[TriLUG] Where is Linux today?

[Maxwell Spangler]

On Wed, 2008-06-18 at 12:06 -0400, William Sutton wrote:
> I've been a Linux user since way back in the Red Hat 4.1 days (my mentor 

>   When people ask for my 
> recommendation, I tell them to get an Apple (I recently purchased a 
> MacBook Pro for myself).

> Given the Apple price points for hardware (expensive), and the Microsoft 
> brokenness, I see great opportunities for a consumer-ready Linux PC.  That 
> said, I'm sticking with my MacBook :-)

My original message in this thread started on the Washington DC lug list
where someone else whose opinion and perspective is quite out of date
and idealic stated that Windows is produced by a monopoly so we don't
want to go near that, that Linux is wonderful and that we (Linux users)
would never consider choosing an Apple Mac running OS X because its
proprietary.  (paraphrasing.)

So tied into an ongoing discussion about why you don't see things like
the Redhat LinuxExpo of the past, I started to engage users in a
discussion on whether Linux is stalling [in the desktop environment.]

Williams response here is an example of what I was looking for.  Here's
a guy who's pro-Linux, pro-open source, etc., and has a long history of
working with a variety of technology issues and platforms, so he knows
the landscape.  He's optimistic about Linux, but he's using a MacBook at
home.

That's a vastly different world than ten years ago when people like me
were driving to Raleigh from Washington DC to excitedly attend
LinuxExpo.  Back then Linux was full of unlimited potential and for all
we knew, might grow into something that was capable of powering servers
(check!), embedded devices (check), and desktops featuring a Unix
backend and an amazingly cutting edge innovative graphical front-end
(check.. wait a second?)

It's that last part that I was interested in discussing.  Linux did grow
up and become a powerful operating system that can hold its own.  My
question is whether or not the practical features of Windows Vista and
Mac OS X raised the bar and that Linux, despite its advances, is still
not good enough.

Especially in a Linux forum its easy to consider Vista with its malware,
adware, spyware, viruses, initial and ongoing cost and personal dislikes
in order to write it off as a crappy operating system.  But chances are
if you buy a new shiny computer, all your hardware will be supported,
easy access to technical support for hardware issues is available and if
you little or no legacy apps or hardware, your experience can actually
be pretty good.  So, reluctantly perhaps, lets agree it is still a
viable option for the average person, of which there are millions out
there making decisions about computers and software.

Mac OS X is what really impresses me because it is in functional terms
what I always wanted Linux to be.  A solid Unix back end with an
innovative front end and hardware that works.

I started with Linux in 1993 with Slackware, switched to Redhat at
version 3.03 and use Fedora 8 today.  I use it daily as my only computer
for home and work.  And I really do love it.  But it is worrisome that
in such a short period of time Mac OS X has inherited a large and
growing user base with more acceptance on desktops/laptops than Linux,
and that Microsoft Vista, despite its flaws will inherit a large user
base of millions of users as well.

If those operating systems get their act together and keep growing, will
Linux be limited in the future to servers, embedded uses and politically
or technically motivated users that require free/open source software
above all else?

Just a question and an interesting discussion I hope.