Linux to gain from desktop PCs
 

Linux is expected to make steady gains over the next few years on the desktop PCs of small businesses, according to a new report.

The report, released Monday by The Yankee Group, says Linux has minimal presence among business with 500 employees or fewer, with not even 1 percent of such companies currently using Linux on desktop PCs.

That will change, however, as companies replace aging equipment running outdated software. Three percent to 5 percent of small businesses surveyed expect to have the majority of their PCs running Linux within the next six to 12 months, according to the report. The portion grows to 4 percent to 10 percent when looking at plans for a year from now, according to the report, with businesses having 20 or fewer employees showing the most enthusiasm for Linux.

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I really really hope so. I recently reinstalled the pc of my mom and dad and installed fedora core 2, still they are very pleased. Funny fact that the first thing they sad after using it for a week: "Wow, this thing never chrashes anymore" :D .

I really hope more and more people will make the step from windows to linux and that they will see the advantages of an open source OS

I did the same for my aunt recently and within a few days she was singning praises to linux because of the stability and the availability of lots of free applications. I think linux has the potential to keep rising if users can show others the benefits of Linux compared to Windows.

Stability really is the selling point for users to convert. Hopefully the major distro houses will develop products specifically to China and Russia as that is where I think the battle will be won. In much of the western world, users and businesses in the demographic groups which can afford and have need to use computers, have them. Linux must try to get as many of them to convert as possible but should also push their products for these new markets. Most of China simply do not have computers. There is plenty of profit to be made providing support for first time users if a big installation base can be created.

I plan to start an onsite PC repair service and I already have my Fedora box set up with GNU Cash, OpenOffice.org, and Dia Diagrams in case I need it. It cost me next to nothing for CD-Rs (thanks to gf) and I'm already ready to go. Thanks Linus and GNU and all other OSS folks.

Well,linux on the desktop is a good option not just due economy,but coz it is a much better than M$ products.Ports exist for most commonly used M$ apps for the desktop.Of course, there are native apps too,that give m$ products a run for their money.
I think the marketing strategy for linux over the years has been pretty shoddy.That's the reason most average desktop computer users around the world haven't even heard about there being another OS named Linux. Since many Linux distros are community effortsd,it is quite imaginable that they haven't been able to reach out to everybody in the world. i think here the FSF and OSI has a major role to play.The linux community needs to capitalize on the fact that M$ products aren't as great as Open Source software.i'm referring to M$ coz its been the most dominant player in the PC market for over a decade now.
I think that what you mean by linux trying to get as many converts in the asian market,is for linux majors like novell,redhat and the others to take intensify their marketing of linux.That's a good idea,coz it has paid some dividends with national governmental institutions adopting linux for their work,But sadly,the desktop market hasn't been penetrated yet as the linux community would have liked.
Most people are so used to having windoze on their PC's that they don't really want to change over. The linux community should hold some expo's or start user groups in the asian nations.This will bring about a much needed gain in exposure for linux.Also convincing educational institutions to use Linux would be a real boost.I don't think that the linux community can embark on a million dollar marketing campaign.You can't possibly ask the developers to write codes as well as go globetrotting on a popularization tour.So the best alternatives would be direct interaction with computer users in these counteries.

The Key to Chasing Windows
 

One of the biggest problems that Linux has, is hardware installation and compatibility. Until the Linux gurus can focus on this major downside of Linux, Windows will always dominate.

Linux has come a long way --- but it needs design focus on the hardware side -- more ease of use, error checking, installation troubleshooting, etc. For many it is just too hard to use, and still too hardware selective. It is chicken-or-egg situation....when will the hardware vendors have enough incentive to start seriously supporting the Linux community with drivers, etc --- versus when will the number of users increase because Linux is EASY TO SET UP AND USE without a plethora of installation and hardware problems.

Many more would be using Linux NOW if it were anywhere near easy to use as Windows ---

Maybe wishful thinking, but realistic.

Yes Bob, Yes...Hmmm...

I don't think that the installation is difficult at all for a first time install on a desktop. But when new hardware is introduced for the system, then this is often the beginning of a new user's troubles or when new software is installed. To convert a lot of the home users there needs to be a real push towards game compatibility. Loki was on the right track. Transgaming is good at making claims but installation is never as simple as they propose. If Linux is included in a new computer package as the operating system and is configured correctly then it does a great job of those tasks other than gaming for which people mainly use computers. The distro I began on, Mandrake 9.2 6 months ago did everything conceivable I could have wanted. I had heard good things about Linux stability and as this was major problem on my system, I had nothing to lose. When the install was completed, I was staggered by the amount of applications I got! If I was content to leave gaming on the PC behind and use a console more say, then I would have had to do no more. Before I converted I was a relatively competent M$ user and felt let down because I could do no more to increase the pathetic stability my machine displayed.

Thanks!
 

Howdy Crzy -----

Thanks for the encouraging words. Well it is all coming along. I know it is difficult for the Linux community to stay up with the horserace in hardware technology --- but that is the way it has always been!!

Oh well, we will just have to see -- but it sure is getting better -- I just finally got SuSE's 9.1 64-bit release installed AND RUNNING (that was the hard part) on my new 64 bit box. Running nicely and hope to write a few small programs to test its number crunching speed.

When we analyze it, many normal computer chores are already being done with Linux and now it is just a matter of making it a little more easy for the average user --- once that barrier is approached, I think Billy G. is going to have a tough time sleeping at night.....(chuckle).

Regards --- Bob

Yes, and the hardware problem is kind of circular if you think about it. Hardware vendors support M$ because it has the majority market share and they can sell more units because of their support for it. M$ benefits from this because their OS supports so much hardware and so they get more users. The way the vendors get trapped is in the fact that they provide all the support for the hardware via drivers and M$ gets many of the benefits for free. Linux for the most part has to provide support for hardware itself. Sure there are a few major hardware vendors which provide drivers but mostly compatibility with Linux does not seem to be a concern whatsoever for most. They better start caring though, soon Linux will be on lots lots more systems. Maybe when corporations and government institutions start implementing it and requiring technical support they will wake up.