Would Linux be more popular with LESS choice?

[MALsPa]

Actually, the entire thread has been going in circles. Meanwhile, Linux continues on as before, new distros popping up all the time.

What a joke.

Go ahead, keep princess and moaning about there being too much choice in Linux until you're blue in the face. Perhaps it'll make you feel better, but is it gonna keep new distros from coming out? Might as well be complaining that it rains on days when you don't want it to rain.

[MALsPa]

I want, would like, use just Linux and since now many years it's the case but progressively more and more things bother me, to say the least. It is possible in some time I must go back to Windows, quite unfortunately...

I've been using Linux for many years, too. To me, there's no problem; things in Linux are not bothering me "more and more." I enjoy trying out new distros. I don't look at them and see "crap." Seems to me that things in Linux are better than they've ever been before. There's something out there for everyone. None of us has to be stuck with one or two or three distros. I see lots of great ones out there.

Nobody's holding you up from going back to Windows if that's what you choose to do. Anyway, sounds like what you need is an OS that's MORE popular and that gives you LESS choice! Windows already gives you those things. So why even bother with Linux? Just so you can sit around and complain about it? What a waste of time.

[FranzB]

@MALsPa:
This is becoming ridiculous. NO ONE ever said that YOU should be stuck with 1, 2 or 3 Linux versions.
It was only said that the general user should be given a choice of 2 -3 Linux versions by PREFERENCE, which still means that the general user is still free to choose whatever (s)he wants to use. It's an advice for someone who starts with Linux.
That's all.
You can't even read texts.

[linuxviolin]

I enjoy trying out new distros.

Yes, playing with that or this distro is ok but difficult to find one to stay with it and to be fully satisfied... Dropping, trying distro after distro is not a good use, it's just playing. It's not my view neither my real desire, I want something more "professional", if I can express it like that.

Seems to me that things in Linux are better than they've ever been before. There's something out there for everyone.

Good for you. For me, I fear to see year after year things to become worse...

Nobody's holding you up from going back to Windows if that's what you choose to do. Anyway, sounds like what you need is an OS that's MORE popular and that gives you LESS choice! Windows already gives you those things. So why even bother with Linux? Just so you can sit around and complain about it? What a waste of time.

I didn't say I'll go back to Windows NOW. Currently, I can again use Linux/BSD with sufficient "pleasure", not sure that is the right word but anyway, I have no desire to change, yet. And if one day in the future I had to go back to Windows, this will not be with great pleasure but rather something as necessity... Really, I would like stay always with Linux/BSD. Well, we'll see what will happen in the future...

Oh and "more popular" or not is not a real criterion... And "less choice"? Maybe for OS but there are also plethora of open source, and free, apps for everything you could need, and maybe even more. And even Linux apps have a Windows version... and sometimes they work better on Windows than on Linux.

NO ONE ever said that YOU should be stuck with 1, 2 or 3 Linux versions.
It was only said that the general user should be given a choice of 2 -3 Linux versions by PREFERENCE, which still means that the general user is still free to choose whatever (s)he wants to use. It's an advice for someone who starts with Linux.
That's all.

Hmm, interesting thoughts...

[MALsPa]

@MALsPa:
This is becoming ridiculous. NO ONE ever said that YOU should be stuck with 1, 2 or 3 Linux versions.
It was only said that the general user should be given a choice of 2 -3 Linux versions by PREFERENCE, which still means that the general user is still free to choose whatever (s)he wants to use. It's an advice for someone who starts with Linux.
That's all.
You can't even read texts.

Okay, okay. So, who decides on the choice of which 2 or 3 distros the mythical "general user" is "given," "by PREFERENCE?"

Which 2 or 3 distros would you advise the "general user" to start out with? Would they be the same 2 or 3 distros I'd recommend? Don't we already have people that recommend certain distros for the "general user?"

What exactly is a "general user," anyway? Is his name "Average Joe?"

You're right that this is becoming ridiculous -- it became ridiculous long ago, in fact.

You're wrong that I "can't even read texts," though. But you're entitled to your opinion!

[MALsPa]

For me, I fear to see year after year things to become worse...

Sometimes folks see what they want to see, I guess.

[MALsPa]

I want something more "professional", if I can express it like that.

In all seriousness, why don't you just use Debian, or Fedora, or whatever distro you feel is most "professional," and put all your efforts into making that distro as good as it can be for all types of users? Become part of the solution for the problem that you believe exists? Why even bother with the distros that you feel are "toys" or "crap?"

[Robin]

Y'all are downright funny arguing about this. Choice is one of the things that makes Linux so awesome!

The only reason "market share" might matter is that OEMs might write more drivers so more stuff will work on Linux.

The major distros that "try to be all things to all users" are more popular because they fit more users. Duh. But it's cool that there are specialty distros that narrow things down a little. Distros for older hardware, distros for kids, distros for scientists, forensics, security, students, gamers, and tinkerers. It's awesome to have choices!

For alot of us, the "one-size-fits-most" distros become as comfortable and familiar as Windows once was, and users feel no need to change. One of the most valuable tips my freind Amy offered to people trying to "win girls over to Linux" was this:

First, I might never have "converted" if I had felt no need to leave Windows. Just don't "recruit" people to change what they don't need to change! If it ain't broke, people are not willing to turn their whole operating system on its head just to gain some unknown advantage.

Amy's advice here.

If a user perceives a need to change his or her OS, it's nice to have all these awesome choices! And narrowing that choice down is part of the fun. I distro hopped a whole bunch last year just for fun, but ended up "back home" near to where I started. Why? Because Xubuntu does it all for me and still works on my old hardware flawlessly. No need to change anything, but I apply abuncha stuff I learned along the way while I was distro-hopping.

So is Xubuntu better? Nah, just better for me. For now. If and when that changes, I don't dread searching for new stuff, rather I look forward to seeing what's out there!

C'mon, it's fun! Even for us non-geeky kids.

-Robin

[MALsPa]

Great post, Robin! And thanks for the link to Amy's post, that was wonderful! I'm passing it along to some other Linux friends now. Please thank her for taking the time to write that!

[Robin]

... thanks for the link to Amy's post, that was wonderful! I'm passing it along to some other Linux friends now. Please thank her for taking the time to write that!

That isn't the first time I've linked to Amy's post... and you can guess why, besides the valuable advice she has about Linux. What can I say. The flattering stuff she wrote about me is just too good not to share, lol.

But taken for just what it says about "converting" people and why people use Linux or move there from Windows, it really is "on topic." When people discover that they have choices, they want to explore them. But folks need a reason to change! They won't change something they perceive to be "as complicated as a computer operating system" unless they have a compelling reason to put themselves through the hassle.

Finding out that it's not a hassle is an awesome experience! That's when the fun really begins!

-Robin

[amina]

Wow, I read Amy's post back almost one year ago, and I also read some of your posts Robin here, but I never thought you two knew each other

I can only second the opinion you quoted here: it was about the same for me. I used to use Vista and was perfectly satisfied with it even if that seems strange to most people My ex-boyfriend used Linux and told me mostly good things about it and sometimes suggested for me to setup a dual boot, but I was not really interested. It may be good but hey, I already have everything I need, why would I bother to change?

It took some months later a mistake (forgetting to run the crack ) for me to NEED to use a LiveCD to save data before I re-installed Vista. Then I found I could do without it for 1 or 2 weeks (it was the middle of the exam-period so I could really not afford to do all the re-installing and configuration unless absolutely necessary). After 2 weeks I was quite unwilling to install Vista again as I did not want to re-install every 4 months like I used to do (due to activation reasons...) so I just sticked with Linux. I got interested and spent quite a lot of time since then learning about it, which definitely was not my original intention. It would have actually frightened me if I knew this in advance

Now I see that I did not have everything I needed and probably I do not have everything even now, but I enjoy using the computer a lot more.

It's a fact but I think a very sad one that some people who are not inherently enthusiastic about experimenting with computers will never feel the NEED to even try Linux and lot of them may miss an experience that would change their attitude. Teaching Linux at schools or more advertising would probably change this but we all know the limitations.

Just to say also something ontopic , I think less choice would concentrate the info people get about Linux (not that someone talks about Ubuntu others about some other distro or Linux in general, they show you Gnome or KDE or something else and then you have no idea at all what this thing actually is. If you do not really know what to expect, the chance to get interested and take the time to research is little). It would also concentrate developers' focus and maybe would result in better quality and less bugs. But it's impossible to limit choices or get people agree on what to promote anyway and maybe it wasn't desirable either, for a lot of other reasons.

And even if we could, most people still would not feel the NEED to switch, they're happy they learned how to use Windows, they can do what they want on it and most people are also short on time...

PS. Sorry if I made some grammatical mistakes (not my mother tongue).

[linuxviolin]

In all seriousness, why don't you just use Debian, or Fedora, or whatever distro you feel is most "professional," and put all your efforts into making that distro as good as it can be for all types of users? Become part of the solution for the problem that you believe exists? Why even bother with the distros that you feel are "toys" or "crap?"

ᶺᶺ Well, I have Fedora on two computers, 14 and 15, with F 15 in place of CentOS now... But in fact, I am rather an optimist and I always hope the things get better but unfortunately for the moment I'm rather disappointed currently...

About the Robin post and following, I don't agree but I guess this debate is already too long and endless, everybody keeping his/her positions. So I am not sure that we should go further and maybe we should just stop here...

[randomizer]

As i have said elsewhere on this forum, there is nothing wrong with hundreds of choices; that is, for any of the Linux fans. But for the general public it would be better to advertise 2-3 options to chose from.

Who's going to do the advertising?

[tdockery97]

It boils down to this: The largest number of people using computers are just going to be happy to use whatever was on the computer they bought. We Linux users will always be the minority, and consequently the safest from outside computer attacks. The reason there are so many choices in Linux is that there are so many of us willing to test drive the next new thing. Face it, we are the geeks.

[linuxviolin]

The reason there are so many choices in Linux is that there are so many of us willing to test drive the next new thing.

Rather the next new toy... If for you a computer is a toy then you'll be happy, yes.

[mintnoob]

The iPad already used more than Linux computers
Posted in Main on April 20th, 2011 by Pingdom

We noticed an interesting thing the other day that we’d like to share with you. However, if you’re a Linux enthusiast, you may want to stop reading now…

These are the operating system stats for April for the United States:



These market share numbers are from Statcounter and are based on visitor statistics averaged from 3+ million websites. In other words, they represent computers used to access the Web. Mobile phones and other small-screen devices are not included.

In other words, the iOS market share you see in the chart is only for iPad. It does not include the iPhone or iPod Touch. We’ve verified this with Statcounter, just to be entirely sure.

Not only is iPad now so widely used that it shows up in this list, iOS for iPad has managed to pass Linux as a “desktop OS” (we use quotes, because tablets will probably soon make up their own category). In fact, it passed Linux sometime around December. Not bad for a device that was launched just back in April of 2010.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/04/20/ipa ... computers/

[nunol]

For the average computer user the operating system used is the one that comes with that computer. The typical user does not install a new OS and it's very difficult to buy a computer with linux instead of Windows or Mac on a normal computer store.

[randomizer]

The iPad already used more than Linux computers
Posted in Main on April 20th, 2011 by Pingdom

We noticed an interesting thing the other day that we’d like to share with you. However, if you’re a Linux enthusiast, you may want to stop reading now…

These are the operating system stats for April for the United States:



These market share numbers are from Statcounter and are based on visitor statistics averaged from 3+ million websites. In other words, they represent computers used to access the Web. Mobile phones and other small-screen devices are not included.

In other words, the iOS market share you see in the chart is only for iPad. It does not include the iPhone or iPod Touch. We’ve verified this with Statcounter, just to be entirely sure.

Not only is iPad now so widely used that it shows up in this list, iOS for iPad has managed to pass Linux as a “desktop OS” (we use quotes, because tablets will probably soon make up their own category). In fact, it passed Linux sometime around December. Not bad for a device that was launched just back in April of 2010.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/04/20/ipa ... computers/

What would you expect from a mass marketed device that had queues which existed 24 hours before launch?

[MALsPa]

...but I guess this debate is already too long and endless, everybody keeping his/her positions. So I am not sure that we should go further and maybe we should just stop here...

Yes, I agree.

Again, perhaps Linux would be more popular with less choice, but I also think choice is one of the greatest strengths of Linux; and, I'm simply not concerned about its popularity. It's out there for people like me who wish to use it and to take advantage of the things it has to offer; that's good enough for me. It doesn't appear that Linux is in danger of dying out anytime soon.

[linuxviolin]

Yes, I agree.

Again, perhaps Linux would be more popular with less choice, but I also think choice is one of the greatest strengths of Linux; and, I'm simply not concerned about its popularity. It's out there for people like me who wish to use it and to take advantage of the things it has to offer; that's good enough for me. It doesn't appear that Linux is in danger of dying out anytime soon.

We seem to agree about, except on "less choice". But "less choice" is not no choice. Nobody has said that. Just, currently, everyone goes to his/her side, it's a real mess with a lot of crap. I guess a combination of different talents on a few projects only instead of the current dispersal would allow a much better quality of these projects. It seems obvious that a group work should produce a better quality than any one guy of his/her side. There is no need to be highly intelligent to understand this... If people get along well, work well together etc of course. People are sometimes/often just so silly...