Thread: Turning Point for MS?

Dell to offer Ubuntu pre-installed on desktops
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl.../05/01/1353237
http://news.com.com/Dell+picks+Ubuntu+for+..._3-6180419.html

It may be cliche, but is this the year of the linux desktop?

Public opinion of Vista is extremely low
combination of hardware requirements, DRM issues & backward compatibility

Dell already offers XP pre-installed instead of Vista due to customer demand

is this a turning point for MS's domination of desktop OS's?

Do most people really care?

Dell did that once before, last time they used RedHat. I think it's a major advancement for Linux, but Dell isn't the only one doing this. IBM desktops can also come with Linux preinstalled.

No, Microsoft is going to dominate the market for a long time to come, there just isn't enough unity in the Linux community to take them over. Ubuntu is great, I have it on my PC but it lacks software for the everyday user.

Remember that Vista was designed for be a minor upgrade to XP and a stepping stone to Vienna. If you look at the files in Vista, it is still XP with a shiney GUI and minor OS "upgrades." It's similar to what Windows Me was to Windows 2000. I don't think it will catch on, but keep people interested until Vienna, it's just too expensive for the minor upgrades.


Steve Ballmer made fun of the iPhone for being $499 while you can get a Windows Mobile PDA for $199. Vista Ultimate is $399, Leopard will ship for $129... Ubuntu is free.

Out of curiousity, how much does the Ubuntu Dell cost compared to an XP Dell of the same model?

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Ubuntu is great, I have it on my PC but it lacks software for the everyday user.[/b]

Well, to be objective, it's not Linux that lacks software for everyday users, it's the developers of commercial software that lack software for anything but Windows. (Yes, huge generalisations but you get the point.)
Because "everyday software" is plenty present, from text editors to office programs. It's the commercial software produced by large companies that casual users seek and don't find on Linux for a large part.

Dell also shipped computers with Debian on them at one point if I'm not mistaken. It's definitely a plus, and helps the general public see the advantages of Linux. Like ninja said though:

Microsoft is going to dominate the market for a long time to come, there just isn't enough unity in the Linux community to take them over. Ubuntu is great, I have it on my PC but it lacks software for the everyday user.[/b]

Linux is free, so you can't expect it to compete with big giants like Microsoft. It's not Linux's job to take over... that's Apple's job.

By the way, I don't have an apple, wish I did, and will be saving up money for when my phone contract expires in a year or so... I'll be getting an iPhone fo surr! That thing is amazing!

One thing I've noticed is, since Vista's release, nobody has been ranting and raving about DRM and whatnot anymore. Heh.

Originally Posted by MSG

One thing I've noticed is, since Vista's release, nobody has been ranting and raving about DRM and whatnot anymore. Heh.[/b]

you obviously haven't seen what's been going on at Digg in the last 48 hours......

Originally Posted by Ynot

you obviously haven't seen what's been going on at Digg in the last 48 hours......

Oh God, save yourself Ynot

I used to visit digg ritually until it started become a retarded sensationalist manifesto of twelve year olds who believe that open-source software is, by default, the best software ever created and that anything with even a speck of DRM is the work of the devil and should be eradicated immediately. Unfortunately their weapon of choice is the blog, so sadly for digg, nothing ever gets done.

Also, the population of digg's ideas hardly constitute as 'public opinion'. When I said people had generally stopped ranting about DRM I spoke from personal experience - pre-release, any mention of the word "Vista" or "Windows" triggered a slurry of "omg i feel sorry for you, so much drm lol", "u micro$oft fanboi", "lol get with the times, linux is best" etc. Nowadays, people seem to have generally accepted it as just another operating system, and flames have withered down to a minimum, the few remaining anti-vista soldiers of open-source can easily be slain.

As much as I hate to admit it, I was a digg user and I used to be like that - Hell, I went deep enough as to actually believe the whole net neutrality thing. One day it dawned on me though, that not everybody was like digg and that I had a choice - either follow the digg crowd and be part of a hateful and sad army, or follow my own will based on experience, not public acceptance. Why did I use Linux? Because digg told me to. Why do I use Vista? Because it works for what I do, and I chose it. And choice, my friend, is golden.

Well, as far as Vista goes, I'm not planning on running it until at least SP1 (or even SP2 if my laptop can survive long enough) comes out. That seems to be the pattern with Windows anyway, and it dates all the way back to Windows 98, which sucked balls, until Windows 98SE came out, which was the best of the non-NT variety (I feel bad for anyone who got stuck with ME at the time).

By the way, how is Vista's backwards compatibility? Does it have compatibility mode, at least with older windows products? For one, I've got Office 2K, and don't want to get a newer one, since they're WAY too expensive, and I'm perfectly happy with what it offers. But then, I also have all kinds of old games and sometimes I get nostalgic. I'd be pissed if I couldn't play some of those old favourites.

Oh of course, as far as backwards compatibility goes, I've found hardly any problems with it. Probably much much fewer than 2000/XP, even.

The only programs I've tried that don't work are Flash MX (Flash 8 works just fine, however), Ethereal (can't seem to find my ethernet card), and some others I can't remember off the top of my head (so I doubt I'm missing them). Some programs are annoying in that they kill Aero when you use them - Quicktime's in-browser plugin, Trillian, and VLC media player being the most annoying culprits.

I wouldn't count on some program from the 90s to work, however, if it was designed for NT you can pretty much guarantee it works on Vista.

Well, I have a linux box and a windows laptop, and "everyday use" differs widely between the two :-).

Ubuntu? Lets just call it 'CANCER OS' right away. Besides this name I am not fond of, I do hope Microsoft's crap monopoly will somehow get ass-raped by lunix and dell. Dell is a good market, Dell still supplies a lot of companies, they don't need Microsoft to game or have other software. Or at least less then regular people.

If Ubuntu is more successful, maybe Microsoft will try harder to make a better OS.