User-friendly open source software befriends buyers, sellers, Mar 01, 2005

Open source software, once the domain of hardcore geekdom, is increasingly changing the shape of software in our homes and offices. Its evolution is what has allowed Wal-Mart to sell PCs for $200 to $300.

While Mozilla Firefox has slowed its growth pace, the open-source browser still is making enough inroads to knock Microsoft's Internet Explorer below 90 percent user share for the first time in three years.

"It's not a science project anymore," says Julie Giera, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "At this point, Linux shouldn't be different than any other commercial software package you buy. The rules should be the same. The level of scrutiny should be the same, and the process for approval should be the same."

One of the "birds of a feather" evening sessions at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo was called "Year of the Linux Desktop ... Again." And the consensus among the handful of nighthawks at the session was that this still won't be desktop Linux's year.

The FSF is proposing that users get involved in the campaign by purchasing motherboards that support a free BIOS, buying AMD CPUs rather than Intel, and writing letters to hardware vendors.

An embarrassing accounting mistake is shaking faith in Novell's internal controls, prompting a sharp early selloff and an analyst's downgrade.

Linux servers generated a lot of interest among buyers, posting the fastest revenue and shipment gains, compared with competitors based on Unix and Windows.

The project is still at the pilot stage and EduVision staff are on the ground to attend to teething problems with the Linux-based system.

The entry-level TC3631-LI model runs Linux and has 64MB of memory, while the TC3633-LI has 128MB of memory, an embedded version of Mozilla's Firefox browser and Java support.

Obviously Apple has good PR people, for which there is no substitute. Whenever Apple launches a product, CEO Steve Jobs delivers a focused speech about what makes the new gizmos desirable and different. It is simple for buyers to understand and easy for journalists to write up. By contrast, few open source projects put much work into public relations at all.

MEPIS has begun shipping the SimplyMEPIS 3.3 bootable CD. SimplyMEPIS offers a Linux that is easy to install and use. It should appeal to the beginner and expert alike.

 View older news this year: Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
 View news from other years: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999