[Sig] More rants

[daniel s . washko]

In order to make my last post a bit shorter, I left some thoughts out on
why I think Windows has had its day.

I believe the reason Windows will fail lies in what made it so successful
to begin with.  5 years ago, Windows was the only viable option for
business and home use.  Apple was loosing it foot hold and Unix was no
where near the home users.  Enter Windows 95 with its ease of
installation,, use and flexibility.  

MS had an open field, and very little competition.  They got it right in
the beginning:  Cater to developers and hardware manufacturers.  Rope them
in and then tighten the clamps.  This seems like good, sound business.  In
those 5 years computer companies and software develops flourished.  But for
all its hoopla, MS has never been able to make a stable OS.  But, users had
to take what was dished out.

I don't think all the blame for lack of stability falls squarely on the
shoulders of MS.  One of the big factors that seperated Windows from Mac OS
was diversity.  Apple had strict licensing and development and almost
complete control over the hardware end.  MS was strictly software and
conformed to the intel standards.  That meant, anyone could put out
hardware for Windows at a mucher cheaper developmental cost compared to
Apple hardware.  This savings was also passed onto the end users.  There
was more choice with Windows at a cheaper price, than with Mac.  But, on
the flip side; Apple, having complete control, was able to make a more
stable OS, better looking OS.

We could look at a counter view point to this arguement, though, using
Linux or FreeBSD as an example.  Why is it that a free OS cobbled together
by hackers, programmers, and hobbiest all over the world were able to
create a more stable and robust OS that runs on the same hardware as
Windows?  Perhaps this is a testament to Open Source development.  

So why hasn't Linux of FreeBSD taken off in the home users market?  We
could argue to factors:  1) Ease of Use; and 2) Lack of popular
applications.

I honestly feel that Linux is not too far from where windows 3.11 was. 
Adding applications and hardware to a Windows 3.11 machine was not an easy
endeavor and one that every day users would be up to doing.  Windows 95
made it much easier, but at the cost of stability.  Over the next few years
I think there will be much development on this front.  Development, but not
at the cost of customizablity.  Corel has and Mandrake is paving the way
for ease of use.  Redmond Linux looks to be a winner in this area.  But no
matter what, there will always be the slackwares and the debians that do
not necessarily cater to the home user.

As for the second part.  Sure there is a dearth of applications availible
to both Linux and FreeBSD, but they are not the same applications you can
walk into Staple or BestBuy and pick up.  I do believe there will be
changes in this area also.

Games:  Games are a big reason for using Windows.  But Loki has shown it is
possible and cheaper to port these games (or even design them) to Linux.  I
do believe part of the reason Loki has been struggling is that they are
working against a completely different audience than the Windows base. 
Most of the games puchased are by the male 16-34 age bracket.  And I would
be most of these purchasers are using Windows because 1) It's easy; and 2)
They do not know any better.  Those people using Linux, I would suspect,
have less time on their hands to play the popular games.  Even more, there
is a wealth of fabulous games available for free.

Business Apps:  Face it, MS Office is the industry standard Office
Application.  MS provided a complete solution at an economical price that
funtioned the best on the Windows platform and shrewdley marketed this
advantage better than anyone else.  But, with Office XP adopting XML as its
core, there is speculation that we will see Office ported to other OS's
more easily.  I would think it in microsofts best interest in the future to
do so.

Eduational Apps:  I wonder if we will every see Reader Rabbit for Linux.  I
think before this occurs, programs of this type will adopt a platform
independent progamming language like Java.  

Groupware:  Can you say IBM.  Plus there are hundreds of alternatives.

IDE's:  Check out the latest Linux Magazine for a low down on some of the
top Linux and FreeBSD IDE's.

General Purpose Apps:  Will PrintShop Deluxe or Family Tree maker ever
appear on the shelves at staples for Linux?  Again, like Reader Rabbit, I
think these types of Apps will go platform independent.  Or maybe they will
appear for Linux.

These are just some thoughts, and I am sure I left some stuff out.  You can
poke holes in my ideas.


-- 
Daniel S. Washko
----------------
http://www.thelinuxlink.net/lvlinux
Lehigh Valley Linux Users Group
Promoting better computing through a better OS!
Get Slack ( http://www.slackware.com ) and get happy!

-- 
Daniel S. Washko
----------------
http://www.thelinuxlink.net/lvlinux
Lehigh Valley Linux Users Group
Promoting better computing through a better OS!
Get Slack ( http://www.slackware.com ) and get happy!