5 ms·

This is a great thing, next year will be the year of linux... definitely...

by kript 14y ago

biomechanica 14y ago
Well, the year of linux has been around for a long time. The list of devices that use Linux is staggering. Now, Linux as a desktop... Maybe. We'll see.
- DrStalker 14y ago
  I was first told the Year Of Linux On The Sesktop would be 1997, when it would overtake Windows 95 by being better/prettier/more functional. Just as soon as they fixed the issues with sound support... I'm sure someone here heard it before then.
  - MartinCron 14y ago
    I too remember 97 as the first year of Linux on the desktop, when people gleefully predicted that Microsoft would collapse under their own weight. Feels kind of cute, in retrospect.
  - hollerith 14y ago
    >I was first told the Year Of Linux On The Desktop would be 1997 Yup.
  - Tuna-Fish 14y ago
    Well, sound support was sort of finally properly fixed in 2010-2011. :)
- krzyk 14y ago
  Yesterday I connected a webcam to Windows 7, I had to download drivers (about 100MB of it from Logitech) only after this it started working. Also the same day I wanted to install my old HP 4300C scanner, connecting it to Windows 7 and using some old driver for windows xp didn't make it work. There are no drivers for Windows 7. The ones for XP are also quite old and are some kind of a "remastered" Windows 95 version sometimes they don't work. When I did the same on linux (Debian Wheezy, default kernel 3.2.x) both devices just work I didn't have to do anything apart from running an application that uses them (Skype or scanimage).
  - josephcooney 14y ago
    How old was the webcam?
    - krzyk 14y ago
      It's Logitech C100 (http://www.logitech.com/en-my/support/webcams/6424 http://www.logitech.com/en-my/support/webcams/6424) not sure how old it is, I borrowed it from colleague.
  - biomechanica 14y ago
    I also see the benefits of having a Linux distribution over Windows 7(or 8). The driver hurdle is annoying on Windows. I recently helped a family member install Ubuntu 12.04 (this family member is not technically inclined at all!), I sat back and watched her install Ubuntu. No driver installs, no "enter in your license key" crap, no activation crap. It all just worked out out of the box. Even her wireless. I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't needed anymore. You and I may see the Linux desktop, but most people don't. Which is very sad, in my opinion. It'll come, I suppose. I just have to be skeptical.
- zainny 14y ago
  In the time between when the "year of the desktop" meme was coined, honestly I think the goal posts have shifted. It shouldn't be the goal or focus of Linux to win on the desktop, because the desktop is increasingly being relegated to a niche player. Winning on the desktop today would be a rather pointless victory IMO. Linux is already right now, today, amazingly incredibly successful in all domains which I think are most relevant for the future: servers (a given) and mobile (Android, Firefox OS, Web OS, Ouya, etc, etc.)
w1ntermute 14y ago
Meh, the year of Linux for me was around 2007, when I started using Ubuntu. Stop worrying about whether other people are using Linux and just start using it (and contributing to the community). That's how you build up the userbase.
mylittlepony 14y ago
I knew Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was going to make a difference. I've been using it in my desktop and I love it, everything works out of the box (sound, video, etc), and you can find anything you want in the software center. Now I only use Windows for games.
- mbell 14y ago
  Unless you have an AMD graphics card, in which case you get to deal with all kinds of corruption in general desktop use.
  - marshray 14y ago
    Or an Nvidia, or an Intel, or ... All accelerated cards have had their share of bugs.
    - muyuu 14y ago
      Intel run pretty flawlessly. They're just comparatively underpowered for gaming.
      - marshray 14y ago
        That has not been my experience, but admittedly it has been many years since I bought anything with Intel graphics.
  - krzyk 14y ago
    Opensource radeon driver is pretty good if you don't need 3D. I would actually say that it is much better then the AMD one - there are no problems with suspend and the card initializes more quickly.
    - lucian1900 14y ago
      Yes, except for power usage. The blob is much, much better at keeping my laptop's battery alive.

This is a great thing, next year will be the year of linux... definitely...

by kript 14y ago

This is a great thing, next year will be the year of linux... definitely...

Well, the year of linux has been around for a long time. The list of devices that use Linux is staggering. Now, Linux as a desktop... Maybe. We'll see.

DrStalker 14y ago
I was first told the Year Of Linux On The Sesktop would be 1997, when it would overtake Windows 95 by being better/prettier/more functional. Just as soon as they fixed the issues with sound support... I'm sure someone here heard it before then.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  I too remember 97 as the first year of Linux on the desktop, when people gleefully predicted that Microsoft would collapse under their own weight. Feels kind of cute, in retrospect.
- hollerith 14y ago
  >I was first told the Year Of Linux On The Desktop would be 1997 Yup.
- Tuna-Fish 14y ago
  Well, sound support was sort of finally properly fixed in 2010-2011. :)
krzyk 14y ago
Yesterday I connected a webcam to Windows 7, I had to download drivers (about 100MB of it from Logitech) only after this it started working. Also the same day I wanted to install my old HP 4300C scanner, connecting it to Windows 7 and using some old driver for windows xp didn't make it work. There are no drivers for Windows 7. The ones for XP are also quite old and are some kind of a "remastered" Windows 95 version sometimes they don't work. When I did the same on linux (Debian Wheezy, default kernel 3.2.x) both devices just work I didn't have to do anything apart from running an application that uses them (Skype or scanimage).
- josephcooney 14y ago
  How old was the webcam?
  - krzyk 14y ago
    It's Logitech C100 (http://www.logitech.com/en-my/support/webcams/6424 http://www.logitech.com/en-my/support/webcams/6424) not sure how old it is, I borrowed it from colleague.
- biomechanica 14y ago
  I also see the benefits of having a Linux distribution over Windows 7(or 8). The driver hurdle is annoying on Windows. I recently helped a family member install Ubuntu 12.04 (this family member is not technically inclined at all!), I sat back and watched her install Ubuntu. No driver installs, no "enter in your license key" crap, no activation crap. It all just worked out out of the box. Even her wireless. I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't needed anymore. You and I may see the Linux desktop, but most people don't. Which is very sad, in my opinion. It'll come, I suppose. I just have to be skeptical.
zainny 14y ago
In the time between when the "year of the desktop" meme was coined, honestly I think the goal posts have shifted. It shouldn't be the goal or focus of Linux to win on the desktop, because the desktop is increasingly being relegated to a niche player. Winning on the desktop today would be a rather pointless victory IMO. Linux is already right now, today, amazingly incredibly successful in all domains which I think are most relevant for the future: servers (a given) and mobile (Android, Firefox OS, Web OS, Ouya, etc, etc.)

w1ntermute 14y ago

Meh, the year of Linux for me was around 2007, when I started using Ubuntu. Stop worrying about whether other people are using Linux and just start using it (and contributing to the community). That's how you build up the userbase.

mylittlepony 14y ago

I knew Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was going to make a difference. I've been using it in my desktop and I love it, everything works out of the box (sound, video, etc), and you can find anything you want in the software center. Now I only use Windows for games.

mbell 14y ago
Unless you have an AMD graphics card, in which case you get to deal with all kinds of corruption in general desktop use.
- marshray 14y ago
  Or an Nvidia, or an Intel, or ... All accelerated cards have had their share of bugs.
  - muyuu 14y ago
    Intel run pretty flawlessly. They're just comparatively underpowered for gaming.
    - marshray 14y ago
      That has not been my experience, but admittedly it has been many years since I bought anything with Intel graphics.
- krzyk 14y ago
  Opensource radeon driver is pretty good if you don't need 3D. I would actually say that it is much better then the AMD one - there are no problems with suspend and the card initializes more quickly.
  - lucian1900 14y ago
    Yes, except for power usage. The blob is much, much better at keeping my laptop's battery alive.