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

Robert Holtzman holtzm at cox.net
Mon May 11 00:13:15 UTC 2009


On Sun, 10 May 2009, Amit Kumar wrote:

>> progressively easier to use. You no longer have to be a geek (I said this
>> in a complimentary way, no insults!) to use Linux.
>>
>
> Using Ubuntu is not easy at all, and yes you need to be a geek to use it.
> Don't get swayed away with self-congratulation.
>
> The good thing with Ubuntu is its forums, where you can find about all the
> problems on the machine. But using Ubuntu is still a pain:
>
> 1. Half-yearly upgrade every time breaks a number of applications. For
> example, upgrade to 9.04 broke Tracker tool, Sound and Django already on my
> laptop. Probably much more comprehensive test suites are needed (or else
> more beta testers). Good thing is you can find about the problems on the
> forums.
>
> 2. Linux suffers from license issues, which seems to be the whole reason
> behind the Ubuntu sound woes. I can't easily use skype, because skype does
> not care to run on linux.
>
> 3. Linux community seems fragmented (I am not an expert in this area). Only
> a united front can handle such problems like licensing.
>
> 4. Further, it often happens that there are tens of applications for each
> use case, but none of them are competitive (read non-crashing). This happens
> because the developer community is highly fragmented. Many of the
> applications are really university projects, which are not actively
> maintained (for obvious reasons).
>
> No linux application can be thought of an competitive with MS Office 2007,
> etc.
>
> Mind you, I love Ubuntu, but then I have been using it for ages. I know
> Linux would be a boom for the third world, but that won't happen till the
> Linuxes unite. I would suggest using internet advertising in linux apps for
> increasing the commercial value of applications.

Using Ubuntu for ages and thinking it needs a geek to run it 
successfully says more about the operator than about the system.

-- 
Bob Holtzman
AF9D 8760 0CFA F95A 6C77  E125 BF90 580F 8D54 9279
"If you think you're getting free lunch,
  check the price of the beer"




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