[Bug 1] Microsoft has a majority market share

[Martin Wildam]

Before this degrades to a developer litigation - regarding the development:
1. I think there are really enough options for developing under Linux.
2. I don't see Visual Studio being sooo good. I used Visual Studio for
more than 10 years and I felt way better after I switched to NetBeans
and Java development.
3. It would be good if even every full idiot could use the
libraries/APIs and the IDE. That would include a lot of crap being
developed by a lot of people who do not really know about development,
but for a better developer it would be either easy and the learning
curve less steep which is important also for the new young developers
entering the computer world.
4. A developer who has many years of experience with Windows and none
with Linux surely has more difficulties developing for Linux - but
more likely because of the lack of knowledge about the underlying OS.
I don't think that the development/developers do hinder from current
point of view to do the switch to Linux/Ubuntu - and the developers on
the Linux side are very good IMHO.


Regarding the main issue (Bug #1):
a) Developers matter - no doubt - but developing for Linux is possible
right now and there are good tools. But by focusing on Linux
development, don't forget that for the next years platform independent
development is more important during the transition phase.
b) Maybe getting the percentage of Ubuntu/Linux desktops out there in
real use up to 50 % is a goal that is easier achieved than getting the
vendors to sell machines with Linux preinstalled. I do have currently
two brand new laptops with Windows 7 preinstalled (by the vendor). One
of them is already an Ubuntu machine, second following. There are so
many flavors and installing Linux nowadays is not that difficult that
not anybody can do it on his own. So why bother what OS was
preinstalled - even if it would have been a Linux distribution,
wouldn't I anyway re-install it for new - if it would be just to have
it partitioned the way I prefer it? - Of course, if it is cheaper
without OS, I buy my hardware without OS (well - I did - others first
don't think of the Ubuntu alternative).
c) Marketing could be improved, but it is definitely not everything.
Word of mouth is slower than marketing, but much a more stable
success! - And guess what: The most issues I have with new
installations of Ubuntu is because of hardware with non-open source
proprietary drivers. Not to blame Canonical or Linux community for
this, the shame is on the Vendors or the hardware pieces! And this is
a part of the community: To spread the word of what is good and
working hardware. Whenever someone asks me what computer to buy, I
always recommend a hardware that has very good chances to work
smoothly with Ubuntu - even if the person is not going to install
Ubuntu on it. I always say them: "Just for the case you will not be
satisfied in a year or so with your Windows 7 any more - you should
have the option to install Linux".
-- 
Martin Wildam

-- 
Microsoft has a majority market share
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1
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