Linux Passes the 1% Mark!

According to marketshare.hitslink.com, a site that collects internet market statistics which can then be used to study internet trends, Linux for the first time passed 1% of desktop operating systems in the month of April 2009!

What does this mean? Well obviously it means that more and more people are beginning to use Linux as a desktop OS. And that means that the quality of Linux as desktop OS has improved enough for one out of every hundred computers to be running it. Does it mean that this is the year of Linux on desktop? Or that Microsoft is finally crumbling? I think not.

Geeky celebrations aside, this is what I think should be taken away from this. Everybody knows that the whole world is going through an economic crisis. And according to a report on www.bloomberg.com, a financial news site, PC sales are predicted to drop by 12% to 257 million units in 2009 as compared to 2008. So:

1. Manufacturers will be battling each other fiercely for a sizable piece of the smaller 257 million pie,


2. People are looking to spend less on computers at least until the economic times change,


3. 1% of 257 million is still a whole lot of computers and money... especially when the pie is smaller.


4. As the growing segment of the market, Linux users are a group manufacturers should be targeting.

Now, Linux has been for the most part a fringe user base and still remains so for the time being. And as a Linux user since 2004, one inconvenience I have experienced is the sub par support for hardware compared to the likes of Microsoft. This usually means carefully selecting hardware that I will purchase and choosing the said hardware solely for its support for my OS of choice. This includes motherboards, graphic cards, wireless cards, TV capture cards, digital cameras, portable MP3 players, mobile phones, PDAs, and the list goes on. Moreover, us Linux users are usually the techie types that love all these kinds of gadgets and products and hence would more likely splash a few bucks on some new hardware this year.

Here we have this growing user base that love tech products, we're all going through rough economic times where consumers want to spend sparingly and manufacturers want to win over every possible customer... Common sense would dictate that it would be a perfectly sound business strategy to provide solid support for products on Linux. And with Linux being free, the price of a PC preinstalled with Linux and all hardware working perfectly will surely win over at least 1 in a 100 customers. Hardware support for money? What do you say? Come on, show us some love!

Linus Torvalds Switches to Gnome?

For years the fanatic battle of which desktop environment is better on a Linux desktop has raged on. But the KDE folks always had a trump card - Linus Torvalds prefers KDE over Gnome. But With the advent of KDE 4, which I like a lot, has the situation remained the same? Apparently not!

I used to be a KDE user. I thought KDE 4.0 was such a disaster, I switched to GNOME. I hate the fact that my right button doesn't do what I want it to do. But the whole "break everything" model is painful for users, and they can choose to use something else.

Read more...

What is the conclusion? We on the the open side of the software world all have one thing in common - Choice! Use what works for you!

India aims for the Moon!

Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon vs. Mac OS X Tiger

I want that Ubuntu T-shirt!

Hi all!

I'm back :-) You all might be wondering what that picture is doing up there... well there is a bit of a story behind it. You see, I am a member of the ubuntulinux group on Google groups, and today I read one of the threads which is about a guy, Balakumar, who is giving away 2 Ubuntu t-shirts and cds (I think) for free! But there is a bit of a catch to it... prospective recipients are to explain why they love Ubuntu and provide a link to a screenshot of their desktop. So you see where I'm heading with this :-) .

So this here is a screenshot of my desktop. I am running Ubuntu Dapper Drake which is Ubuntu 6.06 in simpler terms. I've been an avid Linux user since July 2004, beginning with Mandrake, then Mandriva, but so far Ubuntu has definitely been the most complete desktop distribution I have encountered. Needless to say, I will never go back to Windows, ever. With a desktop that looks as pretty as mine up there, why would I? Pop-ups, viruses, security holes, crashes, blue screens, spyware, malware, you-name-it, are vague memories in the distant past.

If you havent tried Ubuntu, whether you are a Linux veteran or never seen anything close to it, you should definetely give it a shot. Now I dont want to give you great expectations. Most of the limitations of Ubuntu (and Linux in general) are due to proprietary hardware and software... and hence has nothing to do with Linux, but the companies unwilling join the Open Source wave. The transition may be difficult, frustrating or, if you're savvy, a breeze. But if you are like me, once you have passed through the fire you will be left wondering what you were thinking using Windows :-)


So now you want Ubuntu? Well, join Balakumar's competition, or you can go straight to the source and get them to send you some cds completely free!


OK. That's it for now... Hope I win this competition :-D.