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Linux Adds 10K Users Overnight

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
Canonical has scored a major coup with the addition of a German Insurance company and their combined total 10k computer systems, all to be running Ubuntu. The company has been running Ubuntu on some of that number, but recently decided to convert all of the computer systems over at once.

Few businesses buy Windows out of great love for Microsoft so much as the belief that Redmond is a rock of relative stability in an industry in which companies have in the past come and gone, leaving applications unsupported
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This year will go down in history. It is the year of the Linux desktop.
No really.
This is the one I'm sure of it!
 
Guess that makes up for all the Linux workstations the German Foreign office ditched after one year of use this past year.
 
Didn't the German government or some part of it switch to Linux and then switched back to Windows.
 
sourfacedcyclop said:
Wow, 10k whole users! I bet MS is getting scared now
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They are in the server segment, where linux owns a decent market share in all servers (close to 20% and climbing iirc) and a majority of web servers (>60%). The companies who provide the licenses and service for the servers (like red hat) are raking $1-2 billion a year.

Don't forget android is linux, as well. I don't think I need to delve into just how successful google has done with that whole thing...

Point being that microsoft is losing its grip. With android growing up and taking to tablets will mean that it won't be too long before we see netbooks and lappies running android or another linux distro (HP and google have both been attempting to popularize their own linux-based OSes). OS X isn't much different than ubuntu. Everything can be done via the GUI and you can skip the terminal completely, but it does require better performing drivers and critical apps -- photoshop and autocad come to mind. But right now I think the one thing that's really holding linux back is the microsoft monopoly on Directx and consequently all PC gaming. Had openGL been embraced and a bit better as an API you'd have had this linux revolution a few years ago.

So yes, microsoft is certainly a little worried. It's already inherently safer, faster, more malleable and now becoming more and more popular. The next logical step is the desktop.
 
pelo said:
The next logical step is the desktop.
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That was the FIRST logical step and Linux just never got past all the hurdles. Android on phones is one thing, Linux on desktops something entirely different. Two completely different markets, needs and funding models.
 
heatlesssun said:
That was the FIRST logical step and Linux just never got past all the hurdles. Android on phones is one thing, Linux on desktops something entirely different. Two completely different markets, needs and funding models.
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With the decline of PC sales, enormous boost of all-purpose smart phones and increasing sales of tablets, I'm not so sure anymore. I'd have agreed with you a mere 2 years ago, but if this trend continues you're not going to see those "PC only" or "Windows only" gimmicks that have worked and are now working to drive PC sales. Bear in mind x86 is also getting smaller, which could potentially work in microsoft's favor, but if we ever manage to get to a point where your operating system on your tablet and/or phone is similar to the OS you run on your desktop then I can certainly see linux taking an enormous chunk out of that desktop market share. Because, let's face it, microsoft is well known for creating a product that loves to gobble up resources like a porky kid goes at a gallon of chocolate ice cream.

It's ultimately the malleability that worries microsoft. If you can run the same OS (or at least very similar to it) on your phone, tablet, desktop, jet fighter and router then that's a huge plus. Android is very easy to manage, and desktop-based OSes can do much the same. OS X is a perfect example of a unix-based OS that is dumbed down to a noob-friendly approach. Linux inherently has that capability, but it's that snob-nosed grotesque elitist "don't touch my terminal" attitude that linux users have to dump to finally see gaming and popular apps come in a .tar or .rpm, and that only comes with an influx of users.
 
pelo said:
It's ultimately the malleability that worries microsoft. If you can run the same OS (or at least very similar to it) on your phone, tablet, desktop, jet fighter and router then that's a huge plus. Android is very easy to manage, and desktop-based OSes can do much the same. OS X is a perfect example of a unix-based OS that is dumbed down to a noob-friendly approach. Linux inherently has that capability, but it's that snob-nosed grotesque elitist "don't touch my terminal" attitude that linux users have to dump to finally see gaming and popular apps come in a .tar or .rpm, and that only comes with an influx of users.
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Windows 8 will also be able to run on ARM architectures and I think this will present a bigger challenge to Android on tablets more so than Android or Linux will challenge Windows on traditional x86 form factors such as desktops and laptops.
 
Funny thats about the same number of people having sound issues with Win 7 :D

10k OVER NIGHT!LOL
 
heatlesssun said:
Windows 8 will also be able to run on ARM architectures and I think this will present a bigger challenge to Android on tablets more so than Android or Linux will challenge Windows on traditional x86 form factors such as desktops and laptops.
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If win 8 can manage to run with under 50 background processes and still manage to be as safe and fast as iOS and android i'll eat my shorts.
 
pelo said:
If win 8 can manage to run with under 50 background processes and still manage to be as safe and fast as iOS and android i'll eat my shorts.
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Mobile OSes aren't particularly safe I would say, most of their security comes from being locked down and there are plenty of Android devices that aren't all that fast. As for Windows 8's performance and security of course that remains to be seen. If the performance of Windows Phone is any indicator of what Microsoft is trying to target for performance in Windows 8 ARM it should be fine. Of course I'm sure that Microsoft will want as much compatibility as they can muster between x86 and ARM APIs and some object compatibility with .NET/Silverlight applications which aren't issues for iOS or Android.
 
woot.. Yet another *nix vs windows thread..

Bottom line is windows survives because of gaming..

Everything else you can do on *nix as good if not better & cheaper. & its not that everyone who buys windows machines are gamers, but the enthusiast market steers the mainstream market & since most enthusiasts are also gamers it just ends up this way..

Now when major game releases are coming out on windows & *nix at the same time then enthusiasts will start using linux to game & have no need for windows. Then when there friends & family members ask what kind of computer to buy the mainstream buyer also ends up with linux.

Also thinking about *nix for the average joe I dont think it will be ubuntu that makes its way into the average joe market. At this point I see it as being android. Reason is that for the average joe everything is right there & easily accessable. Ubuntu while not overly difficult or anything isnt as user friendly.
 
bastage said:
Bottom line is windows survives because of gaming..

Everything else you can do on *nix as good if not better & cheaper. & its not that everyone who buys windows machines are gamers, but the enthusiast market steers the mainstream market & since most enthusiasts are also gamers it just ends up this way..
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This simply isn't true because if it were Linux would have replaced Windows on desktops a decade ago.
 
Ihaveworms said:
Europe isn't fond of successful business.
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Oh Europe likes successful business just fine, ask Airbus (they should be just about done chewing up and spitting out anyone not named Boeing by now).

What they don't much care for is abusive ***hats like Microsoft.
 
pelo said:
Linux inherently has that capability, but it's that snob-nosed grotesque elitist "don't touch my terminal" attitude that linux users have to dump to finally see gaming and popular apps come in a .tar or .rpm, and that only comes with an influx of users.
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I agree, don't touch my terminal. It certainly doesn't hurt anyone who doesn't want to use it and it makes it much easier to do remote tech support if required.

That being said I'll take my games and apps in .deb format, kthnx.

One thing people should really be watching is the extent to which BRIC countries are switching to Linux. Brazil is noted for doing so en masse with their students, Russia is attempting to do the same, and good parts of India are doing so as well. China oddly enough is the laggard in this given that they've had Redflag Linux for so long.

Often times what people learn at school is what they'll use at home and that puts pressure on companies to also use it. It's not just confined to BRIC either, it seems many of most countries not named the United States of America are switching their schools over in good numbers.

Keep an eye on that, it can and likely will have a very major impact down the road.
 
heatlesssun said:
This simply isn't true because if it were Linux would have replaced Windows on desktops a decade ago.
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There are plenty of niches that Windows fills better I won't lie, but they have been getting progressively eliminated over the last decade.

Really one of the major things that keeps Windows going is widespread indifference or hostility towards technology though. It makes it far easier to lock people in (and AT&T and co don't help much either with their Windows-only setups).

The thing that is astounding to me is how many ISPs and such ACTIVELY work to be incompatible with Linux. I'm talking about taking extra steps just to make it tough to use Linux with their services or websites. That is another major part of the problem.
 
TheBlueChanell said:
If it goes smoothly it could be a trend for other parties to switch. Many in Europe aren't very fond of Microsoft.
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many around the world aren't fond of microsoft, but they have no choice, have to have it for work or school or something.
 
Just wait a few months. Windows 7 new SP comes out. Windows 7 gains 11M overnight. A few months later. Windows 8 releases. Windows 8 gains 110M overnight.
 
The thing is, the average person can do everything they need to do with Windows. They simply cannot do the same with linux, so Windows is chosen. Yeah I know linux is getting better and excels in a lot of areas over Windows, but there are so many variations of it and if a problem does arise, how is the average Joe going to fix it?
 
sourfacedcyclop said:
The thing is, the average person can do everything they need to do with Windows. They simply cannot do the same with linux, so Windows is chosen. Yeah I know linux is getting better and excels in a lot of areas over Windows, but there are so many variations of it and if a problem does arise, how is the average Joe going to fix it?
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That is an unbacked assertion.

For it to be backed up first you'd have to define what average is and then you'd have to point specifically to what they're not able to do.

Defined as checking email, browsing the web, posting to twitter/facebook, and playing some casual games Linux not only is just as easy as Windows, it is easier because everything you need is installed ahead of time and you don't have to worry about malware or keeping things updated (the system does that just fine on its own).

Oh and average joe doesn't fix anything on Windows either, thats how you get all these people will 100 startup programs and 1000 pieces of malware running around their dust-encrusted system.
 
Runningflame570 said:
Defined as checking email, browsing the web, posting to twitter/facebook, and playing some casual games Linux not only is just as easy as Windows, it is easier because everything you need is installed ahead of time and you don't have to worry about malware or keeping things updated (the system does that just fine on its own).
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For that matter this type of stuff can be done just as easily on a phone these days and things like Microsoft Office or the VPN software you need aren't installed ahead of time.

Runningflame570 said:
Oh and average joe doesn't fix anything on Windows either, thats how you get all these people will 100 startup programs and 1000 pieces of malware running around their dust-encrusted system.
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And if the average joe doesn't fix anything on Windows he more than likely won't on Linux either.
 
That average Joe fella... I tell ya, he causes me so much grief, but I suppose it balances out cause he generates so much business for me on the flipside. :D
 
heatlesssun said:
For that matter this type of stuff can be done just as easily on a phone these days and things like Microsoft Office or the VPN software you need aren't installed ahead of time.
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As an additional note, VPN software is hardly something an "average" user is aware of, much less uses very often and most uses of Microsoft Office can be done with other office suites easily enough.

Don't believe me? I've been doing so for years. It would be different if I used a ton of advanced formatting, but then it wouldn't be the sort of thing that an "average" user would be doing, now would it?
 
$100 says this company will switch back to windows once it realizes it the hidden costs with linux (training, support, use) far outweigh any perceived and actual benefits.

I wish I had the know how, but if I could I would push linux into the developing world specifically Africa and Latin America. Advanced economies don't have the time or patience to get acquainted with Linux. They need an O/S that works out of the box and which is familiar to everyone. Developing economies have very limited resources so they must allocate them as efficiently as possible. Business in developing economy shouldn't have to worry about volume O/S licensing, they need to get their product or service out the door for as little cost as possible. Linux can achieve that with minimal cost.
 
bigpimpatl said:
$100 says this company will switch back to windows once it realizes it the hidden costs with linux (training, support, use) far outweigh any perceived and actual benefits.

I wish I had the know how, but if I could I would push linux into the developing world specifically Africa and Latin America. Advanced economies don't have the time or patience to get acquainted with Linux. They need an O/S that works out of the box and which is familiar to everyone. Developing economies have very limited resources so they must allocate them as efficiently as possible. Business in developing economy shouldn't have to worry about volume O/S licensing, they need to get their product or service out the door for as little cost as possible. Linux can achieve that with minimal cost.
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Such an OS does not exist. Everything has training and support costs and the support costs for Windows suddenly start looking a lot higher when you get to spend days trying to quarantine and clean a piece of malware that has been utilizing a zero-day exploit on your systems.

It's fair to say that most if not all medium-large shops have had numerous situations similar to the one I describe above. Windows looks cheap until you have something like that, or it's time to upgrade, which is part of the reason why so many shops either don't upgrade or don't upgrade until years past when it would be good to do so.

Simply put the "hidden costs of linux" have been evaluated in many different studies and more often than not they've debunked the idea that it's more expensive.
 
Runningflame570 said:
He is however less likely to break things on the Linux side.
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If all a person is doing is emailing, web surfing or casual gaming it's unlikely that he would break anything on Windows either. If he's installing lots of software he might be better off with Linux from a malware perspective. If he's installing hardware it's a safe bet that Windows is better supported.
 
Runningflame570 said:
As an additional note, VPN software is hardly something an "average" user is aware of, much less uses very often and most uses of Microsoft Office can be done with other office suites easily enough.

Don't believe me? I've been doing so for years. It would be different if I used a ton of advanced formatting, but then it wouldn't be the sort of thing that an "average" user would be doing, now would it?
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I think that people around here sometimes forget a lot of average folks make a living in front of a computer. There are a TON of people that work from home using their own computers and need VPN clients and Office to do their jobs.
 
heatlesssun said:
If all a person is doing is emailing, web surfing or casual gaming it's unlikely that he would break anything on Windows either. If he's installing lots of software he might be better off with Linux from a malware perspective. If he's installing hardware it's a safe bet that Windows is better supported.
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I'm aware of above average users who run Windows 7 that have had to have me help reload their system due to things they got just in the course of normal browsing. At least one of them I know personally and am confident does not browse porn as well.

As for installing hardware, you're about equally likely to run into problems on Windows as on you are on Linux with the exception of brand new hardware which usually takes a tiny bit to become supported. The types of new hardware that are likely to cause issues are unlikely to ever be installed by an average user though.
 
heatlesssun said:
I think that people around here sometimes forget a lot of average folks make a living in front of a computer. There are a TON of people that work from home using their own computers and need VPN clients and Office to do their jobs.
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Most people don't work in an office to begin with and most who work in an office don't work from home and most who work from home just respond to emails which can be done equally as well on Linux or Windows (Outlook Web Access works for both).

Aside from this there are plenty of VPNs that support Linux just fine. Cisco I think it's fair to say does some decent business with VPNs and they support Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris for chrissakes.
 
Runningflame570 said:
Simply put the "hidden costs of linux" have been evaluated in many different studies and more often than not they've debunked the idea that it's more expensive.
Click to expand...

If this is the case then why hasn't Linux gained more market share on the desktop? If Linux represented significant cost savings over Windows Linux would have wiped Windows off the surface of the globe LONG ago.
 
Runningflame570 said:
Such an OS does not exist. Everything has training and support costs and the support costs for Windows suddenly start looking a lot higher when you get to spend days trying to quarantine and clean a piece of malware that has been utilizing a zero-day exploit on your systems.

It's fair to say that most if not all medium-large shops have had numerous situations similar to the one I describe above. Windows looks cheap until you have something like that, or it's time to upgrade, which is part of the reason why so many shops either don't upgrade or don't upgrade until years past when it would be good to do so.

Simply put the "hidden costs of linux" have been evaluated in many different studies and more often than not they've debunked the idea that it's more expensive.
Click to expand...

1. well of course both have training and support costs. But everyone knows how to use a windows machine off the bat, and information is freely available and ubiquitous. Linux? not so much. There are so many small things and nuances that can come up if you have no familiarity with it, not to mention all the different distros. Also included in costs, is time. How do you accurately measure lost time from employees who don't know or don't understand how to do something in Linux? There was an article here not too long ago about a company ditching Linux for this exact reason.

2. If it ain't broke, why fix it? I know some companies are still clinging on to the XP days, but if it works for them who cares? The important thing is the support is still there (for SP 3) and that it helps, not hinders their business environment.
 
heatlesssun said:
If this is the case then why hasn't Linux gained more market share on the desktop? If Linux represented significant cost savings over Windows Linux would have wiped Windows off the surface of the globe LONG ago.
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Inertia, marketing, and specialty applications along with financial incentives for OEMs.

There are or were a lot of factory controllers as just one example that used proprietary Windows software, along with various 3D modeling, CAD, and image editing software. For many corporate uses of Windows it's not so much that Linux isn't a better option, it's that it's not an option at all thanks to lock-in (which is one reason why people like me complain about it so much).

OEMs at least on the consumer desktop side don't really benefit from pushing Linux either as it's unfamiliar to most users (inertia) and they are unlikely to make as much money on paid support or kickbacks from 3rd party developers like Cyberlink that pay them to pre-install cruftware (financial incentives).

bigpimpatl said:
1. well of course both have training and support costs. But everyone knows how to use a windows machine off the bat, and information is freely available and ubiquitous. Linux? not so much. There are so many small things and nuances that can come up if you have no familiarity with it, not to mention all the different distros. Also included in costs, is time. How do you accurately measure lost time from employees who don't know or don't understand how to do something in Linux? There was an article here not too long ago about a company ditching Linux for this exact reason.

2. If it ain't broke, why fix it? I know some companies are still clinging on to the XP days, but if it works for them who cares? The important thing is the support is still there (for SP 3) and that it helps, not hinders their business environment.
Click to expand...

1. Most people know how to remember what a few icons do. The vast majority of those who know how to type a document in say Office 2003 will be fairly clueless if you drop them in front of Office 2007, same deal with migrating to say Windows Vista from Windows XP or Windows 7 from Vista.

Realistically only a small number of Linux distributions are likely to be used commercially (Ubuntu, Red Hat, Suse, with maybe some Mandriva and other smaller distros thrown in). Out of these most have standardized for the time being around Gnome 2 which works almost identically across all of them-a moot point as typically companies will only pick one.

Oh and as for unfamiliarity, you give me 10 minutes with even the most clueless user and I can show them the basics of how to operate in Gnome 2. It's certainly not a bigger leap than XP to 7 and it's probably an easier learning curve.

2. It has been broken since release, but the cost is already sunk and many large enterprises still carry around some IE6 cruft which makes it tough to switch away. That doesn't make it any less of a nightmare from a security or usability perspective.
 
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