2013: The Year You Switch To Linux?

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PC World is trying to make the case for 2013 being the year to switch to Linux. While having a Linux box around the house is always handy, I'm not sure using Windows 8 as a reason to switch is the way to win people over.

For many PC users, the prospect of switching away from Mac or Windows and onto Linux can be a nerve-wracking one. After all, Linux holds only a minority share of the desktop market, and not all of us know people who are already using it. The idea of making the switch can often feel like taking a blind leap into the unknown.
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Linux is supposed to be a gated community of computer elites only! Can't let all the scrubs enter.
 
Yeahhhhh... no. Dell already completely abandoned the Linux idea as it was such a monumental failure. Although the systems worked fine, the return rate for their computers with Linux installed was astronomically higher than those with Windows XP.

So while Dell thought that they'd save themselves some licensing costs while offering users a more diverse option of operating systems, in the end it amounted to high costs in returns.
 
This article is about 7 years too late.....

Also, I'm not sure what 'switch' means. Who DOESN'T have more than 1 "computer"?

I have:
Desktop/laptop with windows for gaming
Desktop/Laptop with Linux for work
Phones with Android for mobile use
 
As hated as Windows 8 is by some and as slow as the adoption rate has been it's seems to have already passed desktop Linux in market share and should by more widely deployed than any single version of any other non-Windows OS by next month: http://www.neowin.net/news/net-applications-windows-8-running-on-164-percent-of-pcs

While Windows 8 has it's issues the desktop was is over if for no other reason than the desktop market is mature and the market is moving more and more to mobile devices.
 
Played around with Ubuntu a couple years ago...still not impressed. Maybe when I need a free alternative one day.
 
Nobody bothers installing OSs anymore. People use whatever comes pre-packaged with their device. Considering the ecosystem turf war between MS/Apple/Google, i don't think open source is going to win with OEMs

I'm a power user, and even I only install an OS when i do new system builds (last one happened 2 years ago).
 
I'd love to go to Linux as my default OS... There would be a whole lot of positives in doing so but it's lack of software selection leaves me with windows (or macOS). It usually has decent clones available for most stuff, but until I can get my steam catalog on it, it'll always be a secondary OS for me.

I'm really hoping Valve gets more developers onboard with their release of Steam on Ubuntu
 
I had to check the calendar, I thought it was April 1st instead of Jan 2nd.

I use Linux pretty much daily for security work, but there is no way it would be a viable replacement for home users. As pointed out, Dell already tried that and it failed miserably. The UIs feel so dated and clunky (Win2k/XP era at best).
 
No, I highly doubt that people will switch to Linux because of Windows 8. I've used Ubuntu, Mint and OpenSUSE, and while they have come a long way to make it more user friendly, it still takes more steps to get software installed and is much, MUCH harder to find software for your Linux build. Yes, Ubuntu has their own little software store similar to Android market and so forth, but they don't all work.

The market that Windows has, Linux won't be able to get much of a hold onto it.
 
YES!

Wait, wasn't that supposed to be last year, or the year before that, or the year before that?

The Mayan calendar ended already. Wonder when this will. :p
 
Linux is an amazing OS ... for my servers. For anything I actually want a GUI (gaming) I'll stick with Windows.
 
Valve's push for linux might help it this year.. however I still think it won't penetrate like they are hoping for.
 
Robstar said:
This article is about 7 years too late.....

Also, I'm not sure what 'switch' means. Who DOESN'T have more than 1 "computer"?

I have:
Desktop/laptop with windows for gaming
Desktop/Laptop with Linux for work
Phones with Android for mobile use
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I'd definitely have to agree with this one. We're basically doing the same song and dance over and over again, but in my house there is plenty of room for all operating systems.

Windows is still my main OS and that's unlikely to change. With Windows 8 you can install it from scratch in 10 - 15 minutes and have a fully featured OS which gives the best graphical experience.

Linux is on a few VMs and you can bet I keep a gparted disc close by for when I need it.



For the average user I think one of the biggest reasons that Windows is unlikely to go anywhere is going to be support. If you have any issue with just about anything on your windows computer a quick google search is going turn up the solution. On top of that most people are going to be able to get support for Windows from friends. I can easily tell people how to get into control panel and go change that setting they need to fix without even being in front of my pc. A couple of clicks and they are up and running again.

I would honestly say though that technically Linux is already pretty mainstream through the usage of android. With 50% of the market share a lot of people have already "switched" by using tablets more than they use their laptops. The same reasons that I stated above is why Android can succeed where other distros won't. If you have an issue with any Android device there is a good chance that someone has already seen it and a solution is out there for it. I could hand most of my friends any android phone and they would be able to navigate through the settings and fix the issues they are having.
 
80% Windows in my home, if you exclude the Android devices. Got a MythBuntu DVR hooked up to the big screen (I need to put Steam on there -- anyone try the beta?). It took some tinkering to get it where I wanted it, but less tinkering than I was expecting.

There are still some significant barriers to switching: games and Netflix chief among them.
 
My desktop is for gaming, and therefore runs window, IF the steambox comes out maybe I'll have a linux machine in my home but right now linux has no place in my home.
 
Yay it's the year of Linux in 2013!!! Finally!!! lol

At least Android is using Linux kernel (or forked Linux kernel before). That's doing pretty well.

Linux is quite suitable for many users, but many more users require Windows for various reasons. I'm just not sure where non-tablet Linux growth would come from. Linux has been free for like forever and hasn't attracted more than a small sliver of the desktop/laptop market. OSX use has far eclipsed Linux in under a decade, making it a well received alternative to Windows.

Will Steam change much? It should attract some users, but a few old Valve ports, a handful of smaller developers and indie games is a pale shadow next to gaming even on OSX, which didn't see a large defection of Windows users after it got a much better stocked Steam catalog than Linux has.

The Linux fanatics need to look at reality and notice it's not the same as in their bubble, where everyone is itching to become a *nix administrator and deal with sometimes unsolvable technical problems. System OEMs with official support for particular flavors of no cost or commercial Linux is a different story, but the systems generally cost the same as ones with Windows (due to crapware), and demand is minimal in the consumer and corporate space.

So, my grand prediction is that Linux will have nice growth based on Android on handhelds/tablets, and continue glacial growth rates on desktops/laptops.
 
Actually I'm finding Linux lately to be a very viable replacement, and this is coming from a gamer. I actually have a linux machine specifically for testing and I can tell you that it's damn near close.

#1 Wine is working far better then before. Finally got World of Warcraft working flawlessly on Wine 1.5.5 with a Radeon 4670 using open source drivers. Catalyst drivers though cause digital corruption to appear sometimes on the screen.

I also have a Nvidia 520 GT for testing as well, and the Geforce drivers are perfectly working as well. Ever since S3TC was allowed to work on open source drivers, you don't see issues in graphis.

#2 The UI is getting better. I'm using Mint 14 and it's getting there. The Cinnamon UI is kinda ugly, but functionally it's much better. A lot more like Windows 7, but some stupid quirks. Like the clock is set to military time and to change it requires you to mess with %'s. They give you a link to a webpage that'll generate it, but that's a hack job though. Making shortcuts though is much easier.

#3 Steam has definitely driven improvements for the graphics drivers. Especially with Nvidia, you'll find that their drivers work flawlessly, or damn near it. AMD though has left anyone with a HD 4000 series or less with Legacy 12.6 drivers, which are old and buggy. With AMD you're better off sticking with open source drivers then Catalyst, but with Nvidia your better of with their drivers. Intel surprisingly is pretty good.


Linux isn't perfectly but certainly functional for advanced end users.
 
ballistic90 said:
No, I highly doubt that people will switch to Linux because of Windows 8. I've used Ubuntu, Mint and OpenSUSE, and while they have come a long way to make it more user friendly, it still takes more steps to get software installed and is much, MUCH harder to find software for your Linux build. Yes, Ubuntu has their own little software store similar to Android market and so forth, but they don't all work.

The market that Windows has, Linux won't be able to get much of a hold onto it.
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Code: 
sudo apt-get install wireshark
is much fewer steps than installing wireshark on windows (or mac) :p

Anyhow, Linux on the desktop will take off when people start getting android/chrome OS powered desktops (except that's not exactly linux)... can this be the only linux on the desktop thread for the whole year?
 
If they think Windows 8 is a PITA just wait till they see what it's like trying to use Linux as a desktop OS.
 
Pretty sure we see these articles every year. And no, it won't be the year to switch to Linux.
 
Are you just incrementing the year every January? I swear I've heard this same story the past 10 years or more... :D

Linux is a great OS, don't get me wrong, but Windows has a huge hold on the market. People don't want an alternative program for things, they want the main program (Quickbooks, Quicken, their cookbook, Family Tree Maker, Word, Excel, etc.). Power users have no problems, but the majority of people aren't power users.

But, I also don't see Windows 8 adoption hitting too high, either, outside of OEM's. Good OS, but there is a lot of backlash and unsatisfied customers. I just don't think it will push them to Linux or OSX. Probably back to Windows 7 or they will skip the upgrade for a bit...
 
toast0 said:
Code: 
sudo apt-get install wireshark
is much fewer steps than installing wireshark on windows (or mac) :p

Anyhow, Linux on the desktop will take off when people start getting android/chrome OS powered desktops (except that's not exactly linux)... can this be the only linux on the desktop thread for the whole year?
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apt-get install anyfungameandworkproperlyplease!

that would be a more apples to apples comparison.
 
Companies aren't going to officially support linux, why bother it cost money and 90% of people already have windows and the other 9.2% use mac or w.e. Pretty sure linux wont be viable till all the distros become more unified esp when it comes to installing software for laymen, which will never happen.
 
Robstar said:
This article is about 7 years too late.....
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This. Linux isn't even "hot" within tech communities anymore, like it was five+ years ago. Now it's just a "thing," an option.
heatlesssun said:
While Windows 8 has it's issues the desktop was is over if for no other reason than the desktop market is mature and the market is moving more and more to mobile devices.
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That's a part of it. I think the larger issue is that there's simply no reason to get Windows 8 unless your new computer comes with it. People upgraded to Windows 7 because it was the next "XP," ignoring the red-headed step child that was Vista, so people in droves migrated from both Vista and XP for new features (DX11) and tune-ups. Windows 8 doesn't offer any of that that is substantial, and it furthermore takes away features (start menu, people hate change; Windows Media Center; etc.).
Stiletto said:
Played around with Ubuntu a couple years ago...still not impressed. Maybe when I need a free alternative one day.
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This is where I am. Right now I get my Windows copies free through my school, so I have no incentive to change anything.
 
I've tried switching to Linux a number of times over the years and, each time, I get frustrated enough to give it up. It has nothing to do with appearance, or software selection but more to do with how quickly my installs get out of hand.

I'll get a fresh install up and running, good functionality and all, then some perceived "holes" will appear, ghosts from years of experience with Windows. As I try to fill those holes, I end up with a directory structure from hell and a severe lack of knowledge/time to clean it up.

For me, Linux suffers from a lack of "by the book" experience. If I install something in Windows, installation is the same experience every time. It may be a lack of knowledge on my part, but my every day is filled with building, repairing, testing and troubleshooting servers and computers; if I don't have the knowledge base to hassle with it, how is your standard Best Buy/Dell/HP shopper supposed to?

There will always be room for a Linux build in my home, but it's not likely to ever become my build for main use.
 
What are you talking about? I already switched my phone to linux, however they will never get my desktop business
 
When steam convinces everyone to make games for linux is when I'll make the final switch. But in the meantime, there's no reason not to run linux exclusively on my laptop, phone, and media center.
 
Try installing Linux on a laptop. Bonus points if you can get wireless working.
 
How about the year to "install Linux on that old computer you don't really give two shits about just to see how it works"? Switch? Don't make me LMFAO. I'll probably be running Windows 7 for the next 4-7 years. I have no intention of ever switching.
 
I actually just switched my work desktop over to CentOS 6.3 for daily driver as a Windows SYSAdmin and have been pretty impressed with what I am able to do with it.

Will I keep it this way? Probably not, but it has come a long way since I seriously put myself in-front of it and tried to use it.
 
same thing I say yearly when these pop up.

I like Linux for what it is. I appreciate the work put into it and i like the idea that there is an alternative and free gui OS out there that is solid and has at least some support community.

However, at the same time, it's still not polished enough to replace the daily desktop, and when time is a factor i don't really want to be working on making something work when i could just double click and go.

I have a linux box, and i'm currently dedicated to learning a lot of it's inner workings for various projects i want to do. But that is what it always ends up being for me, a project os, something i put a front end on and just let it do it's thing once configured, arcade machines, jukeboxes etc... not my main workstation. They have made great strides here, but it still just isn't time effective in my opinion.

as for windows 8, i'm using it. I installed it and the first thing i did was drop startisback into it. works like a faster win 7, i just need a hack/theme to put aero glass back and i'll be set. Frankly microsoft would have had business as usual if they just kept a desktop option, the under the hood changes are rather nice. if they put the desktop back in the front with a revision or service pack, they could stave off alot of this bad press...but thats a topic for a different thread.
 
Linux was supposed to kill windows since Windows Me, then Vista, and now 8.

Not gonna happen...
 
cheese007 said:
Try installing Linux on a laptop. Bonus points if you can get wireless working.
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I got Ubuntu to work on a laptop that's 6 years old and I got wireless working pretty well. This thing was a pile of junk, though. DVD drive didn't work most of the time, video card was crap, and the case was about to fall apart on me.

I have some live DVDs of Mint and Ubuntu and I'll never give those up. If I need to recover something and my computer has gone to hell, I just insert one of those and run Linux long enough to get the important stuff off.
 
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