Mail from ILUG-BOM list (Non-Digest Mode)
Here's an article I downloaded from ZDNet Uk as to why Linux has not
spreading as it should have....
------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Linux will succeed:
Penguins throw down your arms. The Linux battle for the desktop is a
fruitless waste of time.
I'm saying this for the benefit of the attendees of the Linuxfest 2000
conference that gets under way today in Kansas. Techies love the
open-source operating system created by Linus Torvalds. Unlike Windows,
they can modify it to do just what they need.
But expecting consumers to abandon the de facto Windows standard to go
to Linux is like asking them to return to DOS. It's not going to happen.
But Linux can succeed if it does two things successfully: gets big
(becomes a popular choice for large enterprises) and gets small (becomes
embedded OS of choice for small devices).
GET BIG
Enterprise computing is a natural environment for Linux because there
are almost as many potential applications as there are businesses. Linux
offers a system that is both free and very reliable. It's now the
second-most-popular server OS after Windows NT.
But Linux has barriers to becoming the enterprise OS of choice.
Dataquest put together the latest stats about why businesses don't use
Linux. These are obstacles that Linux must overcome to grow.
Lack of in-house expertise. 25% of businesses shy from Linux because
their IT staffs don't know how to operate it. This is the biggest reason
pointed to, and it won't be easy to overcome that inertia. Free isn't
free if you have to hire an engineer to run it.
Lack of applications. Duh. Almost one-fifth of the businesses that don't
use Linux said they avoid it because they can't run their critical apps.
Lack of standardisation. Torvalds keeps a close watch on his program,
but Linux could divide itself into the kind of incompatible versions
that marginalised Unix.
GET SMALL
Cell phones, PDAs, Web pads. They all need operating systems. But users
don't have to know which one because they never see it. Linux is already
making strides here, but will have to make more. Here's the latest.
Adomo makes cheap information appliances for homes. All of them will run
on Linux.
Axis Communications makes a Net appliance that will extend the range of
wireless signals using Bluetooth technology for access by PDAs, laptops,
Web pads and devices. It does this using a tiny Linux server.
Lineo makes Embedix, a Linux OS for non-PC computers. The company filed
for a $60 million public offering. Its latest trick is a layer that
allows Linux to run Windows CE-compatible applications.
Red Hat will acquire WireSpeed, which develops Linux-based network and
telecommunications software for embedded systems.
Linux stands a chance to become a major force in modern computing. But
it won't be on the desktop, where consumers have already made their
choice. But Linux can succeed in business, where its reliability is well
known, and in small devices, where the OS is invisible to consumers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
hOMi.
_______________________________________________
Linuxers mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
