BlogBuzz December 22, 2007

Dec 22, 2007 by Matt | Posted in BlogBuzz 12 Comments
  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    I believe that if Microsoft really wants more market share for Internet Explorer, they should again go for the multiple OS approach they had going with IE4- Unix, Mac, and Windows. It wouldn’t hurt to opensource it as well.

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    They would never make IE open source. I do think they should make it work on other OSes though. What about all the designers who use Macs, Microsoft?

  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    @Matt: Well, I believe that if Microsoft were to no longer be the majority (between browsers such as Firefox, Opera, and Safari, there is a chance of them having a much smaller market share before IE 8 comes out) that they will become rather desperate. Microsoft has already opensourced a few smaller things after all, and they aren’t making any money off of IE that I know of.

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    “Microsoft has already opensourced a few smaller things”
    The key word here is “small.” :D

    Well, hopefully Apple will start gaining more market share then.

  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    @Matt: Well, I’m more of a Linux guy myself, but really I’m up for as many different players as possible to try to get everyone to improve. Even Apple won’t be as innovative if they’re the only guy around.

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    Yeah, you’re right there.

    I’ve experimented with Linux a bit, but I wouldn’t want it as my main OS (it’s pretty cool). Also, Linux probably isn’t for the average user either.

  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    @Matt: Well, it can be different than Windows in some ways, but I’ve converted several non-geeks to it after having problems with Vista recently and they’ve had no trouble. My mom even likes it, and she is as computer illiterate as all. I guess the main problem is that the average users just aren’t use to OS installations. Ubuntu is about the easiest OS to install. Windows XP can be a pain, especially if there are no drivers for critical components.

    I think what is really going to begin winning people over are the bargain PC’s such as the Everex gOS PC and the Asus EEPC (or however it’s spelled). I know when my dad got a bargain laptop with Vista it was just plain slow and unusable, so Linux is in a great opportunity to win that market.

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    “I’ve converted several non-geeks to it”
    Maybe I should have been more clear when I said “Linux probably isn’t for the average user.” There are plenty of “average users” who use Linux, but normally it takes someone setting it up for them, and teaching them a bit about the OS. I suppose the same goes for any OS.
    Anyway, there are still plenty of things in the Linux world that will bewilder non-geeks. Luckily, people like the Ubuntu guys are helping to make it easier for non-geeks.

    I think the biggest things keeping Linux from becoming a major player are:

    1. Most commercial software doesn’t work on Linux. Sure, there are open-source alternatives, but there are still a lot of commercial packages people want to run. For example, I absolutely must have Photoshop, and I have copies of Adobe Premier Elements and Flash 8. Then there’s the pile of games…

    2. A lack of drivers. I bet there aren’t any for my MP3 player (a Sandisk Sansa m240) or my Pinnacle MovieBox USB (a video capture device).

    I do, however, think that Linux may take-over an emerging market: Thin Clients.

  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    Well, when I think of the average user I think of someone who just does the basic tasks with a PC such as web browsing, documents, pictures (with just whatever came with their camera or OS), and that sort of thing. The kind of people that need help setting up a plug and play printer. There seem to be more of those people around than anybody. Heck, according to PC Magazine 27% of computer users don’t even have an office suite installed.

    Also, if you really need to run the commercial apps and you’ve already paid the price for those applications, you may be willing to invest in solutions such as Crossover Office and Cedega.

    As far as the Sandisk Sansa m240, it looks like it works. From what I can tell it functions as a mass storage device. Also, at least in middle and high school circles, most kids seem to have iPods nowadays, which do work on Linux as well. The Pinnacle MovieBox USB, I’m afraid you may be right. A few searches showed it doesn’t work on OS X and has major issues with Vista, and a couple of people had trouble getting it working on XP. I couldn’t find much in the way of Linux in my short search. All in all though, Linux seems to have great device support. Sure it’s not perfect, but I don’t even worry about Linux compatibility when I buy hardware anymore (then again, I just have basic stuff like a generic headset, 19″ widescreen monitor, Sony Clie PDA, Creative Zen MP3 player, Western Digital external HDD, Pioneer external USB burner, HP Deskjet 932c printer, and so forth).

  • http://blogs.howotogeek.com/jatecblog Jarek

    In general, I’ve found its fairly safe to assume something works under Linux unless proven otherwise. Everything I’ve ever tried has worked without a hitch.

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    Yes Linux is becoming a more viable option (just not for me, really. partly because I’m a serious Apple fanatic despite not owning any of their products…yet).

    “when I think of the average user I think of someone who just does the basic tasks with a PC such as web browsing, documents, pictures…”
    When I think of the average user, I just think “whatever average computer users do.” I’ve been too involved with computers for too long of a time to remember. :D

    “according to PC Magazine 27% of computer users don’t even have an office suite installed.”
    Yeah, and you’d be surprised how many people don’t have security software installed. Also, it’s a common misconception that younger people know more about computers. What a joke. The average teenager is totally clueless when it comes to computers.

    Virtualization software is obviously useful, but it’s not going to be able to run Adobe Premier. Video rendering (and the editing part too) takes a lot of CPU power. Dual-booting is a better option for resource-hungry software.

    Linux isn’t for me, but I do admit that it’s fast becoming a good choice for average users. Linux isn’t just for people addicted to hacking their computing environment anymore.

  • http://blogs.howtogeek.com/jatecblog Jake

    @Matt: I’m not sure how well Adobe Premier runs on Crossover and/or Cedega, but they are not virtualization tools. Instead they perfect wine, which basically recreates a Windows like system. It can take native DLL’s and such. The main benefit to this is simply that the programs blend in as native apps on the Linux desktop. A tad bit of searching shows that Adobe Premier halfway works under vanilla Wine at least.

    But yeah… I guess I love constantly being able to change around whatever I wish. OS X would kill me in that regard I think. For instance, on Lifehacker’s screenshot roundup, about every OS X screenshot looked the same… Apple just doesn’t make it easy.