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Linux finds its feet as Vista struggles on - New Survey

zdnetasia.com — Almost a year on from the release of Microsoft's Windows Vista, only 13% of companies surveyed say they expect to move all desktops to the operating system.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 26, 2007

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  • plizard, on 11/26/2007, -9/+67i made my own operating system out of bananas
  • schestowitz, on 11/26/2007, -18/+53These results from this survey (published last week actually) show that, interestingly enough, Linux appeal in the enterprise pretty much surpasses all others, including Apple Macs. It could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
  • SuperDelen, on 11/26/2007, -8/+42Ya no one cares, try being a sys admin for a 500+ machine company then get back to me.
  • schnikies79, on 11/26/2007, -8/+41I'm happy with XP. I see no reason to go vista or linux.
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+23But the more people using Linux, the better it gets for me, because there are more coders and bug reporters.

    The more people using Windows, the less reason they have to impress people, so the worse it gets for its users.
  • objectcode, on 11/26/2007, -2/+24theres your problem, you gave up
  • suppressingfire, on 11/26/2007, -3/+24Thanks for the opinion lacking any presentation of evidence!
  • dsmx, on 11/26/2007, -1/+21The bigger problem is the stupidly high system requirements for vista. I would rather microsoft concentrated on making the operating system less resource intensive so you could put the freed up resources to better use. Such as running dx10 at higher frame rates than dx9.
  • niallabrown, on 11/26/2007, -2/+20Not with Vista. My board opted out of a vista upgrade when it could have easily afforded it. Thank goodness they did.
  • chronichyjinx, on 11/26/2007, -2/+20"Forty-four percent said they are "considering" alternative operating systems--mostly Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Red Hat Linux, Suse Linux and Ubuntu."

    Ubuntu is so good, that they will implement it twice!
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -2/+20banubutu!
  • a3r0, on 11/26/2007, -7/+25Companies take forever to upgrade. Most haven't even switched to XP
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+18I'd just like to see a list of the benefits Vista provides to a corporate environment verses the the compatibility issues that are apparent.
  • TeacherOfHeroes, on 11/26/2007, -0/+16Well, linux *is* terrible at vendor lock-in, and apple certainly does *that* better...
  • DangerCollie, on 11/26/2007, -3/+18"Linux will never, ever, be a *real* player in the desktop environment."
    I'm going to put that quote away and take it out in three years. We'll see who's laughing then. I have exactly one model Windows machine on my home network. One left over Xandros and various flavors of Ubuntu. You can build and operate a business without Microsoft...without proprietary software at all if you have the time.
    I'd argue that Linux is a real player on the desktop right now, today.
  • kevcool, on 11/26/2007, -2/+16Most IT managers know Linux is a better solution. They're held back by their deeply ingrained dysfunctional co-dependent relationship with proprietary software. Continuing that disfunction means job security in many cases.
  • korashime2001, on 11/26/2007, -1/+15And that, is the ballgame. XP is perfectly competent. Just get me that third service pack, and we will probably be on XP for another two years.
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -2/+15I doubt there's 500 instances of Vista running in all schools combined throughout the state of NC. No way they would pay for that.
  • schnikies79, on 11/26/2007, -3/+16With a good firewall, 3rd party browser and some anti virus software, it doesn't really matter.

    Either way, the EOL is a few years away.
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -3/+15Yes apple is great at rebranding FreeBSD
  • lowerlogic, on 11/26/2007, -1/+12maybe because no one has talked to you since the 90's.
  • legendxx, on 11/26/2007, -3/+14but they spent 5 years on vista to give you translucent windows! how can you turn them down?
  • TeacherOfHeroes, on 11/26/2007, -2/+12Not to mention linux is better at 'being open source' - that one's kind of a given, though.
  • CraigJ, on 11/26/2007, -1/+11The biggest competition for Vista is XP. My company has over 6,000 systems (not including servers) and IT has no plans to move to Vista. In fact, I think the current working model is to stockpile XP licenses and rely on our own internal staff for support for the foreseeable future. There is zero reason to move to Vista in terms of benefit to the company. Microsoft will cave and extend support for XP, just like the did for NT4.0, 98SE and 2000. Personally, I'm getting a couple of new personal systems in December, and I'm ordering them with XP.
  • geddon, on 11/26/2007, -3/+12Linux is encroaching into the mindshares of average people around the world who used to believe that "free software is worth what you pay for."
  • allan17, on 11/26/2007, -6/+14What needs to be improved? It does everything I want to do, and it's stable.
  • dacheetah, on 11/26/2007, -0/+8Likewise at the school I work at. Sticking with XP for the moment, wouldn't touch Vista with a 10 foot pole.
    (And I have no say in the matter, but am very glad that they are refusing to "upgrade" to vista.)
  • dacheetah, on 11/26/2007, -2/+10Linux can be installed on 10,000 computers for the same price as on one computer, and run on basically any hardware, not just PowerPC and intel x86.
    (You did "Whatever Linux can do"...)
    Besides, Mac OS X is basically just *nix with an expensive face lift and a few extra APIs.
  • MWeather, on 11/27/2007, -0/+8Vista activation requires you run an internal activation server, or punching a hole in your firewall to allow activation traffic. This is re-curring. There is no permanent activation. So if your activation server ***** up, or can't connect to Microsoft's servers, they get deactivated.

    Seeing as how Microsoft's own servers have already gone down and temporarily deactivated many, many copies of vista, it is not a good idea to use Vista for anything mission-critical.
  • dacheetah, on 11/26/2007, -2/+9Except that updates source code goes public before the update gets approved, and It's not likely to get past that step.
    Windows updates have to be installed by someone with a packet sniffer or the like before they can confirm what it does or does not do.
  • tictac888, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7Reminds me of Blazing saddles :

    Hedley Lamarr: Qualifications?
    Applicant: Rape, murder, arson, and rape.
    Hedley Lamarr: You said rape twice.
    Applicant: I like rape.

    Perhaps they like Ubuntu ?
  • inactive, on 11/27/2007, -0/+7@mem2: OS X is based on Darwin (mach kernel), although it does have a subsystem with parts from FreeBSD (and, I think, OpenBSD).
  • krc1, on 11/27/2007, -1/+8"...work out issues with things like Wireless cards and networking that don't exist with any version of Windows. "

    You're kidding, right?
  • AwesomeAndy, on 11/26/2007, -4/+11North Carolinians.
  • atbnet, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7How is this news? When I graduated high school in 2005 just about every single computer was running Windows 98. XP was on the Dells that were slowly being deployed. Hell, there were Macs with OS 7 or 8 in the library. If something works just fine, why would companies or schools spend thousands to upgrade to an OS that came out less than a year ago.
  • roebeet, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7Agreed that it has a long road ahead before it becomes a standard desktop for home and business users. But that's mainly due to application dependencies. Vista has been a blow to MS mainly due to hardware requirements for upgrades - but they are still making inroads on new installations (as they have done for over a decade).

    But I wouldn't say "never". If the gaming vendors ever swing cross-platform and abandon DX for example, then MS is in big trouble.
  • schnikies79, on 11/26/2007, -10/+17how about some proof that microsoft has access to all information any time they want. a real link please, not a blog.

    there have been plently of people that have checked windows udpate and wga and found no personal information is sent.
  • reedatschool, on 11/26/2007, -3/+10That is why you don't run the IT department.

  • reedatschool, on 11/26/2007, -3/+10It is apparent that Microsoft's ability to keep track of what you install and what you run on your computer has increased dramatically. The only real question is when they are going to use this information not if they are going to use it. They may not be actively key-logging everyone in America, but they certainly have the ability to deliver an
    "update" that does just that.

    Personally I think it is outright insane to trust the majority of our computing to a single company in the US. That chances for corruption multiply whenever you have a single provider for any service, how could anyone deny this is true for Microsoft?

  • JoelBakan01, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7I like it. Now high tech jobs can be outsourced to monkeys.
  • opencoder, on 11/27/2007, -0/+6I think you are mistaken here. Linux is a great system. I used to fight for the Linux(Ubuntu specifically) community like a zealot. I used to trash Microsoft and Apple and tell everybody that they should switch to Ubuntu because it was so nice and clean. And they weren't a monopoly pushing everybody else out. I used all the arguments held by many FSF zealots.

    Then I stopped caring. I let all of my friends use whatever they want. I kept using Ubuntu(I ran Windows for Call Of Duty). My friends saw me using this system almost all the time. They started to jump on board. My friend runs Ubuntu on his laptop. I got two other friends running it on their desktops. My one Mac friend is even considering running Ubuntu on his Mac. I know this might seem like a tangent, but they realized the same thing I did when I stopped being zealot. There is no right way to do things. And what works better for one person isn't going to be the end all solution for somebody else. This is where most of the Mac Cult loses me. Their solution for every problem is "buy a mac." There are tons of ways to use your computer. The people that choose to learn more than way broaden their perspectives and learn more. The true question isn't about which system is better. It's which user is better. The one who sticks with his Mac. Or the one that tries out some other systems and learns a little bit more. The worst thing you can do is preach one system without knowing the advantages of others.
  • andycr512, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6XP is a very usable OS. I use Linux because it fits my needs better than XP and far better than Vista, but for many that won't be the case - to each his own.
  • inactive, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6We JUST switched to XP SP2 a month ago. Took us years to iron out all our in house application issues etc. Seriously. We were running NT4 and Win2K, before we switched and I don't see us ever going to Linux because of those very same in house applications etc.
  • schnikies79, on 11/26/2007, -4/+10Google desktop does indexed search for me. I don't want a 3d desktop since I mainly use a notebook and that means shorter battery life. Google desktop again provides widgets.

    It's stable as hell. I never get a BSOD, ever.
  • objectcode, on 11/26/2007, -2/+8last school district i interned at was running windows 2000 and that was a year ago. i know because i helped run updates and virus definitions on in all 4 buildings. SuperDelen was talking about running vista on 500+ machines, since thats what he was replying to.
  • DreKor, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6I'm sitting next to a couple of machines that are still on 2000 or ME. It's not pretty, but it's a reality.
  • andycr512, on 11/26/2007, -5/+11On a plane and in a barn?
  • bettermentflux, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7I think the point of this article has been missed in the previous comments. From the conclusion of the article:

    "I think it's becoming clear that the desktop is turning into a legacy market of diminishing importance."...

    "... in a way, asking whether GNU/Linux will ever take a substantial share of the traditional desktop market is the wrong question, albeit a natural one; that's the past. What's much more interesting is the share of the future personal computing sector--Web-based systems, ultraportables, mobiles--and there it's clear that GNU/Linux is already well ahead."
  • TehDoctor, on 11/26/2007, -2/+8I used to say that, too, until I used Linux. I'm not saying it can't be a bitch to install, that X11 is perfect, and that everyone should love the command line (though I do), but there are a lot of little things that *nix systems do that Windows doesn't. Like the highlight to copy, middle click to paste feature in X, or scrolling background windows that Apple /just/ incorporated into Leopard, or being good at managing memory, or being secure by keeping ports closed and having true permissions and privilege systems. The point is, if you've only used a garbage operating system that does the bare minimum to accomplish what you have to do, you'll be complacent. But when you've used a system that has better features, going back to that garbage system is extremely aggravating. I'm sure you'd know what I mean if you'd just give another OS a try.
  • matdevdug, on 11/26/2007, -3/+9Seriously IT people hate ALL change. I remember when 2000 came out and everyone bitched for weeks.

    In regards to Linux and Ubuntu, the distro I am most comfortable with, it just isn't ready for the corporate world. It requires far too much customization and work by the end-user. The only way you could switch to Linux is if you purchased all of your computers for your business at once and then swallowed the costs of migrating the Linux once. However I have seen small companies try the Linux route only to have to go to IT and work out issues with things like Wireless cards and networking that don't exist with any version of Windows.
    For my customers, I regularly put Ubuntu on older peoples computers. It runs great, allows them to get on the Internet and has tons of great features for them. There are ALWAYS problems but I go to the Ubuntu forums and figure it out. For a small business or any business where time = money, I never recommend Linux for anything other than servers because it is not worth it in terms of the massive amount of tech support needed to get everyone up to speed. In ten years Linux is going to be a viable business idea but only after one distro has really launched out from the geek shadows and become well-known enough. In short people are never going to switch to an unknown at work when they don't understand it enough to put it on their laptops at home.
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