Bad Windows but conquering the desktop war

[deepakdeshp]

We all agree that Windows is a bad and buggy os.
It is resources hogging.
Full of viruses.

Yet it runs supreme on the desk top. There is no challenge to it. It run on 95+%. Of laptops and desktops.

[BigEasy]

What conclusion? I see only one: bugs, resources hog and viruses is not a factor for 95%. Only for rest.

[Pjotr]

These figures probably give a better indication of operating system market share:
https://netmarketshare.com/operating-sy ... 1000%22%7D

A few years ago, this same website showed that Linux was struggling to hit the 1 % market share. Now this website reports 2.3 %: it has more than doubled. Yay!

Note that even though 2.3 % is a small percentage, it means tens of millions of computers....

[absque fenestris]

Wikipedia: Idiot is a word derived from the Greek ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs (person lacking professional skill, a private citizen, individual), from ἴδιος, idios (private, one's own). In ancient Greece, people who were not capable of engaging in the public sphere were considered "idiotes", in contrast to the public citizen, or "polites".
In Latin the word idiota (ordinary person, layman) preceded the Late Latin meaning "uneducated or ignorant person". Its modern meaning and form dates back to Middle English around the year 1300, from the Old French idiote (uneducated or ignorant person).

I think that describes 95% of computer users very accurately.

[catweazel]

We all agree that Windows is a bad and buggy os.

No, we do not.

[catweazel]

I think that describes 95% of computer users very accurately.

The other 5% being those who don't use a computer.

[lsemmens]

I note that BSD has .01% of the market share. I'd have considered that to have risen exponentially after the January round of Windows updates. I know the BSoD rate increased from 0 in the previous 12 months to about 10 in the last month alone on just one of my machines, hence my move to Linux.


(Apologies to all BSD users )

[deepakdeshp]

I think that describes 95% of computer users very accurately.

The other 5% being those who don't use a computer.

That means 100% use Windows, including me who doesn't in fact

[catweazel]

That means 100% use Windows

Nonsense. How can they use Windwoes if they don't use a computer?

[jimallyn]

Most people don't know that there is something better available. And won't believe you when you tell them. I have a tee shirt that says, "Ask me about open source software." A few weeks ago, a friend saw the shirt and asked me about it. I gave him a brief (single sentence) rundown on what open source means. I saw him again just a few days ago, and happened to be wearing the same shirt. He said, "Still pushing open source, I see." And I answered, "Yep, it's good stuff." He said, "There's always somebody pushing some scam." We were headed into a meeting at that moment and I didn't have time to straighten him out. But I will. Open source a scam? Hardly, he must be thinking of commercial software. Clueless.

[deepakdeshp]

That means 100% use Windows

Nonsense. How can they use Windwoes if they don't use a computer?

Remaining 5% don't use computers meaning 95% are the 100% who use Windows computers according to you

[deepakdeshp]

Most people don't know that there is something better available. And won't believe you when you tell them. I have a tee shirt that says, "Ask me about open source software." A few weeks ago, a friend saw the shirt and asked me about it. I gave him a brief (single sentence) rundown on what open source means. I saw him again just a few days ago, and happened to be wearing the same shirt. He said, "Still pushing open source, I see." And I answered, "Yep, it's good stuff." He said, "There's always somebody pushing some scam." We were headed into a meeting at that moment and I didn't have time to straighten him out. But I will. Open source a scam? Hardly, he must be thinking of commercial software. Clueless.

I beg to differ that open source is good stuff. It's actually best stuff

[catweazel]

Remaining 5% don't use computers meaning 95% are the 100% who use Windows computers according to you

I wrote no such thing.

[BigEasy]

The other 5% being those who don't use a computer.

No. Other 5% is those who have no idea what to do to prevent themselves from viruses, have old computers, old himself, every "file aaa.bbb not found in directory ccc" considers as bug required tech support assistant. It is portrait of typical newcomer to friendly Linux distro.

[Pierre]

and I'd tend to agree with what jimallyn has said:
in that most folks are clueless about computers & technology in general.

ie: they think that M$ is is Real Deal,, and even when you press them,
- about the issues that they have with their M$ product(s) they still don't see the light

and the alternative, if any, is of course the Apple Mac


you wouldn't believe the hassles, that I've had in helping a friend,
with his New iMac computer . . .

[Portreve]

Idiots and Open Source (or, pick your poison) is and has always been a pretty bad combination.

My own company (which, of course, shall remain nameless) is a relatively recent example.

Up until recently, we were using a particular inventory system software plus supporting handheld scanners. All of the computers deployed "in the field" were running Windows XP. Clearly, with Microsoft having ended any further development for XP systems, including security updates, et al, it became a priority for my company to do something. Also, and this is another story "as old as the hills" the software we were running was pretty much compatible only with Windows XP. By this time, of course, Vista and 7 and 8 and 8.1 and 10 had all come out. So, our Chief Technology Officer (I presume) and his staff decided to replace that system with something which could be supported on a current version of WIndows. Anyhow, in the course of procuring the software and doing all the other behind-the-curtain magic necessary, it was decided the next image to be pushed out to all remote locations would no longer include any of Microsoft's office software, but rather would include a (dated but "good enough") version of LibreOffice. The thing is that a LOT of the documents in the pipeline being used are MS Excel documents, themselves combinations of .xls and .xlsx files, and many (if not most) had various VB Script and other type things in them that are just not supported elsewhere. Also, while it is generally pretty good, compatibility between MS Office and LibreOffice is not 100%, so there were (and, to this day, still are) other compatibility and teething issues.

Collectively, this has really helped to give a black eye to LibreOffice in particular, and OSS more broadly, within our organization, nevermind the fact that the people who set this all up in the first place weren't interested in anything like best practice solutions or workflows, but rather making themselves look good by saying the solution helped save the company money through cutting out a huge number of systems from needing a MS Office license.

As I said at the top of this message, I've seen this movie before. Now, I'm not trying to say this is all pointing towards the death of F/OSS, or GNU+Linux, or anything like that, but these are situations we do not need because you have bad architectural decisions casting an unwarranted and undeserved bad light on products and functionality.

[deepakdeshp]

and I'd tend to agree with what jimallyn has said:
in that most folks are clueless about computers & technology in general.

ie: they think that M$ is is Real Deal,, and even when you press them,
- about the issues that they have with their M$ product(s) they still don't see the light

and the alternative, if any, is of course the Apple Mac


you wouldn't believe the hassles, that I've had in helping a friend,
with his New iMhac computer . . .

Did you make the friend embrace Linux?It's not easy even with IT professionals. My friend had Win 10 installed on his lap top And a VM with Oracle apps running on VMware. His windows hung and damaged his vm. With a lot of effort I managed to salvage the vm on window. Then I installed Mint as dual boot and set up the vm to run under Mint. Now he knows that his vm , which is very precious to him was damaged due to Windows hanging. But he refuses to use Mint. It's all a Question of familiarity that's all.

[BigEasy]

My friend had Win 10 installed on his lap top And a VM with Oracle apps running on VMware.

And nothing else installed except VM?

Then I installed Mint as dual boot and set up the vm to run under Mint. Now he knows that his vm , which is very precious to him was damaged due to Windows hanging. But he refuses to use Mint. It's all a Question of familiarity that's all.

Not all. I'm perfectly sure he need also few other programs. Programs existing only for Windows.

[deepakdeshp]

Then there are reports like
https://news.google.co.in/news/amp?caur ... pt0-877265
Which tend to state that MS and other closed Source oses are somehow patched quicker than closed source MS

[exploder]

Steve Jobs said something very wise in an interview, "Windows does not have to loose for Apple to win." Or something very close to that. The same kind of applies for Linux and distros in general. Also, Linus Trovalds said, " When Microsoft starts writing apps for Linux we know we have won." Well, Microsoft is writing apps for Apple and Linux now!

I doubt Linux will win the desktop in the way many think of it. As a matter of sustainability over time though Linux has a bright future. Those other choices will only be sustained so long as they are profitable. Privacy is a hot topic these days too and many are not excited about the idea of subscribing to applications to have updated features and maintaining the software they use.

I see software I use daily on my Linux machines installed on corporate desktops and laptops, that in itself is encouraging. For myself personally, Linux has already conquered the desktop.