Three reasons Linux can’t take over the desktop
I’d reformat my hard drive today if Linux were up to the job of being my primary OS. Unfortunately, it’s not. The fact that I hate Windows Vista but still feel forced to use it should tell you something about Linux’s problems.
I love Linux. I’m registered user #88777 at the Linux Counter. Next month will be my tenth anniversary. I’ve installed various distributions — from Slackware to Ubuntu — on at least a dozen machines. I have Ubuntu 8.04, aka Hardy Heron, on an old HP desktop, a Gateway laptop and a Sony laptop.
Linux has so much going for it. It’s easier to install than Windows XP or Vista. Its desktop is set up just like Windows and is even sexier than Vista’s Aero eye candy. OpenOffice.org is a free open-source alternative to Microsoft Office.
So why do I subject myself to Vista when Linux is so cool?
- For one, I have several Windows applications that do not play well under Linux. Quicken 2008 is one example. Codeweavers is an inexpensive Windows emulator for Linux that allows you to run Windows programs like MS Office without running the OS. In user tests, Quicken 2008 is “known not to work.”
- Fair enough, I could install VMWare or the open-source Virtualbox. Been there, done that, but that would involve buying another copy of Windows.
- Another reason: wireless support is weak. Many wireless cards are unsupported. From what I can gather, the BIOS on my Gateway laptop was apparently compiled with Microsoft’s compiler, not Intel’s, and that’s enough to sabotage wireless. It’s not an uncommon problem with Linux installs. There’s a workaround but it’s not for the faint-of-heart.
Mark Hachman of ExtremeTech writes that Linux still has “some significantly frayed edges”:
What’s holding Linux back? When asked what they would have the Linux community improve, all three OEM representatives (Dell, HP, and Lenovo) named power management. HP’s Mann added the lack of good wireless support. John Hull, manager of an engineering team at Dell, wanted shorter boot times. And Mann added, “don’t ever make me open a terminal window and access a command prompt.”
I keep hoping the vast Linux development community will come to my aid, but it’s been ten years.
UPDATE: I made theComputerJy Inside blog.
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Tags: Linux, slackware, ubuntu, Vista sucks
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August 23, 2008 at 8:41 pm
You make some valid points, but those are specific to your individual situation. Perhaps a better title would have been, “Three reasons Linux can’t take over MY desktop”
August 23, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I guess Mac OS X, by your logic won’t be taking over the desktop, either. In fact, you’ve pretty much described a chicken-and-egg problem all Linux users know about.
With the majority marketshare, you get a lot of third-party support from hardware and software vendors. With a lot of third-party support, it’s easy to retain a majority marketshare.
It’s the same reason that, if I started up a shop selling generic goods, there’s no way I would get the kind of volume discounts Wal-Mart gets, and it would be very difficult for me to penetrate that market. It has nothing to do with the quality of goods I’m selling or the customer service my employees show. It has everything to do with large marketshare, name-brand recognition, inertia, fear of change, vendor lock-in, and corporate muscle.
Same deal with Windows and Linux.
August 23, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Fair enough. With the exception of #3, those are reasons to continue with Windows. As for #3, I’d buy a $30 wireless card that is known to work with Linux without issues. Why subject yourself to Vista for the sake of $30 (barring the other issues of course)?
August 23, 2008 at 11:42 pm
From reading your post, I agree that Linux won’t be taking over your current desktop.
#1 & #2) You use Window-only software
#3) You have Windows-only hardware.
You should definitely be using Windows. Your points don’t keep ME from using Linux on the Desktop, though.
August 23, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Quicken 2008 apparently mostly works with wine, using a native GDIplus. It’s just lacking internet due to a currently unimplemented schannel, the library implementing ssl. You decide if that’s a show-stopper or not…
http://www.lumidant.com/blog/quicken-2008-on-linux-with-wine/
Alternatively, you might check out MoneyDance, a $30 application that’s written in Java, and thus supports any OS that has Java, including Linux.
http://moneydance.com/
Trial available at http://moneydance.com/other
I found that in less than 30 seconds by searching Google for “Linux quicken alternative”; there may be others. I’m assuming you’ve already tried the free alternatives, GNUcash, KMyMoney, Grisbi, et.al.
As far as wireless, if you’re willing to throw down some money for Crossover instead of using free Wine, it sounds like you might be interested in just buying a known-to-work wireless card for your machine.
August 24, 2008 at 1:50 am
You wouldn’t need “another” license for Windows. Since you already have a license, you can use that license key to install Windows inside VMWare or Virtual Box. I bought a copy of Windows 2000 for next to nothing for my Girlfriend to run in Virtual Box because of a couple of design programs she HAS to have.
A bit of these “blogs” against Linux and installation/hardware support are coming from people that buy machines with Windows pre-installed, with drivers from the OEM.
Why not give OEM Linux a shot. With a Dell Laptop coming with Ubuntu installed from the factory.
If you’ve ever had to re-install Windows without the OEM’s discs, it can be just as difficult, sometimes more, than getting hardware support to work in Linux.
I can’t count how many times I’ve done a Windows re-install for friends/family only to have to download ALL the drivers from another machine, because the networking did not work out of the box. Vista is better than XP at this, but there as still many driver issues with Vista. Not limited to RTL8111b cards, and nVidia graphics drivers.
Good luck finding out what type of hardware you have in Windows without cracking the box open. There is no lspci -vv nor lsusb -vv.
August 24, 2008 at 4:20 am
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