is linux ready for desktop?? i would say that linux is definitely ready for a computer savvy person. but for the normal user who want ease of operation over other things... i doubt it. linux is become very user friendly over the years but it is still not ready for the occasion. linux setting up things takes a long time and one has to remember a lot of commands. for the normal user who mainly use computer to check emails, its not worth the effort.

I wonder how many home users that are still running Windows 98 and ME might look into open source in the near future as their hardware is probably old, yet they don't want to throw it out and might seek an alternative.

I'm not so sure about that.

If someone can do word processing using OpenOffice.org and browse the web using Firefox on Windows, then surely they could do exactly the same thing under Linux without any difficulty.

The only real obstacle (that I've experienced) to taking up Linux is installing software. Once the software is installed (and most "average" users probably don't do this themselves under Windows anyway) then using it is much the same as under Windows.

Software availablilty is another issue, but that all depends what software you need. If all you need is, for example, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Thunderbird, the basic web browser pluggins and a basic MSN client (which is probably all an "average" user needs), then that's probably not an issue for you.

In other words the "average" user who only really needs OpenOffice and Firefox, and who gets an expert to set their machine up for them, won't notice much difference between running the same programs under Windows or Linux.

I think there is a misconception of what makes linux difficult. Windows doesn't offer you an enormous database of software that will be fetched, configured, and installed inside of a single program. Even if you are forced to install the software yourself, is it that much more difficult to learn ./configure && make && make install over open folder -> find setup file and open -> walkthrough setup with your friendly wizard. It is a matter of what is expected to use the computer, and linux doesn't make it any more difficult, it is simply different...but, in fact, Windows is different because Unix was here first!

To go along with hand of fate, my parents (parents using linux is like a geek fetish, I think?) had a spare computer laying around that they weren't using, I took the liberty of installing gentoo and setting it up nicely for them. It had only the software they used, no clutter and no long waits for the system to start up. The fact of the matter is, that it was linux was transparent to them, it didn't LOOK like windows, but it was intuitive enough and things were where they were expected to be so that when they ran into a problem that didn't respond like Windows, they simply did what came to mind. Of course, they no longer were able to hand money out to Norton every year for updates, they didn't have the opportunity to combat spyware and viri with "recommended scheduled updates", they didn't even have the chance to fund the evil Microsoft empire or call them up and explain to them why they would possibly want to install Windows on their new system (mass hardware change red-flag) or on a second system!!

The Mac commercial about sums it up, the only two things Windows comes with is a calculator and clock (but then again, Mac's don't come with anything cool but a widget). By the way, my parents were using Openbox ;)

Perhaps screenshots will confirm it:

• Yahoo Weather in Firefox
• Yahoo Weather set up in Epiphany

I use Debian Sarge, with add-ons from Christian Marillat's repository, and Sun Java runtime environment 1.5, installed from the bin file at Sun's website, using java-package.

Note: I could not get Yahoo Weather working in Konqueror, though.
The Yahoo News site, which is flash based (perhaps flash 8), doesn't work with either Konqueror or Firefox. I tried the Yahoo News site with Konqueror, since Konqueror seems to handle flash better than the others, but it crashed trying to render it. Like I've said before, just get the news directly from the actual news sources (ie, CNN), rather than via Yahoo. CNN, or CBC, or whatever, will work.

PS, I only showed MPlayer loading in screenshot one. It was not possible to take a screenshot of the actual film being displayed -- but it was displayed.
PPS, If anyone can get the Yahoo News site working with their distro, I'd be really curious to hear about it.
PPPS, If the above screenshots aren't working when you click them, it's because my server is down.

When you start reinstalling windows every week because of virii, it is certainly worth the effort. Having to learn how to install windows, search your house for the box where the 20 digit key is written and download antivirus software and update and setup a firewall and downloadding firefox and all is much more effort IMO.

Apart from some sound issues I have been getting, I can safely say that Linux is ready for my desktop! I recently sold my Linux running Dell and aquired a Windows running Packard Bell thing and a laptop. Well today the Microsoft rage came back to me at work as I struggled with domains! I know what I must do, I must reinstall Linux on the laptop and Packard Bell!

Maybe that's the important part...

I too can safely say that Linux is ready for my desktop.

So regardless of the fact that Linksys has a section related to a whole line of GPL'ed drivers on their site, as well as many wireless GPL'ed drivers, you say it is a big problem?

Their "Easy Answers" section could have a few more Linux-related questions, but from the perspective of a proprietary company its all too likely that they're trying to conform to the GPL in their refusal to provide official support.

In practice, I have set up a wireless card on my Linux box (I use Ubuntu 5.10) with absolutely no mess. It was a WMP54G, which they didn't even list in their drivers section. . .Ubuntu caught it on first install as a RaLink RT2500.

And I knew absolutely nothing about wireless at the time.

I used it for two months before taking it out. There were no problems in obtaining the signal and no problems in browsing the Internet.

Just because it isn't officially supported, doesn't mean it won't work, but that they didn't take the time to see if it worked.

I have to disagree. . .not YET ready. . .
 

I think LINUX is not YET ready for desktop (when I say "desktop," I mean "mass market" desktop, not just for computer-geek-wannabes like me) due to the following:

1) KDE vs Gnome -- Pick one. Yes, just one. The "mass market" is full of people not smart enough to even install / update their anti-virus and firewall for Windows. Having 2 different interfaces just confuses people these people beyond belief. . .heck. . .it even confuses me. . .and I am smart enough to install / update my anti-virus and firewall for Windows.

2) Support -- Unless you have some corp backed version of LINUX, there is rarely a central point for customer concerns. For example, I have to jump from forum to forum, website to website, etc. . .most people in the "mass market" just won't put up with that.

3) Distribution -- Most people (again, "mass market") do not know WTF an "ISO" file is, let alone how to burn an image to CD (as opposed to a regular data CD).

4) Training -- I suppose this could be lumped under "support," but training is a big issue. WTF do I have to "mount" a drive? WTH does that mean anyways? Questions like these are common from people used to a Windows only world.

5) Hardware -- Generally I have been fortunate. . .but I know of many other LINUX users who had to go through so much grief to get their computer to work properly with a printer, monitor, etc. . .that they just give up.

Luckily, I only need Windows for TV (via TV Tuner) and games. . .I can use LINUX for my basic computer needs and since I don't do anything too fancy, my dual set up works for me. However, to really break into the "mass market" I think the LINUX community must address those few issues I brought up. Note that those issues are not so much "technical" issues as they are "marketing" and "support" issues.

Ok, I'm done ranting. . .You can hang me now. :)

Hi Raven

Here's how it goes:
If I go to netgear or linksys, and type in the search field, "linux". The only result that I may get is for "routers" that in the product spec's say : Operating systems supported, Windows, Mac, Linux.

Now I do NOT get any Open Source links, or any idea that Linksys or Netgear have any support for products that are "linux ready".

So If I were a person who saw someone using a live cd, or tried a live cd, and say to myself, "you know I might want to try linux" and then they say "and I wonder if my wireless card will work, or if I need a new one."