The future of Ubuntu Linux.... Will it make Micro$oft go bankrupt?

[anthony baldwin]

Brittany wrote:
> Although it may sound ridiculous having to hear that Micro$oft went 
> bankrupt because of a free Open Source Operating system such as 
> Ubuntu... Is it really possible? I've noticed since my first experience 
> with running Linux (Mostly Ubuntu) that it's getting progressively 
> easier to use. You no longer have to be a geek (I said this in a 
> complimentary way, no insults!) to use Linux.
> 
> What's your opinion?
> 
> Brittany
> A Ubuntu 9.04 - Jaunty Jackalope* *user
> 

Something like this could get flamed for being OT, but I'll bite.

FWIW, I think Linux is easier to use than Windows, in all truth, and has 
been, at least since 2000 when I sought alternatives to Windows (due to 
the exorbitant cost of "upgrading" from Win98 to XP), and first loaded 
Red Hat 7.0 on my machine.  Just not having to fork out the $300.00 M$ 
wanted for their garbage already made it easier.
In all truth, I couldn't imagine having to do my work on a Windows box. 
  I'd go nuts.
All the crashes, hangs, viruses, malware, spyware, etc., etc....
Not too mentions the heavy licensing costs.
Such phenomena, IMHO, do not make for an easy to use system.
I need my computer to work for me, every day, to pay the rent.
I can't waste time or dough fixing messes.
For me, using Linux is a no-brainer.  It's FREE, stable, secure, 
efficient...I run my own business from my home office, and I need solid, 
stable, secure, efficient software, and I need to keep my overhead as 
low as possible.  It just makes so much sense to me that I can't imagine 
why any serious computer user chooses to use Windows.
What keeps M$ on top o' the heap for the broadest user base is not ease 
of use, but brand familiarity, underhanded, monopolistic business 
practices (such as deals with OEM manufacturers to install their crap on 
all new machines), advertising, etc.

So, if being easy to use were the key to commercial viability and market 
share, I think we'd already be there.

People have been predicting M$'s demise and the rise of Linux on the 
desktop since I've been using a computer, I think, and, as of yet, it 
hasn't happened.  To tell the truth, like many others, I'm not so sure I 
want it to.  Of course, companies come and go, so, I would never predict 
that M$ will remain forever in their position.  If they do fall, of 
course, I believe Linux would be the obvious successor to the throne, 
but, who knows...some other company with a fat advertising budget and 
sharp business sense could come along with some other garbage system 
(much like windows), and take the cake.
While I like people, I'm under the impression that most of them aren't 
too bright.  They allow superficial impressions, logically insupportable 
advertising claims, and sheer stupidity dictate most of their choices.
For that reason alone, I think Linux will never be the obvious choice to 
the masses that it is to most of us.  We have enough brains to make 
smart choices based on facts, not marketing campaigns and propaganda. 
The same can not be said of everyone.

/tony
-- 
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