Has the Desktop Linux Bubble Burst?, Dec 26, 2006

The Linux desktop world will not have any answers ready to Microsoft's and Apple's big releases for at least the coming two years. Has the desktop Linux bubble burst?

BSD and Linux programmers have had a lot of success in creating drivers for new computer hardware in a timely manner, but much of their effort has been without the support of major hardware manufacturers.

As part of a list of predictions for 2007, research firm IDC said Microsoft's client operating system anti-piracy efforts will backfire in 2007. Instead of stamping out software piracy, the campaign will drive customers toward a Linux desktop, said the Framingham, Mass.-based research firm.

A few years back I wrote my very first column for an online publication called Linux Pipeline on choosing software wisely. The column was to begin a series of events that changed my life

Many small businesses have avoided Linux for a variety of reasons: not enough applications, complexity of installation or that it requires too much technical know-how to run. The technology has matured over many years, which raises the question: how valid are these considerations today?

"PC, that little wireless router you use to connect to the Internet runs a variety of Linux. When you search with Google, you're dealing with a Linux cluster. Most web servers run Linux. I'm in a lot of places. If I shut down, both of you guys would be in a world of hurt."

Linux/Open Source applications are gaining traction in virtually every vertical market and continent

Unless an application is included with your Linux distribution of choice, installing that application on Linux is a nightmare compared to Windows.

I want to get a new PC, whilst if possible avoiding "lock in" to suppliers of hardware or software. I was thinking of a Linux system, but I have some DOS and Windows programs I'd like to retain, and I'm too short of time and brainpower to become technically involved.

During a pilot project for Linux Simple Internet Server (SIS) for 20 companies conducted by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec), SMEs found that they could save on software licensing costs by up to 50,000 baht.

direct appeal to those concerned with ethics and social issues. Yet, in practice, it rarely does.

Over the past week, some of the Linux desktop's foremost developers gathered together in Portland, Oregon at the OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) Desktop Architects Meeting to work further on bringing order to the Linux desktop.

Just when the Mono Project was beginning to gain traction, along comes Sun Microsystems to take the wind from its sails. I can’t help but feel it’s a mixed blessing.

A non-profit organisation that describes itself as "the centre of gravity of Linux" has just gone through its second round of sackings in as many years though on the surface it does not seem to be exactly short of funds.

Since 2000, the non-profit Open Source Development Lab has been a champion of Linux and Open Source in enterprise environments. Primarily an engineering-focused organization, the consortium is generally regarded as a boon to the Open Source community and a positive force in the mainstreaming of OSS.

Some 75 towns across New South Wales have started accessing the Internet through Linux-based satellite routers in what is said to be largest network of its type in Australia spanning upwards of 800,000 square kilometres.

OS X is more appealing to enterprises as a desktop operating system than ever before and although it is unlikely to take market share away from Windows, the Mac could reduce the number of Linux-based desktops, according to research group Gartner.

There are many things about GNU/Linux which merit complaint. But it is extremely doubtful whether anyone can find anything to complain about with regards to the versatile nature of the operating system.

The OSDL's Desktop Working Group recently concluded a survey on what areas of development are most important to desktop Linux users. The results, now in, will be put to immediate use at the next Desktop Architects Meeting this week in Portland.

When executives from VMware Inc. and commercial Linux vendor Red Hat said they would expand cooperation between the two companies on the Linux front, it signaled a possible shift in the way IT managers might look at operating system distribution in the future.

After seven years of work, the LinuxBIOS project is on the brink of making a free BIOS a standard option for computers. Serious obstacles remain, including a lack of resources and resistance from some proprietary chipset manufacturers and OEMs, but the advantages of LinuxBIOS indicate that its availability to the average computer buyer may be only months away.

European governments have long complained about their dependence on Microsoft's software, but their rhetoric has not turned into a mass migration away from Windows.

MontaVista, a specialist for mobile Linux-based operating systems, will receive 21 million US dollars in venture capital from Siemens Venture Capital (SVC) and other investors.

Brazil's government favors Linux and other free open-source software in its programs to provide computers to the needy, because using Windows can drive up costs.

The Linux operating system is the recipient of 75% of all vendor investment in open source software, according to a new report from the Harvard Business School

penLogic is an open source stack vendor that provides certified open source solutions and support for a collection of over 160 projects.

The Open Source Development Labs has laid off a significant chunk of its engineering staff and has moved to shift its focus.

Next year will be a big one for Linux, with new platforms and opportunities in the data center.

When computer industry executives heard about a plan to build a $100 laptop for the developing world’s children, they generally ridiculed the idea. How could you build such a computer, they asked, when screens alone cost about $100?

When he was an editor in the 1950s, Jason Epstein made the paperback book ubiquitous. Now he's about to do the same for a Linux-powered printing press.

The One Laptop Per Child project Nov. 27 received its first shipment of the low-cost Linux laptops that are intended for children in emerging-economy nations, project member Chris Blizzard reports on his blog.

Corel Corp. promised months ago that it would support the OpenOffice.org ODF (Open Document Format). Now, we know it will support both ODF and Microsoft's Open XML next year.

Hans Reiser, 42, entered a not-guilty plea in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland in the slaying of his wife, Nina Reiser, 31.

The JBoss World expo and conference in Berlin last week was something of a celebration of the continued growth of open source in EMEA over the last 12 months.

November and the last few days of October in 2006 will be remembered in years ahead as the time period in which Linux took on an unstoppable momentum as an open-source rival to proprietary systems such as Microsoft and Oracle.

Between Oracle's support offering and Microsoft's patent pledge, recent events could prove significant for the Linux operating system market.

I don't know about you, but suddenly I'm starting to think Debian ought to be my GNU/Linux distribution of choice, and that I should turn to Mac OS for those few tasks I cannot currently accomplish with Linux and Free Software.

The first stage of the "three-phase rollout" for the open-source operating system starts November 27.

I'll begin with thoughts on the Microsoft-Novell deal, move on to Sun's having set Java Free, and then wrap up with some thoughts and an open question about hardware support in Linux.

System builders considering a Linux desktop are faced with a dizzying array of choices. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of Linux distributions to choose from.

If you're one of the fortunate few to have scooped up a Sony PlayStation 3 (and not gotten mugged in the process), and you're looking for a tax break, I have some good news: You might be able to count your new "toy" as a business expense.

The LPI (Linux Professional Institute), the vendor-neutral Linux certification organization, has announced an improved training partner program for Linux training organizations around the world: The LPI-ATP (LPI Approved Training Partner) program.

A monster Linux cluster loaded with almost 9,000 CPUs has been rated sixth in the Top 500 Supercomputer global rankings.

Would you have believed at the end of last summer that Microsoft and Novell would partner over Linux, or that Oracle would create its own brand of Linux? Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it either, but here we are.

European businesses are only considering migrating to Linux when they decide to deploy new applications, but most currently have no intention of moving to Windows Vista either, according to a survey released this week.

Penguin Computing is bundling a new management console into its own servers as a way of making it easier for IT administrators to monitor and control their Penguin-based compute clusters.

Germany's cash-strapped public sector will be the driving force behind the takeup of open-source software, according to a Novell and IBM-backed study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will get 100 teraflops combined processing power out of the supercomputer when it has all four of its new clusters up and running.

The Titanic sank. Vista will be cracked. The better answer is, as it has been for years, the Linux desktop.

Of course, the million-dollar question is obvious: is it worth the switch? Part of the reason that this question is so difficult to answer is because there isn’t just one thing that people call Linux.

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