____/ Charlie Wilkes on Saturday 08 March 2008 11:02 : \____
> On Fri, 07 Mar 2008 22:53:25 -0500, Moshe Goldfarb wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:26:56 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Some say that Microsoft might have no choice but to 'fork' XP, as in
>>> have two routes for it -- a broken one (Vista) and a maintenance
>>> release like SP3. In any event, Linux keeps evolving very quickly. Most
>>> Microsoft customers are still stuck with an O/S from the days I was a
>>> teenager.
>>
>> So?
>>
>> What effect does this have on the Linux community?
>>
>> You have had your chance with Windows ME which was a disaster. Then you
>> had Windows XP which didn't get updated for like 8 years or something?
>> Now you have your chance with Windows Vista.
>>
>> See a pattern here?
>
> There is a pattern, alright. For years, each new version of Windows
> brought enough value to justify the upgrade. But Vista doesn't. And
> unlike the situation with ME, Microsoft can't go back to the drawing
> board and come up with something better, because this time the
> fundamental problem is how people view computers rather than the OS
> itself. Linux is not poised to take over the world's desktops... but the
> desktop OS is poised to become a less profitable business.
>
>>
>> I doubt it.
>>
>> The truth is Linux, despite being free, is still well below 1.0 percent
>> of the desktop market while OSX is climbing.
>>
>> Why is that?
>>
>> Why can't a free operating system gain market share?
>
> I would turn that around: how much longer will people continue to pay for
> Windows? Microsoft's business model assumes a world where everyone
> upgrades every 3 years to a new computer running a new version of Windows
> that's even bigger and more complicated than what it replaces. But that
> world is fading away. The real news with these UMPCs is not that they
> run Linux... it's that people will actually pay money for new computers
> with 900 mhz CPUs. Buyers are becoming more sophisticated in how they
> evaluate technology. They have gotten burned in the past by assuming
> that more is always better... now they can see the value of cheap,
> compact machines that cover the basics and are easy to use. Microsoft
> can compete against Linux for that market, if it wants to, but it won't
> be very profitable.
I still do all my work from a 1.8 GHz box. Very old one...
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz \ Switch to GNU/Linux. Visit http://www.getgnulinux.org/
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