Does Linux have a chance of ever being a serious player
on the desktop?

Will Linux really be able to compete with Longhorn?

Although I dont think SCO's claims have merit, could similar
concerns inhibit future corporate adoption?


Just curious about what people think.

yes...it already makes for a kickass desktop.

no, it won't be able to compete with longhorn, because they are in two very different worlds. Linux is about making a good operating system, and has very little to do with competition. Longhorn is an attempt to completely obliterate anything non-microsoft, has nothing to do with quality, and has too much to do with profit and ridiculous licensing.
Linux doesn't have to compete, because MS will eat itself.

No idea what that third thing means....corporate adoption of what? Linux? It doesn't really matter. If somehow SCO manages to win its battles, the GPL sources are still available....a new and better OS will rise quickly if the courts agree with SCO.

With the making of Sun's free 3D Java desktop for use on linux (along with their OS), I would have to say longhorn should be prepared to be blown out of the water.

Sun has also made a deal with China to install linux on 200+million computers - and I don't doubt for a minute that some of that money will go to fund the 3D Java desktop.

If and when M$ falls, I doubt very seriously there will ever be another OS supergiant. Linux is going for free - Open Source, and Sun's 3D Java desktop for linux is Open Source and Open Standard... basically meanings its free for implementation :-)

If you are a M$ troll just trying to start trouble - think of a better topic because M$ has nothing on Linux.

Im definately not a "microsoft troll". Ive been running Mandrake 9.1 for a couple
of months now and Im happy with it overall.

And Im definately not looking to start a flame war.

Let me rephrase.

1. Do you see Linux as ever becoming a mainstream desktop OS? As
in %15 of desktops or more.

2. In regards to Longhorn, this question is as much about installed
base as anything else. Will this be a period where Linux could gain ground?
Or will microsoft solidy its stranglehold on the desktop?

3. Please let me emphasize. I think SCO epitomizes "full of it". But what if
someone brought a similar lawsuit that actually had merit?

Ive heard about this "3d desktop" and Im looking forward to seeing it. But
microsoft will rip it off if its really a huge leap forward.

If im rehashing old topics Im sorry. Im new to this forum and Im honestly
just curious.

And this is the General section where such things are allowed.

SCO is just after the kernel. The software will still exist. Personally, and I'm definately not speaking for the rest of the Linux users, I'd lay low in BSD land until any offending code is removed from Linux, or a new replacement kernel(HURD comes to mind) springs up. That's just what I'd do, and only in the unlikely event that SCO's case somehow holds water.

[RANT]
I don't really think they have a case, though. I personally think they're just making one desperate last move before their company collapses in on itself. They're trying to complete one or both of two goals, make as much money off of their "Linux licenses" while they can, and due to their complete incompetence at selling UNIX, attempt to discourage people from using Linux. It's quite obvious that they're failing at both.
[/RANT]

No. Its to difficult for the average user to configure and setup stuff like X and system devices.
Its a hassle just to get the drives working for a user. Its been said a million times before but ill say it again. The average " COMPUTER USER " wants to sit down and use it, not configure and play with things for hours. If Linux is setup by an administrator like at a business then given to a user I believe that would workout but for an average windows user to install Linux and try to get it going as a desktop is still pretty tough.

I see where you're coming from - however, the average user also buys a PC with Windows pre-installed, along with alot of space-wasting software. Everything has been preconfigured for that specific computer model. If Linux was put into circulation on new PCs - in working order just like Windows - this wouldn't be a problem at all.

The only reason the "average user" would have to setup Windows is if they were building a computer from scratch - something the "average user" does not do ;-)

I see Linux eventually taking about 25% of the desktops out there. KDE and Gnome are already superior to Windoze 2000 and even XPee in the interface department. They are infinitely customizable and versatile. Plus there are tons of other window managers out there as well. Choice is better than flavored crap any day of the week.

I see the groudswell of users forcing software makers to start making multiplatform titles,... games are already starting to be so. I just picked up Unreal Tournament 2004. It's very good. Plus it's got a little picture of Tux on the box. Linux is listed under required OS (unsupported by Atari, but hell... can't get everything).

SCO is just a lone company trying to do a stock kiting manuever. When (not if) they get the big slap-down by IBM, it will make it clear to everyone that Linux and open source are here to stay. I also forsee the Courts ruling that open source as a movement is a cultural phenomena and as a matter of public policy they would be unwilling to stop it, even if SCO did prove that some of their IP leaked into Linux (a chance of somewhere around that of a snowball in hell). I think they would limit SCO's damages to $$$ rather than permit an injunction. Furthermore, SCO's attempts to extort money out of end users won't stand either. If I bought a Pepsi that was packaged in a Coke bottle, Pepsi couldn't win against me for the price of the soda. Same for SCO (if they even COULD prove their IP was in Linux).

I'm no law pro JaseP, but I'm totally sure you have all that pinned down. And I think that's a worst case scenario.

i see it already starting to happen. from small to large companies, but not so much for home users YET. a lot of homeusers are either adults who just browse the web, or are kids who play games.

for games Linux suxxx0r. yeah there are a few FPS type games out there for *nix, but as a general rule the best games are for M$.

as for longhorn... /rude for 1 simple reason. IIRC you not only have to buy a 'tempory' license for the server, but you also have to buy 'temporary' ones for the workstations too. that in its self is the #1 reason im moving away from M$, and not upgrading my server from win2k to any other vs of M$. 2k does all i need to do, and MORE then 2003server does.

plus i dont have to buy new license for my win2k pro workstation, if i ran 2003server id have to either buy a new computer and upgrade to XP, or buy an eighteen month license for my win2k pro box. that to me is just plane and simple bullshit. i already paid 1 time for the OS and license that goes along with it, ill be damned if ill pay it a second time and then again and again and... nope not going to happen for me.

so yeah i see Linux blowing Longhorn out of the water, but more so i see Novell blowing both out of the water.

as for SCO:

A. no merrit to their claim or they would of taken the GNU group up on their offer to remove said code.

B. to old, to late. there is a thing out there in the law that basicaly states if something has been going on consistantly for X amount of time, then no matter what the 'contract' states the way it is handled is now the real and binding contract. this also goes with CW and TM material.

as for other companies placing a claim vs the GNU i highly doubt it for the simple fact that all of the source code is 100% public, thus verifiable not to be copied from an illegal source.

<could be a rant... be warned>
To BajaNick: I think that linux has the best driver detection on install out there. Installing Linux is a breeze. You get an awesome system for 5 minutes brain usage.
However, it is easy to mess up if you meddle. However, kiddie-gamers
(my sister loves the games that game with gnome, I have to kick her off my comp a lot.)
and adult-surfers will not meddle. Mozilla rocks.
Linux is great. Only if you mess around with root do you burn your hands. I want to see "windows as only exists under winex" as the future.

</could be a rant... be warned>

titanium_geek

Yea, I meddled with XFree under mandrake and screwed it up
so i switched to Slack and its even eisier to screw up LOL .

I have been using Linux as my primary desktop for about three years or so - since about the time OS X Public Beta shipped. No correlation - just a time marker. (I've been using Linux longer - just not as my primary desktop)

LOTD has come a LONG LONG way. There was a time when I had to run OS 8/9 on a mac beside my linux box just to deal with spreadsheets and word documents - because the only Linux option for word was Star Office, which either didn't render correctly or was busy crashing - and star office/gnumeric for excel files - and neither worked well.

MS Excel 5 was the one MS app I really liked. The newer MS Excel I didn't like.
Current Gnumeric is a dream - it really is - and is BETTER than what MS has to offer.
Current AbiWord is also awesome - it does have some bumps with MS Word, but as a stand alone word processor - it rocks, it really does.

Evolution was my favorite mail client - but it's getting more and more bloated (the way Excel did after Excel 5) etc. - but Balsa is there for me and really workable - it's great!

The Gimp is absolutely awesome - and the gnome desktop environment, when it hit 2.2 release - really was where I thought it should be.

I never liked KDE but I've been playing with it in Mandrake 10 and it's damned good now.

LOTD is a reallity - it's here and ready for the prime time. It will take some time to get good marketshare, the marketing just doesn't exist - but it ready here and now.

GNUCash needs some work and online banks need to work with it - but I hear some German banks do, so maybe not too much longer and it will.