[Events] What we saw at SoCal... | ANN.lu |
Posted on 23-Nov-2003 20:34 GMT by bbrv | 147 comments View flat View list |
After the Pegasos of course, the big story at SoCal was Novell and IBM. :-D "IBM will support SuSE and what will be left of Redhat," said the leading IBM rep at the Show. In the meanwhile, the Novell booth brought a air of credibility to what was the largest show other than CES that we have participated. Novell has assembled a complete Linux stack. People want it. Novell is providing it. If anyone is missing the "Linux is coming to a Desktop Near You" story, they should even avoid WrongPla.net, much less ANN.
The time is NOW.
If you are a Developer and you have something to offer get on the bandwagon of your choice (or both). The Linux Desktop *is* the Trojan Horse for this Community. Don't miss the boat! And, BTW, let us be bold enough to suggest that IBM will very likely be selling the Pegasos one day (or something like it) as a thin client in a total system package. Why the Dell not?! IBM sells services. When they sell an enterprise network to a corporate customer they often continue to “own” the entire system. The customer contracts for the entire package. IBM insures that everything is working and that the latest and greatest is there running as it should. Why should IBM continue to sell a PC when they begin to promote a Linux desktop? First, they throw out Windows (replaced with Linux) and then the Intel-based CPU/PC can be replaced with a PowerPC based system that runs on an IBM CPU. All IBM is doing is connecting the dots from client desktop to enterprise network and ultimately to the "GRID" that IBM now extols (the Matrix is coming!).
And, while we are at it beyond the "Matrix" -- not only are the major game consoles moving to the PowerPC, it is also the CPU found in the most advance DTV receivers (satellite or terrestrial). The latest one from Disney is called MovieBeam. Imagine a Super TiVo (PowerPC too BTW) using an expanded version of AmiNetRV (radio and video) and all integrated into a MPlayer-like UI that would do to a TV set what MP3 did to music. Now, that is really any show any time. TV signals digital or analogue can be integrated, but the Internet is the foundation of the future in this arena in our opinion. While we are at it since that MP3 player will not play high fidelity sound why not use that 24/7 broadband Internet connection to get that home stereo equipment back in the game too!
Final note: Pegasos II sales have passed the 1500 unit mark. These are the combined sales based on Reseller, Internet, and institutional/corporate orders. Congratulations to Thomas Knäbel and Gerald Carda. Your years of hard work and dedication are paying off and thanks to you we have the fundamental ingredient required to march forward to our future.
R&B :-)
P.S. This week "will be IBM week." ;-)
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What we saw at SoCal... : Comment 79 of 147 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Bill Hoggett on 24-Nov-2003 14:27 GMT | In reply to Comment 64 (Sam Smith): @Sam
> Well written points that I cannot really disagree with except I still feel
> that Linux needs something for people to switch
It depends on which people we're talking about, but yes, there's room for improvement. Isn't there always though?
> but I can sympathise with your frustration at Windows (I have been there
> on many occasions! :))
Unlike a lot of people I don't slam Windows just for the sake of it, nor do I give up just because I come across a minor niggle. I've been using Windows for years after all, not even counting my job. However, this time the problem was almost terminal, or at least it was severely interfering with my ability to work on my PC.
> I still don't see why the average user would want to switch. The key
> element of any acceptance of a new platform into the home will be games -
> Linux is somewhat behind on that front and retreating.
It has changed tack on what has certainly been the Achilles' heel. Transgaming is now focusing on making Windows games available to Linux users with WineX, which is a smart move, but surely a temporary one.
Yes, gaming is where Linux has a serious weakness, but then gaming is where every desktop solution that isn't Windows has a serious weakness, including the Mac.
> I don't think the training cost is that great as newer versions of Windows
> need little re-training for the user and newer versions of Office are almost
> identical as MS tries to make more money for doing less.
You misunderstand me. I wasn't talking about re-training from one Windows version to another, but from one Windows-based solution to another. For instance, from Lotus SmartSuite to Microsoft Office or vice versa.
As for the one Windows version to another, the engineers and support staff often need re-training and many will need to be certified again. Anyone who's been involved in a Win NT to Win 2000 migration will know what I mean. If one is able to cope with the various flavour of Windows under the hood, one should be able to cope with Linux too.
> What am doing!? I'm almost singing the praises of Wintel! I would love to
> see a really fast, well built easy to use and good-looking version of Linux
> that has superior office software, better email and web browsing tools and
> a fantastic selection of entertainment software. Show me where that Linux
> is then I'll take a look.
In many of those areas Linux has caught up and even moved ahead, but not in all.
On my system, I can say that Linux is running a bit faster than Windows (not to mention being more stable).
The KDE desktop is unquestionably better looking than the normal WindowsXP themes, and far faster and more stable if we're talking Windows shell replacements like Talisman, LiteStep or DesktopX.
Office software you have a point with, even though KOffice and OpenOffice are making strides, but then you have CrossOver Office if you want to stick with the MS Office solution.
E-Mail clients are good enough for me, in the shape of K-Mail or Evolution. I find both faster and more configurable than Outlook, which has many good points but also many annoying restrictions.
Web Browsing works jolly well. Mozilla can use Shockwave and Flash plug-ins as well as the usual support for Java and JavaScript. If you're desperate enough to insist on IE, CrossOver Office can handle that too. There is always Opera if you prefer or Konqueror if you're into integration with the desktop.
Multimedia is good too, with a wide selection of codecs and players. I have generally found the players to be more reliable than the Windows ones, and complain less about codecs than WMP or PowerDVD.
Where Linux falls behind in in gaming and enterprise level development tools. There's nothing to compare to Dreamweaver or anything quite as comprehensive as Visual Studio. Borland's efforts have been of variable quality so far, and Adobe's support is almost non-existent. Linux does lack a really good PDF reader, for instance. Adobe's official offering is not only an old version, but dog ugly as Linux applications go. It's also seems quirky. If Linux needs work, it is in persuading companies like Macromedia, Adobe and Borland to support the platform or improve their efforts. The thing about Linux is that the half-hearted ports some of those companies have put out are made to look lame by the free alternatives, so no wonder sales fail to take off. If you're going to port to or support Linux, it needs to be done _properly_, not on the cheap.
Linux is making inroads, and at quite a pace. Many people who have never used Linux and probably wouldn't consider it have at least heard of it, something that would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago. Others who felt the learning curve was too steep for comfort then are happy to use it now. I guess I fall into that last category.
Make no mistake about it, Linux is growing and the "wave" BBRV keeps mentioning is real enough. Whether Genesi have what it takes to ride it or whether thay will be just flotsam drifting with the current is another question. |
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