What is Digg?121 Comments
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -6/+73^^ Windows doesn't ship with multimedia codecs. No DIVX, OGG, DVD MPEG, FLAC, APE, MKV, etc, etc, etc.
- Mejogid, on 10/12/2007, -7/+46Windows doesn't ship with the ability to play DVDs either, you need windvd, nero or something of that nature to provide the codecs. Don't believe me, do a fresh windows install, don't install anything & try to play a dvd.
- billyfoxtrot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35"'We need to do whatever compromise is necessary to get full multimedia capability on Linux so non-technical users don't dismiss us out of hand,' Raymond shouted."
Amen to that. - fitzfan, on 10/12/2007, -27/+60Linux is successful?
- jessejoedotcom, on 10/12/2007, -9/+35Well since I make a living off of it, I'd say yes.
- ScornForSega, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27You guys are ALL missing the point.
What does it matter what it comes with out of the box? The point of an OS is to run PROGRAMS!
Ubuntu's huge now partly due to Synaptic. The whole "drop to command line to compile the software so that it can work on your system" is NEVER going to be accepted by the common user. It's just not going to happen. Get a universal graphical install program and you'll see Linux use shoot up dramatically. - championchap, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23no, but windows does ship with mp3 support, which is still the most widely used music format.
the average user has no idea what FLAC even is.
Just out of the box mp3 support would be a big step in the right direction. - aburd, on 10/12/2007, -14/+30And linux doesn't ship with the ability to play DVDs or mp3s. All of the other codecs are nice, but most people just use those two.
- dukeinlondon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16You have to praise Linspire for doing just that. And Novell for lobbying for industry support.
- dwtd, on 10/12/2007, -9/+22Coming from the perspective of the CG film industry, I'd have to say linux is extremely successful. As I write this over 3000 procs are hard at work on our redhat renderfarm. Most of our competitors are also running linux for their production work. I read through a lot of these digg comments and don't really understand why so many people are so anti-linux. If you want to use Windows go ahead, just realize that for the more tech saavy of us, there are better alternatives.
- ArchieAndrews, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19Agreed. I think we need to hear what the definition of successful is, in this context. Personally, I have no problem with it but I wouldn't call it successful.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15If hardware vendors would write more drivers for Linux it would definitely help market the product more. But until then Linux is, and will be an OS for enthusiasts. And its not just hardware vendors, what about software too? And don't give me any Virtualization non-sense, we are talking about marketing an OS to someone who is not tech savy.
"Ok, install Fedora, Ubuntu, or insert your user friendly OS here . . . your Wireless card wont work? Ok, upgrade the firmware. Install ndiswrapper, extract the driver from the windows *.cab file . . . .", yeah that makes for a marketable OS to the masses.
-btw, I'm using Fedora Core 9, so don't hate. - xutopia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15You won't stop hearing about it that's for sure. My new job requires that I have Linux experience. Wouldn't see that if it wasn't a succesful platform.
- JGuest, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10It is linux.... So it is mentioned
- bignickolson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Incompatibility with what? Networking has always been a breeze in Linux. Admittedly, with wireless networking your mileage may vary..greatly, but standard wired networking has never been any problem for me.
- i440, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16I was thinking that too but it is in the server market, where the majority of systems use Linux AFAIK
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -12/+22Sure it is. Most market share studies show Linux is growing and has already bypassed Apple in terms of market share.
- evolution360, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Linux has, according to IDC
24% of server market and >3% of desktop market
and IDC expects it to reach >6% by end of 2007
this would make it a bigger success Mac OS
oh and as I've posted before it has 74% of the top 500 supercomputers - Stemp, on 10/12/2007, -5/+141% Marketshare ??? where did you get this info ? From Microsoft ?
- paintballpc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Can't beat free!
- ScornForSega, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Wow.. deja vu. I could've sworn I read this before....
http://digg.com/linux_unix/Why_is_Linux_Successful_And_Not_BSD
Oh wait, I did. -_- - eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9My Ubuntu install with XGL/Compiz took me maybe 3 hours, having never installed or used linux before and having no clue what I was doing, to have up, running, looking like Vista, displaying across two monitors, and playing mp3s and DVDs. I wouldn't say it's too hard to get working, and the majority of end users aren't installing their own OS anyways...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8To the guys above-- Could you just run us here through the basic steps to install, say, MP3 and RM (in a browser object) support in Linux on a plain Ubuntu install?
I'll run you through Windows.
1) MP3 - Already installed
2) RM - Go to site that requires RealPlayer. Follow provided link. Download, Run, press next a few times, go back to site. - EpicCrusadr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10The average Joe isn't going tho build his own computer. He goes to Best Buy and buys a computer that has windows and all of the codecs already installed. THAT is what Linux needs to compete with. Who cares what multimedia functions a boxed retail version of Windows gives you? That is not what the average consumer sees when he buys a computer.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9What do you guys do, put that fortune cookie in a note that's always open on your desktop so you can cut and paste it into every forum you visit??? Or do you have it on a short-cut key?
Linux doesn't need to do a damn thing. You can love it or use BSD, plan9, Open Solaris, ReactOS or write your own damn free software system. I've used Linux for ten years and only in the past two have I seen ten thousand busybodies decending on me like a flock of harpies setting this stupid agenda for me.
It works on my conputers, it does everything I need it to do, it has always been a success with me just like it has always been. Go push your agenda somewhere else. - AeroSquid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I've been using Linux for a couple of years now at home and at work. The success Linux has has in the server world is great but it still has a long way to go in desktop computing. I'm excited about Vista because I believe it's overly restrictive DRM will only push more people to Linux (and some to mac too). I hope that within 5 years Linux can claim 10% of all desktops SOLD. Not just us geeks using it at home but off the showroom floor in Best Buy. Until we get that it's going to be an uphill battle.
- fantasticFlan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8"Windows Media Player downloads codecs automagically"
Yeah, that woks like a charm, it sure does... really, I get "codec not found" every ***** time. - chad78, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14That's what I was thinking.
- dwtd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@salmonmoose
All of our artists use linux, and there are quite a few. One of the big advantages of running linux and using propietary software is that you save tons of money on licensing fees. I'm not trying to be confrontational, but there are many people who comment on these articles who are clearly speaking out of ignorance.
And to further my point, it's not just my studio job that has used linux. The R&D work I've done for government and universities also used linux because of it's stability, scalability, cost, etc. How many supercomputers do you see today running an OS other than some flavor of linux. One of my most recent encounters with linux was sitting on a Delta flight looking at the screens in the headrests where I could see their onboard entertainment system booting up in linux.
Yes it's an OS you will encounter much more outside of the home than you will inside the home. But how does that make it not successful?
Sorry for the long post, just a bit confused by all the negativity. - psylence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The filesystem needs to be changed for users to accept it? Which one, reiser, ext2, 3, xfs? The nuts and bolts need to be changed? Oh wait, you don't know what you're talking about? Oh, ok.
- dlozo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10i f i didn't have to jump through hoops to get a wireless card to work with linux, it would be on 2 of my 4 machines!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think the real question is, who asked anybody what Linux should do? Did Linux get where it is today by listening to the mainstream? Did RMS get famous by selling out to the crowd? Has Free Software had to compromise in order to conquer the server room and the supercomputer? Sony is adopting it on the PlayStation 3, for God's sake.
Here I've been happy in my little Linux cave for ten years until all of you came along and started handing me this "To-Do" list. I don't give a thin damn what anybody else defines as successful! It was successful the day it started. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12I guess you guys haven't noticed Windows Media Player downloads codecs automagically as and when you need them ... all you need to do is double click the file. ; )
- Noctem, on 10/12/2007, -8/+14Linux is fairly (or rather, quite) successful in the server market. But it will never become truly successful in the desktop OS market unless some serious changes are made.
- OneAndOnlySnob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7r2d7: Expect to see more Vista desktops at the end of it's first day released then there are Linux. There's probably more people running Vista now then Linux (as a desktop).
Sad but true. Still, the parent is right. If you look at it from the other side, it's pretty substantial. If even 1% of Windows users defect because of Longhorn, the Linux community practically doubles. Maybe it does, I don't know the numbers. The numbers tend to be inconsistent anyway. Anyway, you see what I'm saying, right? That's a pretty big boost in momentum for Linux. Windows won't feel much, but Linux certainly would. - daldredge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What networks cards are you trying to get working?
- totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Maddog Hall said he thinks the success of Linux had a lot to do with the marketing of Linus Torvalds: "Here's this nice young man wearing sandals and with a funny accent, as opposed to other people that weren't quite as nice." *cough STALLMAN cough*
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Disney/Pixar have done all their animation on Linux for sometime. Photoshop doesn't come into this, its a middle of the road program for these guys and is to them what the GIMP is to Photoshop users.
The NHS in Britain is looking at switching over to Linux as well. So the largest employers in Britain will be using it.
Of course Linux is never used in the mainstream outside of the Server room. - skidogallard, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I'm with you there. I am really not looking foward to Vista and all of the DRM crap. I'll either stay with XP, switch to Linux, or buy a Mac.
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Simple install Mepis or Linspire/Freespire. Xandros also has all that stuff out of the box.
Whoever said Linux has to be totally free, you can get Linux for $20 that have all the codecs as standard.
Ubuntu is more middle of the road for new users, designed to ease interested users into the CLI way of thinking while making 95% of it GUI based. The distros above are 'easier' in the Windows sense in that they are 99.9% GUI based.
I won't use them because I find waiting an age for Synaptic to load when I can apt-get in a second is a waste of my time but they do give the things people have been moaning about. Mepis is even based off Ubuntu these days so has Ubuntus hardware support. - totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4would have loved to have seen Raymond shouting that in the conference, scaring the hell out of everyone.
- MacGyversMullet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I've never used Ubuntu, but I kick around in my suse partition whenever I need to do any work (documents, multimedia editing, vector graphics, coding, ect). The thing that makes it really big for me is the sheer value of it. In order to get the same functionality in a pure M$ environment, I'd have to drop a few grand for the type of high-end apps that came on my suse ISO.
- puggy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8glumberg, it's not as easy as you think for most people. In general, people think that they can instruct computers to do stuff by clicking buttons, not typing commands. Think wide. The "grandma-installing-linux" is just a myth.
- psylence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Wow, you should be a market analyst.
- starmanjones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4heres the way i remember it. once back in the day... networks were VAX... VM... VMS... and then UNIX. net admins were gods. got weekends off. paid well. they knew all the secret signs and language...
then one day the bean counters got invited to a weekend microsoft retreat and when they returned they told the net admins that they had bought them Windows NT. [cough] for the next year or two the admins tried to make it work. but they didn't get weekends off because NT went down every few hours and needed a reboot... fixed... it was a dark time.
then... this unix like OS showed up and it was free. so the admins set about making linux do windows things. sharing... mail... all the things.
so within a year of so... the new boxes of Windows NT showed up and they were put on the shelf. way to the back. and the networks became dependable again. and the admins had weekends off again. and the bean counters patted themselves on the back for there great decisions. and linux became real because of the lameness of Windows NT. - reda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Linux IS successful, it has always been
Linux (well, GNU actually) never defined success as having market share, but as having a full operating system, capable of doing most tasks needed by an operating system.
And in that it's obviously more successful than Windows: just compare gimp to ms paint, ooo writer or abi word to wordpad, gedit/kate to notepad, etc, etc .. all default applications with the OS.
It's people getting together and working to make something good and useful for them, what does this have to do with market share ? - GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Google has made a Linux distro for the Googleplex. All of Google runs on Linux. They have no current plans of releasing it though. I imagine they will get their webapp market going strongly and not in beta first. So GoogleOS by 2047.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3 Yeah,Linspire and Novell have the right idea...Get Linux out there preinstalled on computers.
- buckrogers1965, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's been a great success on my desktop since 1993. :)
I switched away from windows so that I could get reliability, long filenames, not have to pay for my OS every couple of years, and so that I could control what happened on my own computer.
As far as having full multimedia capability on a Linux box right out of the gate, someone will have to pony up for the license fees for that. Many of the compression formats and container file formats are proprietary and protected by copyright and patent. And some of these companies have a vested interest in not letting their formats run on a Linux box, so they wouldn't license to you for any amount.
But there are easy to use scripts that will add full multimedia capability to most distributions rather painlessly. And you can then bask in the glory of violating the DMCA every time you watch a DVD movie after that point. - GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Add Syllable to that list of free systems.
Correct Linux needs to do nothing but be useful to its users. It dominates the webserver market and is the fastest growing entity in the general server market with 25% currently. -
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