[OT] Linux development (was Re: OS 10.3 no launch Rev docs -- apple script ???)

[Richard Gaskin]

Alex Rice wrote:

>> If you're interested in Linux development it gets even better:  you can
>> pick up a computer with Lindows pre-installed at WalMart for under $200.
> 
> Cool!
> 
>> Things are gonna get weird as Linux gets usable.  Expect radical
>> change in the coming years.
> 
> You probably know this Richard but: Linux on the desktop has been in
> the news a lot lately - in a bad way.

As the old Taoist saying goes:  "The higher you rise, the more visible a
target you become."

The news seems mixed at worst.  It's like Apple (or about anything else):
those who want to see only good or bad stories can find what they're looking
for.

Using news.com and news.google.com as social indicators, the overall news on
Linux seems more positive than not, even with SCO and RedHat:

http://news.search.com/search?version=x&tag=ex.ne.fd.srch.ne&q=linux

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&q=linux&btnG=Search+News

The RedHat decision was as predictable as the collapse of the Soviet
economy.  They make money on services, so cutting off the low-price consumer
distro makes good sense for them.

In the long run it benefits the market as a whole:  While long-time Linux
users are proud that there are so many distros and UIs available, this makes
things confusing for new adopters, which, like Rev's user base, will of
course have to outnumber ol' timers by a huge margin to be successful.  And
with such a changing demographic, elements of the technology's focus will
have to adapt to keep current.

The shakeup now in progress is a natural market process, ultimately
simplifying consumer decisions down to the truly compelling choices. As a
whole, Linux marketshare continues to increase faster than any other.


> While everyone talks about Linux becoming the Desktop equalizer/radicalizer,
> meanwhile I am happy with OS X because Apple has done what people have been
> wanting for 30 years: deliver UNIX with an appealing, easy to use GUI. :-)

For the sort of work I do I still prefer my Mac.  But as a developer, having
a third machine running Lindows opens up many new opportunities in a market
that is still missing software in hundreds of categories.

If you were the type of person who only wants a Web browser, email, and a
Word processor, $200 gets all that and far more.

Sooner or later those customers will want other software goodies, and
Lindows offers a great interface for finding, downloading, and installing
them.  And paying for them too, which is where forward-thinking Rev
developers come in.....

-- 
 Richard Gaskin 
 Fourth World Media Corporation
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