Linux’s Chance to Leap Ahead of Apple And Microsoft
Apple and Microsoft are both in a situation where they are essentially forced, due to past mistakes or a lack of foresight, to spend a significant amount of time making behind-the-scenes changes. In this time, Linux could potentially get a real leg up on other OSs.
First, what happened with Microsoft and Apple? In Microsoft’s case, the main mistake was making Vista so resource intensive. When the Eee PC suddenly appeared as a major threat to Windows, Microsoft was not prepared. As a result, Microsoft has had to repeatedly extend the life of Windows XP, a product they would obviously rather retire. This mistake, making Vista so resource intensive, will presumably force them to make major changes in Windows 7 to bring down the resource requirements.
On Apple’s side, OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) has just been announced. Rather than introducing new features, though, Apple has decided to essentially do a maintenance release. I was very surprised by this decision, but apparently that is the plan.
So what will Linux be doing well Apple and Microsoft are essentially standing still? The short answer, I hope, is: running. There are two reasons why Linux will not have to take time off for a “maintenence release.” First, Linux has not made mistakes such as dramatically increasing resource requierments. Second, even if some people (even an entire distribution) decide to work on only behind-the-scenes stuff, new features will continue to flow in from projects that are moving ahead. No one project or person can stop Linux innovation. Because of this, I am hopeful that Linux will be able to push ahead of Microsoft and Apple as they stand there correcting past mistakes. Anyone thinking of the tortoise and the hare?
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June 12th, 2008 at 3:59 am
You use the LInux word like it was like a single entity, comparing it to Microsoft and Apple; Microsoft and Apple are entities, but not Linux. Well, OK, Red Hat, SuSe and the like are, after a fashion, but they rely on so many projects outside of their control, like Xorg and the Linux kernel development (let alone Linus and Maddog…:^) …Can’t even factor those guys in). So that makes even the strongest of Linux distributors completely dependant upon other entities to maintain their business. Yes, they contribute, of course, but surely they can’t take over the code writing that is done by the many good people slaving away in their basement rooms for free to create a better Linux app.?
Organizing Linux is like herding cats. The developers are fiercely independent and only organized in the loosest of ways.
The only way I could see it happening, is if the major vendors and the Corporate Linux supporters were to create a new alliance dedicated to a master project who’s mandate was to create some middleware that totally integrated the stable development code, of the Linux kernel, Xorg, Openoffice, 3rd party-ware (like flash), package management …dpkg, of course…..:^) and the mozilla output, for example. Then, I think we would beat the pants off Microsoft. I don’t even worry about Apple.
Chris W.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Only a small segment of the market want ‘features’ and eye-candy. Most people just want comprehensible design, speed and reliability. They want the machines to get out of the way of their productivity. And they want to be able to turn off the computer at the end of the day and go home to spend more time with the kids, or surf (on water, I mean) or whatever their real life happens to be.
They may want specific features– if you run a business on Apple hardware, you may legitimately ask why calendar sharing is so not happening. But that’s a far cry from Vista or Leopard.
So, in my opinion, the winning strategy for Linux is to become ubiquitous and invisible.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:06 am
The flipside of the “herding cats” problem is that Linux doesn’t have to “focus” on anything for the next release (whatever that constitutes?). All of these individual projects are working away, some at maintenance and bug fixes, others at bold new features. Linux doesn’t have to choose between the two due to limited resources.
In the next year or two, we’ll see KDE 4 come to maturity, OpenOffice 3.0, Compiz getting more and more stable and awesome, Xorg improvements, and who knows what cool new projects we have yet to see?
The cathedral is finally crumbling, methinks. It isn’t going to scale much longer.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Chris W. The merge is coming. Linux Standard Base has been doing a good job of herding the cats.
The type of project you were talking about at end Chris W. Is the Linux Standard Base started in 2000. Where have you been. Please go and read LSB 4.0 plans. You will see the cats are almost caged.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Linux is fine - a good distro like Ubuntu is fully the equal of any Windows version. The gap is in applications. It would be really nice to see some Linux programming talent focus on the weak links instead of repolishing something that does not need it.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Herding cats is a strange way to describe it. Microsoft is like someone trying to herd cats. They just can’t control them. Think about cats who are smart and don’t need or want to be “herded”. They know what they want and they just go do it. Some break off into groups to do one thing and the other groups break off to do something elsee. They all basically have the same goals but can innovate anyway they want. This change in purpose and perspective is what is terrifying the autocrats. This is something they can not control or stop. This is the correct way to change and for the correct reasons. This is the true and irrevocable change of wind and water on the rocks…
June 13th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I think the worst mistake Microsoft made was promising features that people really wanted that would have made for a real step up in operating systems. Instead they give us the new interface “Aero” which requires more than double the resources than the previous version of Windows in order to run efficiently.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Agreed, no need for yet another alliance, nor for herding cats, when people are already magically showing up to do whatever needs doing. Articles and comments like this are good too, as it has mostly reached a splendid stage of where we need only look around, find a place where our contribution is needed and will in turn give us back what we need, and do it.
While the term “Linux” has been great for awareness, it is part of a bigger picture, much bigger, with the core concepts around open & free and Gnu licensing (or related), adapting and making inroads into hardware designs. There are now plenty of signs of influence even in seemingly unrelated industries and businesses and general life. It is a good feeling, we have helped make this happen.