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- Thue, on 10/11/2008, -0/+17The year of Linux and open source was several years ago for everything but the desktop.
- GoKings, on 10/11/2008, -14/+28The year or Linux and open source! It's just like Duke Nukem Forever...It's definitely coming, but it never does.
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2008, -0/+12Or when they loose their real jobs developing open source software. Just because the software is Free doesn't mean that the labor that went into creating it necessarily was.
- flashback99, on 10/11/2008, -0/+10That is so over-engineered. Nobody wants to be playing with their icons - they want to get work done!
- mlwarrior, on 10/11/2008, -5/+16It's not so good when the developers have to work at their real jobs instead of updating linux files for free.
- bonez56, on 10/11/2008, -1/+8Go open source.
- CCmachined, on 10/11/2008, -2/+8since Apple stuff costs way more, they'll be going downhill. Hehehehe... i'll stick with my Ubuntu, thanks.
- magamiako, on 10/11/2008, -0/+5Actually, I see it as having the opposite effect.
The guys at the very large companies that do most of the core additions to linux will see their jobs cut. They might have to get a new job which doesn't let them sit at work and playing on linux all day.
The thinking would kind of go something like "Well, this hasn't made us that much money yet so we're going to focus on our core products for now."
You'll also see fewer donations to universities to pay the college students to dick around with Linux as well.
With less and less money to go around, companies will hold on to their existing IT infrastructure for a longer period of time. This means, no new boxes, and no new OS. Since most companies pay for Windows licenses when they do upgrade cycles, they're not going to just go out and replace their server machines with linux--they've already paid for those licenses.
Oh, and if any cost cutting happens, you'll see them shave off their $70K/year Systems guys and replace them with guys that will work for $40K/year as contractors so they won't have to pay for health insurance or benefits. - yertthedigger, on 10/11/2008, -1/+6Another Depression but nobody in Silicon Valley could find jobs because open source took all the software writing jobs!
(And honestly, I have mixed feelings on open source; it is a good programing model, good competition, but not the "holy way", and those that make it a religion destroy some of the value of open source for me.) - Vich, on 10/11/2008, -1/+5The year of the linux desktop is an asymptote
- init100, on 10/11/2008, -0/+4"If developers are feeling the pinch like everyone else, do you really expect to them to use their spare time to work on open-source projects?"
Why not, especially for unemployed programmers. If I would be unemployed, I would work on F/OSS all the time. Why? First, I would get bored staring at the ceiling very quickly, I need some intellectual exercise. Second, working on F/OSS projects keep your abilities sharp and looks good on your resume. Working on F/OSS projects every now and then is actually often spelled out in job ads as something employers like. - ronaldmonster, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3Too bad majority of us will be so worried about what the ***** gonna happen too us that Linux will be the last thing on our mind, and this is coming from a Fedora 9 user...
- blipblopblip, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3"Recession Will be Very Kind to Open Source"
Not if the internet shuts down - raydeen, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3That was neat when I first saw it but then I realized it looked too much like my real desk. If I had a desktop like that, I'd never get anything done. I'd just sit there throwing things around. Pretty much like real life.
- CCmachined, on 10/11/2008, -1/+4"(However, I'm not about to stick my neck out and predict 2009 as The Year of the Linux Desktop)"
RTFA - localzuk, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3I think you underestimate the cost of licensing. If it wasn't a costly and profitable business, companies wouldn't exist at the scale they do today - Microsoft, Adobe, AutoDesk etc... massive companies, all built on licensing.
- Ryosen, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3The cost of software is insignificant compared to the cost of the resources required to use and manage that software.
- inactive, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3'desktop' is a metaphor, and quite a stretch at that.
You are like a person who, used to hearing a train called an 'iron horse', sets out to make trains more horselike - grimfandango, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3This is up there in the top 10 most short-sighted pro-Linux articles evaaaar. If developers are feeling the pinch like everyone else, do you really expect to them to use their spare time to work on open-source projects? Even sponsored projects will be affected.
- RadiatedAnt, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3I declare an open source party! someone bring the GPL cake!
I;m sorry I'm so stoned right now :> - hundalz, on 10/11/2008, -4/+6Some good points, and I can see that more businesses will (hopefully) be giving it back to the community. Even if they don't directly invest back into the public, I reckon that general awareness and interest will improve.
What I would like to see is some of the niche industries opening up. A good example is the transportation and logistics industries. They do develop quite a bit of in-house apps and systems to track SCM, deliveries, etc.
If more open source projects get kicked off with enterprise/commercial backing, then it will be absolutely awesome! - inactive, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3I manage ~300 linux 'desktops' as part of my job, granted it's for geoligic scientific work, but there you go. Of course we are vendor locked to use RHEL which is the worst desktop imaginable.
- Pablitos, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2I agree with that. What a waste. Nobody's going to want to use that.
- exspasticcomics, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2ya.. software totally sucked during the first great depression :P
you know what I meant.. - sponeil, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3"I think that now is a great time for M$ to abandon it's punitive licencing scheme and go to something that adds value for the customer."
You do know how publicly traded companies work, right? It's all about maximizing profits and increasing shareholder value (which the CEO is bound by law to attempt). Very few try to do that solely by adding value for the customer to attract new customers. When you're close to being a monopoly, that's nearly impossible because there are too few new customers to attract. Companies at the bottom will try that in an attempt to displace companies at the top, but if they get to the top they run into the same problem. How do they continue growing and not become stagnant? Not saying it's a good thing, but that's how it usually is. - srg13, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2I think a good search tool like Tracker, and a launcher like Gnome Do is a far more productive way of dealing with files and applications - I'd much rather just whack part of the name in a box than have to search through a bunch of stacked icons on my desktop.
- ethana2, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2http://i35.tinypic.com/fxqb9w.jpg
..I am loving my Ubuntu Dell Inspiron 1420n. Everything Just Works.
I probably paid like a $100 premium just to not have to screw with windows, but you know, time is worth money.
..getting a 1525n for my mom soon :) - awitod, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2Microsoft's strongest growth over the last few years has come from the server space. So, I'm not sure how you can say they are 'losing badly to Linux'. I agree that the LAMP stack is great, but there is more to a data center than web servers.
- init100, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1@FKnight and @dotnetnoob
In countries outside the United States, there is this thing called unemployment insurance. You pay it while employed, and if you are laid off, you are paid by the insurance fund. This means that unemployed does not equal no money. Of course you should be looking for a job (as the insurance pay is usually lower than your regular salary, but at least you can survive), but it isn't as threatening as if you would have no money at all. - ethana2, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Actually, the year of the linux phone is 2009...
- ZGambit, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Adobe doesn't need much advertising to promote there products.. A lot of people expect them... If not there are more cost effective ways to market.
- thefinger, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1In a fair and just and perfect world, I'd be able to slap you upside the head for every time you did the M$ crap. Knock it off. Your hatred is a 90s relic.
Oh and learn to spell. - thefinger, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Well lessseee here. Hardly anyone gets paid for writing/developing oss. Hardly anyone pays FOR oss. As long as the internet dumptrucks stay going, I foresee no change in the status quo.
- mahadiga, on 10/11/2008, -0/+1You may setup a consulting company offering customized solutions to all software projects listed in http://sourceforge.net
- exspasticcomics, on 10/11/2008, -3/+4well- at least during the 'great depression part II' the software will be nice. LOL.
- blipblopblip, on 10/11/2008, -2/+3Software is never finished. The only difference is, commercial software has to have a higher version number and all the features that exist working to some degree.
- grimfandango, on 10/11/2008, -0/+1here! here!
- asilentecho, on 10/11/2008, -0/+1Wrong on all three points:
First, a recession will not be good for innovation. Innovation generally stems from some amount of risk in the marketplace and with a credit problem there will be far fewer companies willing to take greater chances, let alone new companies that are capable of delivering true innovation.
Second, the shortage of cash might lead people to investigate cheaper consumer options, but more likely this will lead to fewer developers working on open source projects on the side. Companies like Canonical that are part of driving the movement will be just as impacted by a recession as a larger company.
Third, we have yet to see how cloud computing from a company like Microsoft will actually work. It seems highly unlikely that Windows Cloud will serve to bolster anyone other than Microsoft from the information we currently have. - ethana2, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1For most of my family it was 2007. For the rest it's probably 2008... and for some it will be 2009 or later.
Screw desktops- Ubuntu can double your laptop battery life. - earthforce1, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1That is until the marketing departments budget gets cut by 75% and they have to make some hard decisions.
- earthforce1, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1I think they were looking at consumption, not production. A lot of companies (and governments) will decide it isn't worth the cost and headache of "upgrading" to Vista and Office 2007, and buying expensive new hardware to support it.
- fish79, on 10/16/2008, -0/+0I think the economic crisis will effect companies that make a profit, but won't affect open source software.
Here is a good chance for companies counting their pennies to seriously consider Linux and other free open source software alternatives. At present I don't understand how people and corporations are will to pay for software, where there is a viable free alternative. - dotnetnoob, on 10/11/2008, -0/+0The cost of software is cheaper than the cost of labors.
1. There are too many people more familiar with Windows than Linux. The cost of retraining to use free software will probably exceed the cost of commerical software liscenses.
2. Unless the Open Source projects that you are working on generate money for your company. Otherwise, it is a cost that must be cut in order to free up cash.
3. If you don't have a job and bills to pay, would you spend more time coding on Open source projects or job hunting?
4. Open Source projects depend on donation and free "labors". If companies/people stop the donation on both money and labor. How's recession is good for Open Source?
Commerical software like Windows and Office does not depend on free "labor" and donation like Open Source software. The recession is actually bad for Open Source because commerical software companies can now hire Open Source programmers to work on their products. - zonian05, on 10/11/2008, -0/+0It appears to me that Google is in a prime position to dominate Microsoft during this decline. Having just launched Google Chrome and having become very good with the cloud computing concept over the last couple of years they are in a very good position to dominate. Open source and cloud computing appear to be the way of the immediate future and Google is good at both.
- gilbes, on 10/11/2008, -0/+0On the server take in to account:
-The cost of employing an admin(s).
-Hardware
-Utitilities
-Space (rent etc)
-Training
-Support
etc.
The cost of software becomes fairly insignifigant compared to that. On the desktop or worstation, outside of some very specific tasks Linux still doesn't have enough. The designers in marketing are not going to be giving up the Photoshop for GIMP any time soon. - ACalcutt, on 10/11/2008, -1/+1This was the closest i could find on such short notice :-)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/itconservative/Rugwm_4MuDI/AA ... - ethana2, on 10/12/2008, -1/+1Is my machine going to crash? Is it going to keel over and completely die? Is a virus going to steal my important data? Do I have a trojan?!
Too bad majority of us will be so /not/ worried about what the ***** gonna happen to you that you'll get no sympathy nor support, because with the financial crunch, we have better things to do than support idiots who don't need the application compat of windows yet won't switch to a better OS.. - garrett2399, on 10/13/2008, -0/+0I agree with the author in that I think tough financial times will give way to an increase in innovation and cloud computing. Open source software should benefit from the fact that people will be less willing to pay for software. Although I do think that people will need find a way to make money and this may decrease the time they have to work for free.
- dotnetnoob, on 10/11/2008, -0/+0If you are unemploy programmer and you got bills to pay. Would you not spend at least more than 8 hrs on job hunting and talk to staffing firm? You might even get out of software industry because you got bills to pay!
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