I confess.
Being so pleased with Microsoft’s recent release (defecation?) of Vista upon the great unwashed masses, I finally gave in to the primal urge which has beckoned me to a good, hard look at the Linux desktop. I did this not only for myself, but for the endless stream of miserable people who call on me to pull their ailing, bloated systems out of a malware-infested sausage grinder. Security and clean functionality: There had to be a better way for everyone here.
So, armed with a sense of euphoric resolve to finally put an end to my little corner of the Microsoft treadmill, I rolled up my sleeves and dug in. After several weeks of “Distro Watching”, forum scouring, and endless gigabytes of unintentional beta-testing (ahem), I found myself finally answering the question: “Why bother with Windows?” Well, my report is as follows —
First observation: Until ReactOS finally (if ever) matures, there may never be a replacement for the native functionality which has already been extended to Windows through the MILLIONS of commercial and freeware offerings available to the platform. The flexibility and diversity provided here cannot be matched by Linux or anything else, period. And yes, I have heard of WINE.
Next, my trollings revealed that a significant portion of the complications which prevent Linux from being more widely adopted as a replacement for Windows is the ongoing unavailability of drivers for hardware (printers, anyone?) and the pervasive, entrenched unwillingness on the part of the greater development community to drop its arcane and problematic approach to ad-hoc software installation. Security and usefulness can be balanced here, and indeed must be; to allow for the ready installation of unknown new software by the end user (true freedom?). Ultimately, this is the right and privilege of the computer system owner (idiot or otherwise), and must not be shunted away. Furthermore, the global technical problems which require distro-specific compilation of new software for a given installation is an abomination and must be roundly addressed: which brings me to my last point.
The final crippling blow for Linux today really comes down to ego on the part of individual members of the development community and their disjointed hodgepodge of distros du jour. For, without a central, standardized, unified SINGLE distribution effort to forcefully address those several issues which prevent its widespread adoption, Linux will never find popular support in either the freeware or commercial software sectors; and, therefore, will continue to languish in relative obscurity ad infinitum.
Get smart, get it together, or get out, Linux: Microsoft is laughing its head off at your ongoing disorganization and narcissistic behavior; and we’re all suffering the consequences.
Tower of Babel, anyone???
