I love Linux. My business systems are based on it and I try to ‘spread the good word’ whenever possible. If you speak to the general public though about Linux you usually get the blank looks of ‘whats that?’ The general public doesn’t know about Linux or doesn’t want to know. This has got me thinking – what are the factors affecting mainstream adoption of Linux?
1. Microsoft Windows
Love it or hate it Windows is the standard when it comes to the desktop. Users are used to it and don’t want to try anything else. Those that do want an experience which replicates the one they used to get on their Windows machines.
2. Hardware Support
This is one of the major bugbears with a lot of users (especially new users). Their printers, wireless adapters etc just worked on Windows but when they switched across to Linux they didn’t. They have to spend hours scouring forums and the internet in general to find a solution. Hardware support is generally getting better but there is still a long way to go.
3. The ‘Techie’ Image
There is still an image that Linux is only being used by geeks. The general public think you must use the command line for everything and that Linux is not user friendly. Yes it is true you can use the command line if you wish but there are now distributions like Ubuntu or Mint where a user doesn’t have to go near a terminal if they don’t wish to.
4. Elitist Attitude
I have lost count of the number of times I have been on forums where a new user has asked for help with a specific problem and someone has posted back RTFM. Very helpful hey? Lose the chip people or Linux is never going to become mainstream. Everyone was a newbie once.
5. Marketing
Microsoft and Apple spend billions on marketing. Linux? As far as I know very little is spent on raising the profile.
6. There is little backing from the major hardware manufacturers
Not many of the major manufacturers install Linux by default on their systems. Nearly all install Windows so there is little incentive for hardware vendors to write Linux software for their devices.
7. There is no standard way to install software on Linux
Windows has its .exe file format. What do we have on Linux? Well it depends on what distribution you are using!! You can get deb files for Ubuntu or Debian or rpm files on Fedora, CentOS etc. What Linux needs is a standardized file format so that software written for one distribution can also be installed on all the major distributions without having to tweak it.
8.There are too many distros
There are too many distributions on the market. Yes I know that people like choice but you can’t expect hardware manufacturers to write software for all of them as this is not possible. A new user to Linux is faced with literally hundreds of choices and this can be very daunting. The community needs to pool resources and get behind one or maybe two distributions. If this happened then there would be a lot more resources to take on Microsoft and Apple head on and raise the profile of Linux. At the moment there are a lot of little voices in the wind instead of one big voice.
Do you agree or disagree with my reasons? Let the battle commence!!
About the Author
Hi I am Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows and Linux based IT Support, laptop repairs and computer repairs to both business and personal clients in and around Stirling.
For a list of what I can offer you why not visit my website www.comtech247.net where you will find a list of my services, testimonials, blog and much more.
I agree with what you have all said and I like Linux (I have it on a server at home). But those words ‘I have it on a server’ probably tell you what you need to know about me. I work in IT and try to maintain my knowledge of all aspects of computing. The problem is that the average Joe in the street does not care about innovation or security or fitness for purpose or any of those things, they care about being able to use their computers as tools to do the things they want to do. They don’t care what the OS is (in the same way most users probably don’t care what processor they have, what brand of hard disk etc). They have a requirement to perform a task and just want to use a tool that allows them to do that in the least inconvenient way. Until Linux is delivered on PCs and they can plug their mp3 players in and get music, until they can find and attach to a printer easily, until they can phone their work support desk and ask questions about missing toolbars (and receive a comprehensible answer) they wont adopt and worse, they wont realise they are missing out on anything better.
While the list is relevant it clearly misses the boat. The typical user is not a computer geek who will install an OS on any PC. The consumer needs to find GNU/Linux on retail shelves before he is able to choose it on its merits. The bundling of that other OS routinely by OEMs and retailers is the major roadblock. In countries where that roadblock does not exist, GNU/Linux sales. Remember the ASUS netbooks with GNU/Linux? They were selling out globally and ASUS was having to redouble production. Then M$ made them an offer they could not refuse.
There’s nothing magical about that other OS. If any OS has a monopoly on retail shelves it will do well with consumers. Countries where you can buy PCs with GNU/Linux openly include China, India (Dell/Ubuntu GNU/Linux), Brazil where Positivo cranks out millions of PCs. In Brazil, a GNU/Linux desktop is the best-seller. Cuba, Malaysia are two others getting their feet wet. The emerging markets are not locked in to M$. GNU/Linux works on the desktop for many millions of people. In fact, according to NetApplications, USA uses more GNU/Linux than most other countries yet it is the most locked-in to M$. The reason? USA has the most computer geeks… and particularly Google which is counted by NetApplications. Millions of students using GNU/Linux in schools seem not to be counted by NetApplications even though many school divisions use GNU/Linux widely.
Look at the much-maligned Munich. They have taken their time migrating but now have almost finished and GNU/Linux was never a problem for them. The M$-only applications and M$’s office suite were the chief lock-ins. The actual migration was trivial after converting all templates and sorting out all the applications. They found they didn’t need a bunch… They found a few that could not easily be replaced and left those on that other OS, but most of their applications now run happily on GNU/Linux.
So, the computer geeks among us have no problems with GNU/Linux, just solutions, and ordinary computer users have no problems if they find GNU/Linux on a PC.
Most of the problem of lack of Linux knowledge and adoption amongst the general public is simply marketing. No matter how bad, if a PC comes installed with Windows it is the incumbent and you have to convince the user that the company that sold them that PC is not entirely working in the customers best interest. This can be a hard sell as it leads to uncomfortable thoughts for people who just want to get on with their lives with a minimum of fuss.
I have just spent a few weeks putting in Ubuntu linux systems at a community project in London called Firebox http://www.fireboxlondon.net. Any initial resistance from volunteers as a fear of the unknown was soon quelled when it was shown just how much better Linux worked on donated computer gear, mostly Pentium 4 systems, than the hassle that would endure from having to keep Windows of that sort of age going.
Every Linux user needs to do their duty to their fellow man by educating them that the Open Source way of developing software is superior. Help people that are struggling with Windows. A good way to get them happy to make the change is to install Linux on a USB stick for them. That way they can try it out and get used to the whole philosophy without “burning any bridges”. Big USB keys are stupidly cheap now so what does your friend have to loose by trying this?
All this has an importance beyond just them no longer being bugged by computer viruses! Corporations like Microsoft and Apple with their single minded pursuit of profit and obsession with the creation and defence of “intellectual property” has brought our modern world to the edge of a cliff. We need an emergency change of direction and the co-operative infrastructure that is used by Open Source software could very well be an important part in the human race finding a way out of the current severe predicament we are in.
The more people that understand about Open Source and Free Software the easier this is going to be on all of us.
I agree with the first post about the Distro having it’s own package manager and with that, the GUI that is produced by either the Distro creator or the community is making it a lot easier for anyone to get started with Linux.
There are 2 big blocks for Linux to become bigger and mainstream as I see it:
1) The Great ‘Elitist Attitude’ as you have put it. RTFM does not help anyone at all. Guide them with the basics and point them in the right direction. With Linux, once you have learnt the basics once, you start to learn as you go on.
2) Again something you already mentioned, “Marketing”. Now this would normally imply making money and the likes. I think what needs to happen is for Companies like DeLL and HP to take up a Linux based Distro and seed it on their laptop’s or Desktops as a standalone OS or a Dual Boot system. This would allow people to use Linux without the Fear the ‘Elitist Attitude’ standing before them making them feel worthless.
Give it time and maybe, just maybe, this will happen.
Points 1-6 I agree indefinately!
Point 7 could hold the arguement that although there is no standard method over Linux in genereal, each major distro does have its own “Package Manager” which does all the dirty work for you when you find the software you want to try, taking away the need for knowledge about rpm deb etc etc
Point 8 is an excellent view, but instead of everyone relying on hardware manufacturers to write drivers, manufacturers could just as easily work out a deal so the linux distro creators can write the drivers and offer support on them, that way any distro that has the resources to do so can do so, and the ones that don’t sadly may get left in the wind. This in turn could easily start the process of elimination leaving fewer distros to choose from.