2010 is going to be a good year for Linux on the desktop. No, tens of millions of Windows users aren’t going to see the light and suddenly switch. Inertia and resistance to change make a massive migration highly unlikely. At the same time, Microsoft has managed to stem the erosion from its Vista-fueled disaster, first by extending the commercial life of Windows XP on netbooks, then by releasing Windows 7. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Linux will continue to make steady gains on the desktop next year, even though most estimates still put its market share at about only 2 percent.
ONE of things that might disconcert Windows users after they’ve switched to Ubuntu Linux is the frequency with which the operating system is updated. There was a five-year wait between Windows XP and Windows Vista, and another two years until Windows 7 was released to fix all that was wrong with Vista. In contrast, Ubuntu, one of the most popular flavors of Linux, has pretty much followed a six-month release cycle since it was first introduced in 2004. This means that every April and October (except in 2006 when Dapper Drake was released in June instead), a new version becomes available. It’s only been a month since I installed the latest version, Karmic Koala, on my home PC and already, an early test version of the next release, Lucid Lynx, is available. The final version of Lucid isn’t due until April 2010 – but that’s not really too far away.
SOMETIMES, less isn’t more – it’s just less. This was certainly the way I felt when I fired up an early open source demo of Google’s Chrome operating system that became available for download last week.
Karmic Koala with widgets and the Cairo dock (GLX-Dock).
ONE of the cool things about using Linux is the degree to which you can customize your system. If you want to make it look and act like a Mac, you can. Want the Windows 7 or Vista glassy look? No problem. You can do that too. For a week now, I’ve been having fun tweaking Karmic Koala, the latest release of the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. Although I mentioned some of the things I did after installing Karmic Koala last week, here is a more organized checklist.
The Ubuntu Software Center replaces Add/Remove Programs in Karmic Koala.
LAUNCHED seven days after Windows 7, Ubuntu 9.10 is an excellent alternative to Microsoft’s new and more expensive operating system.
Also known as Karmic Koala, this upgrade to the popular Linux distribution has everything you’d expect from a modern operating system – and more. Like Windows 7, Karmic Koala is easy to install. Unlike Windows 7 (which retails for between P8,000 and P16,500 for the full version), Ubuntu is absolutely free and comes with loads of software already installed, including OpenOffice, a complete productivity suite that’s comparable with MS Office.
I contributed something to the Ubuntu community this weekend by responding to a call for countdown banners ahead of the October launch of Ubuntu 9.10 or Karmic Koala. Don’t know if my design will be chosen, but it was fun making it anyway. What do you think?
A WORKER at a Best Buy outlet in Hamilton, Ohio, has posted screen shots from a Microsoft training module aimed at helping store personnel convince netbook buyers to choose Windows 7 over Linux. The screen shots posted on the Overclock.net forum, are taken from a course entitled “Comparing Windows 7 to Linux-based PCs,” prepared by Microsoft to promote the latest version of its operating system. That Microsoft would launch such a marketing effort is understandable. After the debacle of Windows Vista, the company has a lot riding on Windows 7. And whether it admits it or not, Linux is already a viable, often more attractive alternative desktop operating system.
What is a little surprising is the extent to which Microsoft’s marketing hacks are bending the truth to sell Windows 7.
MOST industry watchers picked up on a shift in Microsoft’s world view when the software giant filed its annual 10-K report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. In its filing, Microsoft acknowledged for the first time that Ubuntu Linux is a threat to its Windows desktop operating system.
"ONE Hundred Paper Cuts” is a program that seeks to improve the usability of Ubuntu Linux by fixing minor irritants in everyday computing. It’s a great idea that illustrates how serious Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is about making its Linux distribution easier to use. The program, launched two months ago, specifically aims to identify 100 such “small points of pain” and to fix them in the upcoming release of Ubuntu (9.10 or Karmic Koala) in October. Having just recently upgraded to Jaunty Jackalope (9.04), I was curious about the kind of paper cuts other users were reporting, and to see if any matched mine.
THE press loves a clash of titans. Pit the Internet search giant Google against the software behemoth Microsoft and you’ll have them chomping at the bit. So when Google announced on its blog last week that it would be developing its own operating system, most news organizations pronounced that the undisputed king of search was gunning for Microsoft where it lives.
Digital Life is a blog that features a technology column by the same name that appears every Tuesday in Manila Standard Today, a national daily from the Philippines. This blog gives readers easy access to the column, which started in November 2002. Copyright 2009 Chin Wong.
2010 is going to be a good year for Linux on the desktop. No, tens of millions of Windows users aren’t going to see the light and suddenly switch. Inertia and resistance to change make a massive migration highly unlikely. At the same time, Microsoft has managed to stem the erosion from its Vista-fueled disaster, first by extending the commercial life of Windows XP on netbooks, then by releasing Windows 7. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Linux will continue to make steady gains on the desktop next year, even though most estimates still put its market share at about only 2 percent.
Karmic Koala with widgets and the Cairo dock (GLX-Dock).
AFTER a few hiccups, my new Jaunty Jackalope installation on my home PC is off to a good start.
