you install a
piece of hardware. With Linux these days, that's
very rare. The notable exception being certain
models of flatbed scanners and some newer
wireless cards (though most popular desktop
distributions typically have those drivers
installed).
Anyway, in the case of OEMs, the vendor will
pre-install drivers for the supplied hardware
just as they would for Windows (very little OEM
hardware is supported out-of-the-box by
Windows).
The issue is with the manufactures... They need to be providing drivers for their hardware... In the meantime, we the Linux community has had to make due by reverse engineering hardware technology and writing our own drivers.
If you take a new PC, and install Windows XP on it, your driver support is close to ZERO. It will not detect your videa card, IDE controller, ... Except for some generic drivers. If you want to use you hardware fully, expect to get out some CD's with some old versions of drivers on it, or dl them from the web.
I've been installing Opensuse on lots of different hardware, (4 yr old penPC, 3 yr old laptops, 0 year old desktops), and they all worked. No missing pieces. The newest PCs are now running the 64 bit version of OpenSuse, latest new I heard from XP-64 was that is was not usable...
It´s a matter of adhering to what is best, AND, evolves in the right direction.
Or is everyone here not aware of the amount of trash included in the micros..tware ´products´, especialy since some unorthodox events in the US.
No one I know, me included, is pro those events. No one is pro piracy.
But, waiting for five years for a new version of IExplore just to find it is only coming to market because Firefox has some niceties it doesn´t, is at least frustrating.
More so when one can expect for a torrent of new bugs accompanying that ´new version´.
And, is anyone here aware of the fact that the ´products´(they even call them "solutions" - LOL...), always come with unccountable programming mistakes, straight evil features and, some small and subtle changes to ´the desktop appearance´???
Nonetheless, they´re always slower, larger, use much more resources AND, always cost more than previous versions???
Where would General Motors be if they offered the same ´working to promises guarantees´, diminished performance, increased use of fuel, lessened security, etc. on their products?
Would anyone here like to be flying on Boeig 777s, managed by the XP kind of ´operating system´? Or would anyone like to have their heart monitored, in an Intensive Care Unit, ´running´ under the same ´products´????
I wouldn´t.
It´s a matter of adhering to what is best, AND, evolves in the right direction.
Or is everyone here not aware of the amount of trash included in the micros..tware ´products´, especialy since some unorthodox events in the US.
No one I know, me included, is pro those events. No one is pro piracy.
But, waiting for five years for a new version of IExplore just to find it is only coming to market because Firefox has some niceties it doesn´t, is at least frustrating.
More so when one can expect for a torrent of new bugs accompanying that ´new version´.
And, is anyone here aware of the fact that the ´products´(they even call them "solutions" - LOL...), always come with unccountable programming mistakes, straight evil features and, some small and subtle changes to ´the desktop appearance´???
Nonetheless, they´re always slower, larger, use much more resources AND, always cost more than previous versions???
Where would General Motors be if they offered the same ´working to promises guarantees´, diminished performance, increased use of fuel, lessened security, etc. on their products?
Would anyone here like to be flying on Boeig 777s, managed by the XP kind of ´operating system´? Or would anyone like to have their heart monitored, in an Intensive Care Unit, ´running´ under the same ´products´????
I wouldn´t.
Software goes to the lowest common denominator and will that get linux dumbed-down (or in otherwords, reduce choices for the sake of ease of the average consumer)?
Just a question.
simpler than XP to operate, and Gentoo, which
would be confusing as hell to your average
office-worker-in-a-dead-end-job, can still run
the same applications and are both popular with
the people that use them.
It seems to me that Microsoft even acknowledges
that different versions with different feature
sets are appropriate for different people and
the need for multiple versions of the OS (3
versions of XP, and soon 7 versions of VISTA to
start).
Someone needs to do that for the business subset. Make it so all thier IT needs to be competent at is networking. Give auto updates that work and you will have a winner. Keep linux in its present state and all you will have is happy geeks(like me).
I think the evolution of online tools in the future will be the marrige that finally sells the linux way of life.
Software goes to the lowest common denominator and will that get linux dumbed-down (or in otherwords, reduce choices for the sake of ease of the average consumer)?
Just a question.
simpler than XP to operate, and Gentoo, which
would be confusing as hell to your average
office-worker-in-a-dead-end-job, can still run
the same applications and are both popular with
the people that use them.
It seems to me that Microsoft even acknowledges
that different versions with different feature
sets are appropriate for different people and
the need for multiple versions of the OS (3
versions of XP, and soon 7 versions of VISTA to
start).
Someone needs to do that for the business subset. Make it so all thier IT needs to be competent at is networking. Give auto updates that work and you will have a winner. Keep linux in its present state and all you will have is happy geeks(like me).
I think the evolution of online tools in the future will be the marrige that finally sells the linux way of life.
RedHat's Linux distribution. Fedora would not be
my first suggestion for a casual user. That's
not it's intended audience.
If you wanted to try something quite
specifically geared towards a desktop
environment, you'd probably look at the latest
Mandriva, SuSE, or maybe even Ubuntu or Kubuntu.
Each targets a slightly different user
experience. If you want something absolutely
business-consumer oriented, Xandros is a good
bet. If you want something targeting the
low-end/commodity user, Linspire might be a good
choice.
RedHat's Linux distribution. Fedora would not be
my first suggestion for a casual user. That's
not it's intended audience.
If you wanted to try something quite
specifically geared towards a desktop
environment, you'd probably look at the latest
Mandriva, SuSE, or maybe even Ubuntu or Kubuntu.
Each targets a slightly different user
experience. If you want something absolutely
business-consumer oriented, Xandros is a good
bet. If you want something targeting the
low-end/commodity user, Linspire might be a good
choice.
If you are trying to go for the cheap, and don't mind not having the corporate support then go with CentOS (http://www.centos.org)! It's Red Hat without Red Hat, which means it has the built-in security and stability of Red Hat without the expensive service contract.
If you are trying to go for the cheap, and don't mind not having the corporate support then go with CentOS (http://www.centos.org)! It's Red Hat without Red Hat, which means it has the built-in security and stability of Red Hat without the expensive service contract.
------------
He predicted sales will begin with large "anchor accounts" buying the software for 3,000 to 5,000 computers at a time this year, with more aggressive sales in 2007.
------------
Basically, the large enterprises will migrate first for users with limited requirements.
Think about it: for most users in companies the systems come pre-configured with everything they need (according to the company). They are not expect to install or support the system.
Most people in offices use a Wordprocessor, Spreadsheet, Email program, IM, web browser. Most other things are optional.
In this environment Linux and OpenSource is ideal. Something like Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird.
Create an installation image with all the security in place and all the applications installed.
Replicate across all the users.
A nice secure client environment which is less likely to be affected by viruses or spamming software.
Security is set at a level appropriate for the organisation.
Except for users who need scripting or other advanced features this will definitely do what they require.
I do expect to see more Linux being installed in these environments and the next 12-18 months is also valid if you take into account the following.
Move to Vista for corporates ? a time to consider their OS Strategy
OS/2 end of life ? very few consumers are using it but it has been very popular in Banks. If they have to move to a new OS then they may consider Linux, especially for what use to be terminal based solutions. In financial institutions being able to lock down the user and security is a large requirement.
------------
He predicted sales will begin with large "anchor accounts" buying the software for 3,000 to 5,000 computers at a time this year, with more aggressive sales in 2007.
------------
Basically, the large enterprises will migrate first for users with limited requirements.
Think about it: for most users in companies the systems come pre-configured with everything they need (according to the company). They are not expect to install or support the system.
Most people in offices use a Wordprocessor, Spreadsheet, Email program, IM, web browser. Most other things are optional.
In this environment Linux and OpenSource is ideal. Something like Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird.
Create an installation image with all the security in place and all the applications installed.
Replicate across all the users.
A nice secure client environment which is less likely to be affected by viruses or spamming software.
Security is set at a level appropriate for the organisation.
Except for users who need scripting or other advanced features this will definitely do what they require.
I do expect to see more Linux being installed in these environments and the next 12-18 months is also valid if you take into account the following.
Move to Vista for corporates ? a time to consider their OS Strategy
OS/2 end of life ? very few consumers are using it but it has been very popular in Banks. If they have to move to a new OS then they may consider Linux, especially for what use to be terminal based solutions. In financial institutions being able to lock down the user and security is a large requirement.
- Almost There, not quite
-
by dynsight
April 11, 2006 5:28 AM PDT
- I use Linux, and chose Suse 10 Pro, simply because it is a nice balance of server and work station functions.
-
Reply to this comment
-
-
- You is the answer.
-
by Kilz
April 11, 2006 7:05 PM PDT
- Yast online update or YOU is your source for updates. If it isnt available there, RPM will replace an updated package, and handle all the dependencies.
-
-
- You is the answer.
-
by Kilz
April 11, 2006 7:06 PM PDT
- Yast online update or YOU is your source for updates. If it isnt available there, RPM will replace an updated package, and handle all the dependencies.
-
-
See all 166 Comments >>I have been using Linux for 6 or so years, and am amazed how far it has come along.
However, it is not for the average user.
Try upgrading/updating a program. Can you imagine a Win-doze user dealing with dependencies? Until the files are as easy to install and remove as they are in OS X or (god forbid) windows, it is a tough sell.
Plus, DivX in Linux is spotty at best, wireless not quite there and still no lightscribe...
maybe in a couple of years...
Programs are esier to remove on SuSE, yast deletes them with a few clicks, and it dosent forget half of them like Windowz dose.
Next I will remind you that OS X is UNIX, get MPlayer for divx, and lightscribe is waste of time.
Programs are esier to remove on SuSE, yast deletes them with a few clicks, and it dosent forget half of them like Windowz dose.
Next I will remind you that OS X is UNIX, get MPlayer for divx, and lightscribe is a uselessfeature. Come on because you cant etch a pretty picture on a cd is a reason not to use Linux. I tell you what, Ill trade that for not having to deal with spyware any day.