[Gllug] BBC: Battle of the operating systems

[Daniel P. Berrange]

On Sat, Jan 27, 2007 at 01:35:08PM +0800, Richard Cohen wrote:
> On 27/01/07, Christopher Hunter <chrisehunter at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> >On Fri, 2007-01-26 at 09:57 +0000, Chris Jones wrote:
> >
> >> The desktop percentage is still pretty small, so "will succeed" shows a
> >> desire to see it grow significantly, I suspect :)
> >
> >I was in the Far East recently, and was astonished to see virtually 100%
> >Linux use - the only Windows desktops I saw in use were at check-in
> >desks at a couple of airports and to drive the departures boards in
> >Shanghai (I know it was Windows - it had blue-screened!).
> 
> I hate to tell you, but that is *not* a universal thing - in the
> particular bit of the Far East in which I live (and am still looking
> for work!), Linux use is pretty low and almost invisible.  Obviously
> on the server end of things there's some Linux, although less than I'd
> expect, but I was chatting to someone yesterday who pointed out,
> fairly enough, that when piracy of Windows is rampant, the most
> obvious advantage of free software is nullified.  You and I know that
> it's not about the free beer, but when you're in a Windows-saturated
> market and licensing costs don't enter into the equation, Linux has a
> harder time of it that it should.
> 
> And no, I do not want to bloody work in bloody Beijing.
> 
> >The take up of Linux on the desktop might be quite small in Europe and
> >the 'States, but the rest of the world is way ahead.
> 
> I disagree.  In most of the non-Western world, that I've seen,
> awareness and use of Linux and other free software is significantly
> lower.

If the OLPC project even partially suceeds in its goals there's
going to be entire generations of children growing up using a
Linux based laptop / desktop UI. It is no surprise that Microsoft
slates the OLPC project at every public opportunity it gets, but
at the same time is said to be developing a version of Windows
capable of running on it. Having 10's or 100's of millions of
people using Linux throughout their school life would radically
alter the market (and more importantly the mindset) in those 
countries.

Dan.
-- 
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