I really want to see Linux succeed but

OK, so here it is. Recently I got into a debate, and this is what I found to be evident although somewhat I hope it isn't:

As long as organizations like MicroJunk are around it's going to be hard to see Linux survive in the mainstream market despite Valves recent support

Linux devs need money to advertise it

Linux enthusiasts need money to tempt companies like Dell to make it further mainstream

People need to be taught about the command line in school

Open source software needs to be straight forward for noobs

The diversity of package managers either needs to be limited or a universal package manager needs to be formed

That's about it really. I enjoy working with SUSE but unless Linux is advertised the future does not look bright however it is open and as such I'm leaning towards the idea that Linux will be something a fraction of a percent of people will actually acknowledge they are running.

Zoltan

Open source software needs to be straight forward for noobs


this

I personally look at Linux as "That smart kid in the back of the class that developed a new formula to solve a math problem but no one wants to use it. because they are afraid of asking him how to apply it or don't want to understand it because it's not straightforward."

I don't see Linux ever taking over the desktop. People have been saying it will and it still hasn't happened. Likewise with Games. "Gaming is getting there" Said every Linux user ever. It hasn't yet. The only people stopping Linux from Succeeding is the Developers. Get the Programs I use on Windows working Natively on Linux and then We'll talk. Cause personally My favorite Distro is Zorin OS and the only thing stopping me from putting it on my Desktop is my Games and a Few Programs I've use that don't work on Wine.

What ev's linux won everything else ms can have the desktop

Eloquently spoken. 

Note: Zoltan is probably drafting a damn essay

Yup, and I also don't care about it lolz... just like I don't care about the women that are convinced women can't ever have equal rights as men because some fictional supreme entity from some ancient pamphlet can be explained in such a way that it must be obvious that women are like cattle in servitude...

Nope, it's not necessary, the OP is amply self-qualifying in that it proposes that the popularity of product, albeit completely different, emanates from a marketing effort, and I do share the opinion of the poster that marketing mainly affects the weak minded, and that the intelligent people are immune to marketing and don't see the benefit of investing in it.

The reason why linux is not taking over the desktop is that desktop linux is simply not good enough yet.

On the Contrary. I've Fiddled with a Few Distros. I love them. Linux doesn't have to be popular or Need Marketing. It helps though. but to keep a long story short. Not all the games I own Work on Linux. That is a Problem for Me. As a Student I have NO problem running Linux on a Laptop its great and it gets the job done. as A Gamer I don't feel like Running Everything through Wine or in a KVM. I just want to click on the darn launcher and play. but NOPE some games, shit gotta run it through Wine. If it doesn't work in Wine. Gotta Set up a Virtual Machine for Windows now. Linux isn't perfect. but it's Freakin' Close. like i mentioned in my post if all my games worked. and all the programs i used worked On Linux it would be my Primary OS. but sadly it doesn't

I am kinda really don't see the point if it is popular or not. If you like it, cool, if not your loss.

The main problem is valve is not nvidia or Amd so the steambox is still going to run games like s*** if they don't get on board. Just because a game has linux support does not mean it gets good fps or is on par with the windows version. I play steam games on linux and its not the same in my experiences playing halflife 2 on my windows build vs linux build I lose atleast 50% fps. Yes I know I can go to a linux forum and get several peoples cryptic responses on a fix or how i can design a custom bios for my graphics card but I just want it to work. I spend all day fixing broken computers and dont have the patience to deal with linux when i get home. Once there is good game engine and gpu support it will leak into the gaming community and once someone creates a hassle free version similar to Old versions of OSX it will get into the hands of the everyday computer user. It's great that its generally free but 3rd world countries are still using pirated xp rather then try out linux beta edition. I'm not hating on it I use it on all my laptops but anything past web browsing(w/ out Flash) is frustrating to me. Anyone who can please provide a youtube link for a good linux tutorial channel please post it I cant find any.

My 2¢

If current trends are anything to go by then I think the traditional notion of a "desktop" is dying, especially the current M$ desktop model.

We're seeing a steady decline in desktop computer sales (possibly due to win8 being a flop), and a decrease in PC-component sales within the consumer market. (which might be explained by the newer generation of geeks opting for the internet of things (IoT).

People are moving toward embedded devices. ie; tablets, smartphones, gadgets - (IoT). This is why we are seeing so much kernel tinification with multi-licensed OS forks in the embedded world, like Abassi Free/OpenRTOS, ERIKA, Flex, MQX, Neutrino and ThreadX just to name a few.

Either way, linux x86/64 isn't going anywhere for a long time because it's where we code, maintain, support and patch 96% of linux software, before it makes it into (IoT). 

+1

Also, people bitching about open source being better than what they use and want to keep using because they don't want to learn something new, so they keep buying software console applications instead of using superior open source or open source based applications... if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem lol... fortunately, the problem is solving itself, in that Microshaft has fired most of their Windows and software security developers (in fact, they got fired because they still believe in Windows, think about it, it's the truth, they are of no use to Microshaft anymore because they hang on to Windows lolz, the irony..., and there are even some of them, like Barnacules for instance, that still hang on to Windows, and bash linux at every opportunity, even though they would still have job security if they had been critical of Windows...), and the demise of the Windows PC is in fact upon us, and when the dust settles, "they" will be using walled garden bootloader locked devices from Apple or Google or Samsung or even Microshaft in a commercial cloud environment, paying for access to their own content, and "we" will still be using high-horsepower linux systems, and remain master of our own content and stay in control of our own hardware.

It's a natural evolution: x86 PC's weren't specifically made for a particular walled garden business model. Apple pretty much invented that concept on PC, but it didn't quite work out enough, so Apple moved to devices that are easier to lock customers down with, devices that are specifically made to lock people down and to take control of their lives and hardware and spending patterns, devices that are made for the software consoles, instead of the other way around. Everyone wants in on that lucrative action, even Microshaft, and Microshaft is going to take that concept to new levels of evil, because that is what they do. At the same time, the "old" x86 PC hardware, still has a bright open source future ahead, potentially in a hybrid environment with more focus on hardware scalability and long lifespan, and not as much as a "desktop PC", but rather as a home/soho server, doing all the things we linux users are used to doing with computers in our own clouds. And that's just it, people that are bitching right now that linux is too hard for them to even install and use as desktop operating system, won't have a chance in hell to manage a private cloud application, and their laziness in sticking with Windows amounts to them having thrown themselves under a bus... they'll be forced to buy into whatever cloud services the big commercial entities will provide, or be cut off from the digital society, and in the end, they'll have far less freedom and rights than they even have now with Windows. And for those that are late to the show and want to migrate after the curtain has fallen, we'll be charging them heavy hourly rates for linux tuition lolz...

All those people that keep saying that they can't move to open source because they need to run their games and toy software... they are effectively creating the opportunity for those big corporations to switch from open hardware platforms to closed hardware platforms, because it's not about the games and toy Adobe software, because those are just entertainment platforms. Adobe Creative Suite is like a knitting set from Burda, it's something to entertain amateurs with, creativity for uneducated housewives. Games are not serious computing applications, even if they (needlessly, because they're running on highly inefficient software consoles) require the most high performance (and locked down) hardware. People are selling their souls to the snake oil merchants in return for some entertainment, that's all that's happening. It's just digital Hollywood, it's an expensive dream that will never come true. The technological revolution is not about entertainment, it's about progress, about improving one's quality of life, about gathering knowledge to improve yourself in an efficient way through a community, instead of having to buy a license to learn for a bi-annual fee of 150 USD for the software console, plus an annual fee of 150 USD for the basic functionality from the 80's, plus a monthly fee of over 10 USD for the "Creative with wool" entertainment Suite, plus a couple of hundred bucks on a license to be interactively entertained by pressurized water vapour, etc...

And the problem with this post is it doesn't mean anything.

My 2 centz on this.....

People in the Linux community needs to stick with one install package and deal with it. It's annoying trying to jump though hoops to figure out what is the standard install package for the distro.

Linux needs better driver support. Try installing the Nvidia drivers that isn't Ubuntu based.

Linux needs proof to developers that "I am the platform to develop"

I'm 14 so that kid must be me!

Desktop Linux is awesome... Use it.

Unless Google Ara 50 inch 8k moduler desktops release with SUSE I'm not sold.

The whole point of Open source and Linux is Choice and Customization options. Every distro has its package to install and nothing else so your point in not valid on the packages. You do not jump from package to package on a certain distro. 

Every distro/package has its own advantages and disadvantages and it tailored made for a certain use. There is a reason they exist and a use behind them.

 

The driver supports in Linux is a very valid problem. But its getting better and better by the day. Ubuntu, Mint, Elementary OS and Mageia which are for every day desktop have a pretty good score on drivers. And they improve everyday. The business solutions like Red Hat and SUSE enterprise are supported directly by their companies.

For the rest of the distros. Well these are not so much for the average user and such users can cope with the support issues. Although it can really get to your nerves. 

Generally the driver problem is mostly a problem with the manufacturer of the hardware than the actual Linux distro. They need to be forced to do a proper job.

 

Proof that linux is a developer's platform? But it has been such since always. Most software and hardware development is done on Linux platforms.

Software programming, embedded programming and web application are very often done on linux platforms. Matlab has excellent integration to Unix platforms (its actually much faster in those).

Hardware development most of the time is actually done only on Linux systems. Synopsis tools, Cadance tools for custom hardware development are always running on Linux platforms, Maxeler tools and Synopsis Processor and Compiler Designers only work on CentOS and even Xilinx FPGAs come with a fedora disk in their box (even though Xilinx tools work fine on windows).