Hello all,

I keep reading everywhere I go that linux is putting fear in the heart of microsoft in the server market as well as desktop. I read in a couple other places that bsd/linux users are more in number then mac users. Why are not programs and games not catching on and cashing in on the money making opportunity? Is it there fear of microsoft not any longer supporting there products as they have done in the past?

I remember a time when I could go to walmart and pick up a copy of linux mandrake and they don't even offer this anymore in my area. What is this caused by fear of a monopoly microsoft?

I think this is a great step for linux! When I logged into LQ there were 106 new users and I was only off for about a hour so where is interest going? How long will MS be able to bully there way into people using there product before they are no longer a issue? I don't know how many people in these forums are programing and contributing to the open source movement but for those who are thank you for making such a great os, I would also like to thank the users for giving MS something to fear I do believe it's about time.

What does everyone think?

With some of the best programmers on the planet already coding for Linux, is there a market place for priced Linux ware?

Would you pay £/$20 for mplayer if Xine was still free?
Would you pay £/$50 for OpenOffice if KOffice was still free?

THe number of users is undoubtedly growing, and M$ will do a lot to hide this fact.
Will we ever get a "cascade effect" where suddenly "everyone" is turning to Linux?

Not likely while the "happy to be an obedient consumer" mindset continues.
(Some people are now actually afraid of "free". "Where's the catch?" is all they can think.)

Hello,

I agree with the fact that not "everyone" is gonna switch to linux. But the fact still remains that the os is growning in popularity. As far as paying for software in the forums for what programs/games would you like to see ported I see alot of people that would be willing to pay for software. Of course like the great software that comes with/can be downloaded free with linux is great and in that I would not want to "pay", but would be willing to make a donation to help continue the growth and help a worthy cause.

Just my 2 cents!

Linux neds more games, more readily availble. Most of the 1000's of free games are cheesy arcarde games and I would like to see better quality games for linux on the shelves of my local game store.

But the retaailers are afraid of Microsnot..

Games would help, but I cant live without it. I do network security and with no *nix I would basically have to rely on very expensive, non-customizable programs.
The problem is the pressure M$ puts on retailers. We lost our"authorized M$ dealer" status because we are also the only Linux shop in town and we refused to stop advertising as such

what do you want to be an authorized M$ dealer for anyway?
just copy the M$ CDs and give them away free if you must supply windoze.
that way you're keeping your customers happy* and not sending any cash to micro$oft

*as happy as they'll ever be with windoze

Well really we would not want to put ourselves in a position of doing anything against the law.

I think this is even getting bigger now. Whats some new thoughts?

I'd pay $20 (us) but not £20 - mplayer is far superior browser plugin.

Sure would. I love the KDE environment but I hate KOffice. In fact I plan to buy StarOffice at some point to support continued OpenOffice development,

When I used Windows on the Internet I never downloaded any music or played any games. All I ever wanted to do was/is go to every website that interests me. My desire to do just that forced me to install Linux because Windows kept me shelling out money for hard drive reformats.

More and more people will either give up the Internet or give up Microsoft!!

It's clear that Microsoft and all other companies alike are scared about linux.
The way they do business, by selling licenses, is going down. They know it, and all they are doing is delaying the death of this business with a huge PR campaign (FUD campaign) and putting pressure on everybody to ignore Linux. Unfortunately they have deep pockets, but at some point there'll be impossible to buy the whole world, nop they don't have that money.
How could you not feel fear if you sell a product for $xx at the same time that there is a similar product (if not better) for $0?. There is no way to compete, it's game over for them.
The new era in the IT industry will be based on services and support and other imaginative ideas based on free software, not by licensing software.
How long will they play this game of delaying?, I don't know exactly, but be ready Linux time is coming soon!

JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING, The final hour is drawing near!

I am wondering now if my previous computing problems were caused by my not purchasing a license from Microsoft for their office program. Hmmm!!

Does anyone know what Microsoft does to your computer if you do not purchase their license?

8 out of 10 of the top supercomputers in the world run linux, the other 2 BSD. Out of the top 500 linux also has the lions share. It has been ported to everything from PDA's to the IBM s390 mainframe. I'm not sure there is a processor that it doens't support. The new wave of SIP phones are based on it. Tivo boxes, industrial control systems, domestic white goods, wifi kit, media centres - its embedded all over the place. The majority of websites that you browse on any particular day will be Linux Apache based. Some countries officially run only linux as their national operating system. In the UK government departments are switching to Linux. Microsoft are beginning to have to offer serious discounts in order to keep some corporate customers.

The only place that Linux is not having a real impact is in the home user where non-techies use what they know, and tend to treat their PC as an appliance rather than a computer. With the likes of Xandros, Ubuntu Mandriva and Suse, Linux is rapidly approaching the point where it can be as easy to use by total non-techies as the MAC is. All that really needs to happen is for prejudices to change and some of the misconceptions that surround it to be lifted and it will make inroads into that market as well.

Yes they are worried.

I don't think the proprietary SW vendors are going to fold all that quickly. Consider all the stakeholders:
SW houses--MS, Adobe, etc.
Retailers
PC sellers
IT support departments--eg the help desk
End users
Taken together, this is a big ship to turn around.

I believe it must come from the end user---and that it will come based on value for the dollar. Before that can happen, Joe and Jane six-pack need to know that they HAVE a choice.
If I could do ONE thing as benevolent dictator, it might be a law requiring that any seller of a PC give the buyer a choice of OS. Perhaps the inverse is better: A PC vendor cannot require you to also buy a specific OS.
Look at Mark Shuttleworth's free SW Kiosk idea---imagine these in every CompUSA store....

One of my whattodoafterwinningthelottery dreams is to setup free PC workstations in coffee shops (eg Starbucks). These would be Linux boxes, and would be accompanied by some low-pressure "info kits" introducing the user to the benefits of Open Source.

Nobody wants them to fold, as people s jobs are reliant on them, we'd just like to see Microsoft lose its monopoly stranglehold on the retail sector. We'd like to see people judging Microsoft's software on its merits rather than handing over their cash with a mesmerised stare like soneone who is being mugged by a hypnotist.

We just want people to have a choice, to not choose Microsoft.