Lindows to Take Over World?

[AGodspeed]

What do ya think?

 

[BlackOmen]

Certainly not. Lindows will allow users to switch to Linux, and keep the security of using their old programs. Hopefully it will help users/corporations switch from proprietary apps to open source apps. In that light, hopefully users will switch to a real linux then such as Debian or Slack.

And there will always be the MS suckups that will never stray.

 

[todpod]

Never happen, along as they got to provide windows compatiability, they will always be a second rate player to windows, always playing catch up. Same problem as OS/2 why develop for it when you only need to develop for windows, and then why not just run windows. Just developed a good soild os that's easy to install, people would use it. OS/2 was cool, haven't seen it since 2.0 and was running it on a 386sx-25mhz with 4mb of ram, it was slow but very stable. They should have just dumped the windows BS and gave it away for a while.

 

[aswedc]

No, the main reason people use Windows over Linux is for applications such as games that aren't easily emulated or ported. So lindows is going to make office run without windows, but how is that better than using StarOffice?

 

[BlackOmen]

>>No, the main reason people use Windows over Linux is for applications such as games that aren't easily emulated or ported. So lindows is going to make office run without windows, but how is that better than using StarOffice?

When I made my original post I was thinking more from a corporate/office user stand point, however aswedc is right. IMO (and others), StarOffice just isn't up to par with MS Office quite yet. StarOffice 5.2 was good, but not quite Office. From what I've heard, StarOffice 6 beta is looking very promising.

Edit: There are many ignorant people out there running some king of office (I know a few of them) and they feel that they cannot keep ahead if they use anything BUT MS Office. That includes WordPerfect (far superior), Works, or anything else. So by allowing them to use Office under Linux, that could be one more win.

 

[Damascus]

Microsoft will probably re-write their licensing agreements to say that their Office
products may only be used on a Microsoft OS... either that or force corporate
users to purchase XP and Office licenses together...

 

[Chatterjee]

If MS rewrites their license, they're asking for it from the U.S. Gov.

What we'll probably see is lots and lots of businesses migrating to Lindows from Windows. It minimizes training costs and allows users to familiarize themselves with the OS without many problems.

-S

 

[Tokar]

seeing that the FULL FLEDGED VERSION of the OS (i say that b/c while HE of Windows XP is nice, you dont get all the nice power user features that Professional has...same comparison of win2k pro to server to Advanced server to data center server) will cost $100...where as the full fledged winxp is (correct me if im wrong, b/c i only know the upgrade price) something like $400? let alone the fact that the Pro upgrade is double the cost of Lindows Full...i see more people buying this to save $$$ knowing it can run windows programs...

Being that Lindows, AT HALF THE COST, can run both Windows programs, corporate and consumer level (games, office suites, etc etc etc), there is no reason why companies would not goto lindows, especially since they wouldnt need to buy multiple licenses b/c Lindows is Open Source...correct me if im wrong with the license thing (i figure that b/c this is linux like any old Red Hat or Mandrake, one wouldnt need more than one license to install a copy of the OS on more than one computer)...

Linux, and lindows in this case, will require less, hardware wise, thus not forcing companies to go SHELL out more $$$ to get more powerful computers such that they can handle the OVERWHELMING requirements of windows XP...

Dont get me wrong about XP and windows...im all for it because it has that software advantage over linux, and im not exactly very fond of linux (and mac, though macOS is in its OWN ballpark)...

In terms of the corporate level, i wouldnt be surprised to see companies going to Lindows to save $$$ on the OS, licenses and Hardware...
But in terms of consumer level, there arent enough techie consumers who know about Lindows to change to it, let alone the fact this great population of non-techies dont kno how to install lindows, they purchase windows bundled computers from gateway/dell/compaq, and probably wouldnt know how to use it if installed on their system...also windows xp is a bit more user friendly to the computer idiots in this world, so i DONT see comsumers upgrading (or downgrading, however one sees lindows in terms of XP, or windows in general) anytime soon...

 

[trmiv]

It will be tough to make inroads with a lot big companies, regardless if it can run windows apps. If most big companies are one thing, they are stubborn. A corporation-wide move to a new platform is a huge undertaking, both in the work and cost involved to migrate, and in support and training. I do a lot of software installs at big companies, and a lot of them are still running Windows 95/98, or NT 4.0; some are just now moving workstations to 2000. Just getting some of these companies to upgrade to the newest version of my company's software--even though they have free upgrade contracts--is a chore. We have to put the software in front of a change control board who tests the software, and then decides if the upgrade should be made. Sometimes this process can take weeks to months, and this is just for lobby management software that runs on like 10-15 machines! If companies do move to new platforms, they do it very slowly. No company is going to jump quickly on something like Lindows because they will see it as an immature platform, eventhough its Linux.

 

[manly]

<< If MS rewrites their license, they're asking for it from the U.S. Gov.

What we'll probably see is lots and lots of businesses migrating to Lindows from Windows. It minimizes training costs and allows users to familiarize themselves with the OS without many problems.

-S >>



sorry but sounds like a pipe dream to me.

As far as compatibility is concerned, it would be relatively trivial for M$ to update it's applications on a regular basis to break compatibility w/ Lindows/WINE/whatever. They would hide these tactics in new features/bug fixes/patches of course.

Remember that as far as companies (and most consumers) are concerned, they've already paid for a Windows OS license when they buy the box. So the availability of much better value Linux distros won't influence migration at all.

 

[Bulk Beef]

<< Microsoft will probably re-write their licensing agreements to say that their Office
products may only be used on a Microsoft OS... either that or force corporate
users to purchase XP and Office licenses together... >>

Or perhaps simply start bundling Office with Windows.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The other end is, of course, the end user. Most people are morons. Face it... Even in the corporate world. Of course, you'll have the people that are forced to use computers every day and the ones fresh out of school. They tend to be more apt to use computers effectively. Linux would confuse too many people just because it's NOT windows. I'm all about Linux, but can't see it being implemented due to support difficulties. Too many people wouldn't be able to use it and of course, the compatibility issues are there as well....however, it is free and I think this will apeal to many small businesses and such. It's come a long way since the early 90s and I'm sure it will blossom into something even better in the next decade.

 

[n0cmonkey]

The US will be one of the last places to give up the masochistic reliance on Windows. Brazil, China, Korea, and other areas of the world have been moving towards Open Source. The US government does a little bit, bur not enough. NSA uses some Linux, I think DoD was using some OpenBSD. NASA seems to think OpenBSD cds or download was a good investment. The desktop is, in my opinion, a lost cause. The workstation and server markets are what I believe should be focused on.

 

[BlvdKing]

I think that Lindows will garner some marketshare in the US, maybe 1 or 2% after a couple years. I think the idea is great and hope that they can keep up the Windows compatibility. If they do that then I see people slowing but surely switching to Lindows for the home PC just because of cost of Windows software (licences) and the never ending upgrade treadmill.

 

[Elledan]

<< The US will be one of the last places to give up the masochistic reliance on Windows >>

I couldn't help but snicker when I read this comment =)

I see Lindows as something temporary. It's nice to let more people get to know Linux, but once enough apps and games become available for Linux, any support for Windows apps in *NIX and *BSD must be stopped, otherwise we might see the same thing happen as with OS/2 vs. Win3.x.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<< The US will be one of the last places to give up the masochistic reliance on Windows >>

I couldn't help but snicker when I read this comment =) >>



I couldnt think of a better way to describe the way the US government is rewarding Microsoft for what it called Monopolistic practices (notice my comment makes no mention of my thoughts on this, I did this purposefully to avoid flame wars in this thread ).



<< I see Lindows as something temporary. It's nice to let more people get to know Linux, but once enough apps and games become available for Linux, any support for Windows apps in *NIX and *BSD must be stopped, otherwise we might see the same thing happen as with OS/2 vs. Win3.x. >>



I disagree. My impression of OS/2 was that it was basically a Windows work-alike. Lets not get into which one came first or which one was better, I dont care. It works similarly to Windows. Linux/BSD on the otherhand are totally different. There will always be those freaks that support a UNIX-like structure over Win32 any day. Im one of them. And although I may like some Windows applications, I would never switch over to Win32. There is not enough reason for me to do so. And there will be companies out there supporting Sun Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and Linux without question. Windows compatibility will only increase the amount of software available for Linux, in my opinion.

 

[manly]

<< I think that Lindows will garner some marketshare in the US, maybe 1 or 2% after a couple years. I think the idea is great and hope that they can keep up the Windows compatibility. If they do that then I see people slowing but surely switching to Lindows for the home PC just because of cost of Windows software (licences) and the never ending upgrade treadmill. >>



No, Lindows will be gone within a couple years.

Face it, you need clout to sign deals with OEMs. The way I see it, the only Linux distros to survive the next couple years are Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake and Debian of course. Even so, SuSE and Mandrake are iffy commercial propositions.

There will always be _many_ Linux flavors out there. However, these 4 should become the only true survivors.

 

[BlvdKing]

I would think that Lindows, with it's MS Windows compatibility, would have a greater chance of survival than those distro's without. Open source software is OK but nothing can beat MS Office and IE, and those are two programs that Lindows will offer that the other distros can't.

 

[baisezmoi]

imo, if it can't run Quake3 or UT2, then lindows can't never take over the world

 

[spamsk8r]

lindows = vaporware. Newsforge did an article saying that they would never write about ultra-hyped software like Lindows (but they wrote a story on how they wouldnt write a story)

 

[andrey]

Anytime new OS comes out (BeOS, Lindows, etc..) they all claim to be "windows-killer". People need to realize that things like that dont' happen overnight and any OS need to go through couple version at least just to catch up with windows in functionality and compatibility.

As far as business migrating to some new and unknown OS, I personally don't think that'll happen. I personally wouldn't run my business on OS which I don't know and which has not been extensively tested in other business enviroments.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< No, Lindows will be gone within a couple years.

Face it, you need clout to sign deals with OEMs. The way I see it, the only Linux distros to survive the next couple years are Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake and Debian of course. Even so, SuSE and Mandrake are iffy commercial propositions.

There will always be _many_ Linux flavors out there. However, these 4 should become the only true survivors. >>



Slackware will be around just as long as the others you mentioned. Dont ever count it out



<< imo, if it can't run Quake3 or UT2, then lindows can't never take over the world >>



Double negatives give me hope