Is this the year on Linux (the Death of XP, birth of SteamOS)


Will 2014/2015 be the year of Linux?  

44 members have voted

  1. 1. Will 2014/2015 be the year of Linux?

    • 2014 will be the year of Linux
      3
    • 2015 will be the year of Linux
      6
    • 2014 will not be the year of Linux
      22
    • 2015 will not be the year of Linux
      13


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So What do you think people.

 

Windows XP will be dead in the water as far as updates go so allot of people with old insecure machines will have 3 options

 

1) Upgrade PC to run windows 7,8.

2) Keep Windows XP and be insecure.

3) Install Linux.

 

Another thing happening this year is SteamOS and Steam Machines. As these are built and sold on you have more Linux users added to the Mix. If Game studios do start to take a liking to SteamOS (Personally I think they wont.) this could mean a huge boost in Linux gamers.

So will 2014 possibly 2015 be the year of Linux! (Not talking like 50%+ of all Operating Installs here just a huge jump in numbers.)

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Most businesses do not want to do this, because everything works. They do not play games, so it would be pointless.

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There will NEVER be a year of Linux, period!

 

Windows simply dominates the market with OEM computers to much.

 

Also the fact that there's WAY more of a learning curve between Windows and Linux than Windows 7 to Windows 8, even if Windows 8 sucks, for most people who first see it!

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You should specify "year of the linux desktop" and I'll tell you right now that'll never happen.  Anyone that thinks people are going to switch from XP to Linux en masse is smoking something. 

I don't know why y'all can't be happy with Linux dominating in mobile.

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I suppose you mean the year of Linux desktop, right? Because on the server side, Linux is doing pretty well. 

As far as the last sentence is concerned, there was no need for the size increase. 

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You should specify "year of the linux desktop" and I'll tell you right now that'll never happen.  Anyone that thinks people are going to switch from XP to Linux en masse is smoking something. 

I don't know why y'all can't be happy with Linux dominating in mobile.

 

Android is not Linux, mmkay?

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Linux and Android share the same kernel.  So in essence Android is Linux based.  It is an overlay OS.

 

And as far as 2014 not being the year of the linux desktop; tell that to my 12 year old who uses Linux Mint everyday and asked me to delete her Windows 7 partition.

 

Kryspy

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My thoughts on it:

Just because XP is no longer being supported does not mean by any means folks are going to just stop using it and or the computers it is installed upon. I cant even get my company that has well over 300 Core 2 Duo xp machines to even begin an upgrade to windows 7 and I work for a state agency. Then you want me to let alone tell, no better yet convince some run of the mill user that its time to update their OS or tell them to use an entirely new OS that doesn't support their things that they run day to day?

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The year of Linux has already been and gone, Linux is everywhere.

 

Many single purpose devices such as routers are Linux based. Linux is on millions, if not billions of servers around the world. Android is on billions of mobile phones, tablets and now set-top devices world wide. Were going to see a lot of Linux based Steam OS devices this year too.

 

Will Linux ever have its year on the desktop? probably not. However does it really need to? its certainly doing fantastic else where in my opinion.

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Tell that to the Linux foundation and Android central, oh and lose the snark while you're at it:

www.androidcentral.com/ask-ac-android-linux

 

Of course they would. The bright minds of the underdogs continuously oppressed by the evil empire... that absolutely can't, with all their ingenuity, get their own s* together, and yet look to conquer the world. Google did all the hard work of building myriad of things, a whole another world, atop of free stuff (as they unscrupulously do all too often), and yet the achievement is all theirs?

 

Linux is not kernel. Linux is a cult of kernel.

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The obvious option you forgot is that for those people who aren't tied to XP is that they'll just get another machine that already comes with Win 7 or 8.  That's the path of least resistance.  Unless, by "upgrade PC", you actually meant "replace PC".

 

Anyone who's free to move away from XP but hasn't already done so by now isn't going to move to Linux, of all things.

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This won't be the year of Linux on the desktop, and this comes from someone fairly invested in Linux. XP user's will mostly upgrade to Windows 8.x (or seven if the jump to 8.x is too jarring), and those who can't upgrade to 7 will likely stay with XP indefinitely (people not running a PC capable of Windows 7 at this point are not likely concerned with the advances it offers).

 

At this point, Linux is definitely a better OS than XP from a fundamental perspective, but you can't train people away from the Windows ecosystem overnight.

 

As a bet, I'd say that there will be an increase in Linux user's this year, but it won't be enormous. The largest jump in Linux userbase will likely come from SteamOS if and when it lands.

 

To be honest though, I don't really care if there is ever a "year of Linux on the desktop". At this point, the phrase itself is mostly used sarcastically by Linux haters who grasp onto the phrase because they don't know what else to say. I, and most of the other Linux users I know, don't really care if Windows ever get's toppled. As long as I can continue to use Linux in my own way, that's great. If Linux does continue to build market share, even better, because more users leads to more vendor support which leads to a better overall experience.

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Eh I don't see "the year of" thing happening personally, never mind being grossly over-used for years.

 

On the Android side, sure the kernel was extremely successful, although it's not "Linux the desktop OS", you can't just install Linux software on an Android device and run it, nor can the desktop OS run Android software. Linux the kernel is not Linux the desktop OS.  Semantics and all that. 

 

On the desktop, not so much.  Linux has had a 1-2%ish usage for years.  Vista didn't change it.  7 didn't change it.  8 didn't change it.  XP dying off is just going to be more of the same.  The marketshare will primarily shuffle around different versions of Windows, assuming those particular users upgrade at all.. it's been years, if they haven't by now they probably never will until the hardware dies.

 

SteamOS... I don't see that taking off in big numbers either.  It's a nice idea but it's got some significant hurdles, namely the number of titles available,  never mind the price since they're trying to market it as a console.  A couple hundred games versus thousands.  The hardware may or may not sell, but if I were to buy one of the things I'd not cripple my selection, first thing I'd do is get it with Windows on it.  At the end of the day it's still just a custom PC, so really hard to say if it'll take off or is just riding the hype.

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It will never be the year of Linux, as far as consumer use goes Linux simply is not capable or suitable to be a viable replacement for Windows and never will.

 

 

So you're missing a choice in your poll..

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Tell that to the Linux foundation and Android central, oh and lose the snark while you're at it:

www.androidcentral.com/ask-ac-android-linux

 

Funny thing is, whenever there's negative android news, the linux foundation and linux peopel go all out "Android isn't linux" when there's talk of adoption numbers and positive news, oh, it's linux all right.... Android themselves is doign the same dance.

 

but no, android started out as linux, but it's not really linux anymore, and hasn't been for a long time. it came from linux, but it's not. 

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I consider Android and Linux sort of in the same way Neanderthals and Humans are both from the "Homo" family. 

Android is an evolved fork of Linux for the mobile market, its like a separate evolutionary link if you like. Both Operating Systems still exist but came from the same origins and are evolving further and further apart just like the branches of a tree coming from the same seed. 

Oh and yes i was on about the Desktop OS, and this was just for fun :). 

On a serious note though I can't see people chucking away working computers (that cant run Windows Vista and above) or spending money upgrading those old machines when they could get a new machine very cheap. Something has to happen to those old machines right? 

It might be they just get put in storage never to be seen again (hoarding) or perhaps they might just keep Windows XP but I really doubt many people will just chuck the PC's or Upgrade them. 

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I'm not sure how SteamOS will succeed so far. From what I can see there are 100 titles available for Linux/SteamOS. The majority are DLC and almost no known titles. They're mostly small indie games.

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Funny thing is, whenever there's negative android news, the linux foundation and linux peopel go all out "Android isn't linux" when there's talk of adoption numbers and positive news, oh, it's linux all right.... Android themselves is doign the same dance.

 

but no, android started out as linux, but it's not really linux anymore, and hasn't been for a long time. it came from linux, but it's not. 

Android isn't GNU/Linux, which is what Linux on the Desktop would be.  It contains a few GNU utilities, and the Linux kernel, but  that is where the similarities stop.

 

Android absolutely does use the Linux kernel, but the kernel is not what people see or use directly.  So is Android using a Linux kernel?  Yes.  Is it "Linux" as people like to call it, it as an OS?  No.    People like to interchange the term Linux for an entire OS, and then just the kernel.  Only one way is right (hint, its not the first one).

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I'm not following what you mean by 'year of linux'

 

The year of people choosing linux? No.

The year linux surpasses windows installs? No.

The year linux becomes user-friendly? No.

 

 

Linux already has taken over. Apple use linux in everything, Android is linux, the PS4 is majority linux/FreeBSD, the server that runs this site is linux... Its everywhere. More appropriately, its the year of the death of Windows!

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