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Randy Holloway at Microsoft

Blogging from the field.
Linux vs. Windows (Eschewing Religious Debate)

To clarify my comments on Linux, I'm not impugning the quality of the Linux operating system or the software running on Linux.  My comments were on the overall viability of the platform for desktop computing, based on the amount of resources supporting it and the focus of their efforts.  I still see Linux as a tool for technology people, not for regular users.  It is not to say that the platform can't work for desktops, just that I don't think the Linux development community is doing what it takes to make that happen.  As always there are exceptions (Ximian's desktop support, Star Office, etc.), but for the most part the community is spending time on other things.

Posted: Friday, June 06, 2003 11:12 PM by RandyHolloway

Comments

jrimmer@irth.net said:

The catch here is that the "Linux development community" is what they, and you, make of it.

Anyone can join this community at anytime and much like an amoeba help push non-commercial software's pseudopod in any direction you choose. Unlike critiquing the direction of companies such as IBM, Oracle, or Microsoft, where you have limited involvement, there's no single software vendor you can point at and complain about the direction non-commercial software is taking.

Non-commercial software has plenty of critics so there's little to be gained by you or the "community" in adding your voice to the chorus. If you truly want something done "better" then join up and do so. While all of us may not be able to be software vendors coding the night away turning non-commercial code into satisfying our wishes, we can certainly take a constructive role in the process, be it in engineering, marketing, documention, or support.

It's difficult to complain about a democratic electorate if you're not even voting.

p.s. Apologies for the biological analogy.
# June 7, 2003 1:10 AM

randy said:

I'm not complaining about Linux or its viability on the desktop. I'm simply commenting on it. Giga says rule it out until 2005, I say rule it out period. Or at least until there is some evidence that it MAY be viable in the future. I haven't seen any evidence yet that would lead me to that conclusion.
# June 7, 2003 5:43 PM

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# June 6, 2003 11:12 PM

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