but why switch?
its a well known fact that i am a linux afficinado, and that i have been using linux for quite some time. for those who dont know what linux is, it is an open source operating system, used mainly as an alternative to microsoft windows. the linux source code is available for anyone to modify and compile, meaning that you could make Linux to suit your needs. thats one of the things i really like about the OS. i havent even thought about trying to make my own version, but the fact that there are hundreds of deriviatives of linux is pretty amazing.
but given the versatility of linux, it only holds around 2 or 3% of the market.
so why havent more people caught on? well, for starters, to the average computer user, linux can be rather confusing. do you know how to mount a drive? how about compile a kernel? what about the shell? do you know what that is? well lets face it; linux is one ugly brute of an operating system. to the average computer user, it is the great unknown. the final frontier. one fatal mistake, and linux can send your computer back to the stone age. thats what happened to me. i tried to install a different distro and it killed my hard drive.
its reasons like that why people tend to stick with windows. its simple, fairly easy to use, and more ofen than not it tends not to destry your computer. it just has security issues. lots and lots of security issues. not to mention it can be a wee bit unstable at times (i.e., windows millenium edition, unpatched winXP, etc). linux has hundreds of variants, so it is a little harder to hack than windows is, and linux has security updates, just like windows. it takes about 5 minutes to boot up, but it was designed to never crash, not boot in ten seconds.
but despite this security and stability, people continue to use windows.
the mozilla web browser had the same problem a few years ago. at the time, it was impossible to import internet explorer settings into mozilla (passwords, cookies, favorites, etc). and because of that drawback, people continued to use IE instead of the more secure mozilla. but once mozilla was able to integrate IE settings, people started to convert. now, mozilla holds almost 9% of the web browser market. this is what linux developers should try to do in order to get more computer users to use linux. make more windows programs compatible with linux (without having to use WinE), make a wizard that can compile a kernel to fit the user's settings and preferences (trust me, compiling a kernel by hand is no fun at all. lots of trial and error. mostly error), and some failsafes to keep from inadvertantly killing the computer. data loss is no fun.
a few distros have taken steps in the right direction. Linspire, for example, has built-in tutorials on everything. i still had to buy a 'linux for dummies' book though just to understand the basic console commands (the console is the linux version of ms-dos, btw). its only a matter of time before someone finally creates a linux that will suit everyone.
linux really isnt as scary as ive made it out to be, but it can be a little confisung at times since a lot of the console commands are considerably different from their ms-dos counterparts. but, i encourage everyone to try linux at least once, by using a live-cd distro. linux really is a lot of fun, and its a good change of scenery from what you're probably used to.
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lil joe 2005, and such
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