Linux Going Mainstream

Gossi writes "The BBC is carrying an excellent overview of the growing use of Linux, by many different fields. The article says it all, really, and is probably something you should show your Boss."

Linux going mainstream?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh no... I've got to start hating it now. Once common people like something, I can't like it, or I'll lose my elitist status. Hrm, what's a good obscure OS? BeOS isn't around anymore... maybe OpenBSD?

"Show your boss"?

[Anonymous Coward]

If my boss was so dumb that he didn't know Linux is the only choice for everything - well, he wouldn't be my boss, he would be the janitor.

Linux will be mainstream competition in a year.

[Adolph_Hitler]

I predict that within 1-2 years Linux will have equal marketshare with Windows. I also predict that Linux will surpass Longhorn.

I do that too

[AtariAmarok]

I carry a variety of flavors of Linux CDs in my car

I do that too. They make quite a racket when I play them in the Kenwood. However, I've found that with 800 watt sub-woofers, anything can sound quite impressive.

Re:"Show your boss"?

[sbennett]

If my boss was clever enough to want to use Linux, he wouldn't be my boss, he'd be the janitor.

Re:Linux will be mainstream competition in a year.

[z_gringo]

Why isn't there a (-1 Stupid) mod?

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, we shall all start using the HURD now.

Join us.

Re:"Show your boss"?

[glpierce]

"he wouldn't be my boss, he would be the janitor."

Unless you're the assistant janitor, in which case he's both...

Michael Jackson

[crayiii]

This is the commercial that made Michael Jackson switch to Linux!

the real question is...

[xao gypsie]

when will "Pirates of Sillicon Valley 2: The Wrath of Linux" come out?

IBM commercial

[AtariAmarok]

It also doesn't explain how the kid grows up to be a penguin.

Re:Government, yup

[SpookyFish]

Sure, old news, but the truly amazing, out of this world, "oh my god" thing about this -- The government actually WANTS to be thrifty with OUR tax money??!

Oh, wait, no, they just want to spend that money on more beaurocrats and $1000 screwdrivers.

Ah, well.

Trust the BBC?

[Bazman]

Oh no, we can't trust the BBC these days don't you know? I can imagine that Bill Gates will now be launching a swingeing attack on the BBC, leading to a month-long enquiry chaired by, oooh, an unbiased Paul Allen, and then resignation of several senior BBC executives....

[if you dont know what I'm talking about, google for 'Hutton Report' or see BBC news main page :)]

Baz

Re:Games....

[McDutchie]

The Macintosh doesn't have the extensive game library that Windows does and it has a very refined and integrated desktop. Their only problem is that their systems are extremely expensive.

/me briefly wakes up

<...zzzzzzz> <snort> huh? wassup? oh, nuther 'doze fudster.. <yawn> $799 emac [apple.com] <snort> $1099 ibook [apple.com] ... grmbl ... fudspewers are boring ... <yAAAaawn> <zzzzzzz...>

/me falls back asleep out of sheer boredom

Re:Should be obscure enough

[Anonymous Coward]

kOS? Never heard of it... I think I have a winner!

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[Anonymous Coward]

Multics LIVES

Re:PS2

[Anonymous Coward]

Nethack

Re:Real world vs. fanboy fantasies

[Anonymous Coward]

I have always felt that Linux [redhat.com] is a nice operating system (for hobbyists and geeks), but there are some areas where it is seriously lacking, especially when compared to its main competitor, Microsoft Windows [microsoft.com].

* File sharing. Windows has long been superior when it comes to making large amounts of files available to third parties. Even early versions of Windows automatically detected and made available all directories thanks to the built in
NetBIOS-powered file sharing support. But Microsoft has realized that this technology is inherently limited and has added even better file sharing support to its Windows XP operating system [toastytech.com]. Universal Plug and Play will [esecurityplanet.com]
make it possible to literally access any file, from any device! I think universal file sharing support needs to be built into the Linux kernel soon.

* Intelligent agents. With innovations like Clippy [slashdot.org], the talking paperclip and Microsoft Bob [windowsbeta.net], Microsoft has always tried to make life easier for its customers. With Outlook and Outlook Express [ximian.com], Microsoft has built a framework for developers to create even smarter agents. Especially popular agents include "Sircam", which automatically asks the users' friends for advice on files he is working on and the "Hybris" agent, which is a self-replicating copy of a humorous take on "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves" (the real story!). [compedit.com]
Microsoft is working on expanding this P2P technology to its web servers [netscape.com]. This
project is still in the beta stage, thus the name "Code Red". The next versions will be called "Code Yellow" and "Code Green".

* Version numbers. Linux has real naming problems. What's the difference between a 2.4.19 and a 2.2.17 kernel anyway? And what's with those odd and even numbers? Microsoft has always had clear and sophisticated naming/versioning
policies. For example, Windows 95 [kde.org] was named Windows 95 because it was released
in 1995. Windows 98 [kde.org] was released three years later, and so on. Windows XP [apple.com]
brought a whole new "experience" to the user, therefore the name. I suggest that the next Linux kernel releases be called Linux 03, Linux 04, Linux 04.5 (OSR1), Linux 04.7B (OSR2 SP4 OEM), Linux 2005 and Linux VD (Valentine's Day edition).
Furthermore, remember how Microsoft named every upcoming version of Windows after some Egyptian city? Cairo, Chicago and so on. I think that the development kernels should be named after Spanish cities to celebrate Linux' Spanish origins. Linux Milano [alyssa.com] or Linux Rome [nero.com] anyone?

* Multi-User Support. This has always been one of Microsoft's strong sides, especially in the Windows 95/98 [kde.org] variants, where passwords were completely
unnecessary. Microsoft has made the right decision by not bothering the user with a distinction between "normal" and "root" users too much -- practice has shown that average users can be trusted to act responsibly and in full awareness of the potential consequences of their actions. After all, if your operating system doesn't trust you, why should you trust it? (To be fair, Linux is making some progress here with the Lindows distribution, where users are always running as root.)

With Windows XP, Microsoft has again improved multi-user support. Not only does Windows XP come with a large library of user pictures that are displayed on the login screen, su

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[koali]

I think you mean... "Join me".

Re:Do your part!

[azzy]

Do your bit for Linux, shop in your MS-pirating friends!

Re:Should be obscure enough

[NixLuver]

That ought to work, at least in England. The BBC article says that, "Linux is unique in that it is open source," so they've apparently never heard of OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, kOS, etc, etc. :-)

I think that's because Linux bits are lighter than *BSD, so Linux washes up on the shore all the time, whereas the heavier (but more correct) *BSD bits sink to the ocean floor.

Re: Games....

[finelinebob]

> Until Linux is a complete entertainment package

Sounds like all the more reason for corporations to adopt it.

You mean, no one has written Solitaire for Linux yet? What more does the average office worker need?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[Naikrovek]

"If you ever find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause, and reflect." -- Mark Twain

If I Only Had A Hurd

[Anonymous Coward]

If I Only Had A Hurd
(The Wizard of Oz: If I Only Had...)

If the Hacker Gods beside me
Would graciously abide me
And let my wish be heard:
That I would consider shaving
I might even start behaving
If I only had a Hurd

Oh, I could tell you why

Open Source is too pragmatic and impure
Tell you things you've heard a million times before
And then I'd sit and write some more:

I'd make fun of the internals
Of monolithic kernels
Old-fashioned and absurd
Since they don't put "Gnu" before it
I'd prefer to just ignore it
If I only had a Hurd

I could maybe have a relapse
And do some work on Emacs
To make a brave Gnu/Word
I would write some manifestos
Clad in flamewar-proof asbestos
If I only had a Hurd

-----
The text is in the public domain. No offense, honestly :)

Re:games is right

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, lots of people roll their eyes when they see someone refer to Microsoft as 'M$' or Windows as 'WinBlowz' or something like that. Some people might even go as far as to flame you for it. Personally, I'm all in favour of it! Nothing makes me happier when I see someone make fun of Microsoft in that way! You know why? Because the quicker I see 'M$' or 'WinDOS' in a comment, the quicker I can disregard everything you've wrote, scroll past your post and add you to my 'retarded peon' list, never to take anything you say seriously ever again, even if its something completely unrelated. So, in the future, please try and work your tired shots at microsoft in toward the beginning of your posts. Thanks!!!

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[EvilNTUser]

"No, we shall all start using the HURD now."

Yeah, because joining a HURD is the first thing to do when trying to stand out from the crowd.

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[G-funk]

Look Stallman, give it up, we know it's you. And we're still not interested.

Linus Torvalds: The man who started it all

[armando_wall]

From the article: "Linus Torvalds: The man who started it all".

There goes another reading that takes 1 year of life from Richard Stallman!! X-D

Re:Trust the BBC?

[t_allardyce]

Apparently that 45 minute boot-up time was a total lie ;)

Re:kspread? Ew.

[jhoude]

The version that comes with RH 7.5 is the worst paint program I have EVER seen;

I must say I was also very disappointed by RH 7.5. This is probably one of the worst RH release I ever downloaded!

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[Milo77]

it is for this reason that i stopped using linux a few years ago....you see, i am more elite than you...google doesn't even know the os i currently use.

Lets clarify then

[alex_ant]

In its market of greasy-haired filthy sexless computer nerds, Linux is definitely mainstream.

show your boss?

[SQLz]

The article says it all, really, and is probably something you should show your Boss.

If your boss doesn't know about Linux at this point he/she should be fired.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Linux going mainstream?

[Endive4Ever]

Join us.

Eeesh! Now you've got the first phrase of 'The hacker song' sung by R. Stallman going in my head. "Join Us Now and....."

Hey... wait... something's missing

[Senior Frac]

Where is the obligatory Gentoo-freak? Everyone knows you can't mention the word "linux" without one jumping out to scream, "Use Gentoo, just like me!"

Re:Hey... wait... something's missing

[Anonymous Coward]

lol, worst troll ever

Re:games is right

[Malcontent]

Thank god giant corporations have people like you to defend them. the richest man in the world is most grateful to your ceaseless efforts to defend MS from the zealots here on slashdot.

It's gratifying that so many people take time aways from their busy lives to defend corporations like this. People like you who pledge their allegience to a corporation and defend it are a rare and precious commodity these days. Most people seem to be advocating on behalf of some non profit, community, or a worthwhile cause but not you. No sir you are the fearless fighter for MS! The greatest company in the world!.

Screw it!

[evilviper]

Aww, screw it all. I'm tired of trying to explain the benefits of Linux to Windows users. I'm tired of talking until my voice goes out about how terrible Windows is...

I'm just going to leak an ISO onto the net of RedHat, and change the name to:

"Windows 2005 (unreleased) [pirate] NO KEY NEEDED.iso"

Thousands of people "upgrade" to Linux, and everyone is perfectly happy. They will recieve a small error message when they try to play their games of old programs that they are incompatible with the new version of Windows, and should request a new version from the company (nothing new there, Windows upgrades always do that crap). Meanwhile it'll lead them to free equivalents.

Bingo. Linux takes over the world overnight. Companies are suddenly getting hundreds of thousands of requests to port their software to Linux, and many are happy using the free equivalents.

But wait for the government inquiry

[RobWalker]

No doubt Lord Hutton will be appointed, and will come down entirely in favour of Bill Gates, MicroSoft, proprietary software, and the Labour Government. All blame for Linux and all other open source initiatives will be laid on the BBC, causing the chairman and director general to resign. Alastair Campbell will make a speech about how he was right all along, and demanding a full apology. If this is democracy ... someone give me a gun