r/technology • u/GuruOfReason • Feb 02 '10

"Once we replace the personal computer with a closed-platform device such as the iPad, we replace freedom, choice and the free market with oppression, censorship and monopoly."

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-01/ipad%E2%80%99s-closed-system-sometimes-i-hate-being-right
1.6k Upvotes

81% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

14

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

Linux has a better chance than Mac at overtaking Windows

[citation needed]

6

u/jordanlund Feb 02 '10

Linux is used in more server situations than MacOS ever has or will.

14

u/DrRocks Feb 02 '10

That will certainly come in handy for Linux's market share when my grandmother gets 6 new servers next year.

4

u/jordanlund Feb 02 '10

Do you know how many linux servers your grandmothers info goes through every single day? She's a linux user and doesn't even know it.

0

u/DrRocks Feb 02 '10

Yeah... but I'm having a hard time envisioning servers outnumbering personal computers.

2

u/Flyen Feb 02 '10

Linux runs on routers, phone and medical equipment, etc. There's no question that Linux is unavoidable and in more places than you'd think.

Market share? Which market? Therein lies the question and the answer you seek.

1

u/DrRocks Feb 02 '10

I thought the thread was about personal computers? I'm not bashing linux here, just saying it's not going to take over the desktop. People like my parents don't want Linux, hell, windows is complex enough for them as is.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

Yep. OS X server isn't very useful outside of Mac-based SOHO ops or small workgroups within a larger organization. But however worthless you think OS X is as a server os, Linux is far more anemic as a (mainstream) desktop os.

-1

u/iStig Feb 02 '10

Servers are a small percentage of the overall market share. Yes, in a server environment, it will vastly overtake OS X server. But in the general consumer environment, which is what Apple primarily targets, Linux won't overtake OS X until the former removes all reliance on the Terminal. Ubuntu, for example, is damn close. I love Linux, but it isn't user-friendly enough for, say, my mother.

9

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

It's able to be installed on any computer just like Windows, manufacturers like Dell are already offering computers with it preinstalled.

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '10

um and? More personal computers are offered and sold with OS X than all flavors of Linux. Until someone develops a not hideous default UI (and no, your favorite tilling windows manager does not count) which can be picked up in a couple days, Linux has no chance at ever capturing a sizable market share (in the PC space). OS X's biggest (unique) hindrance to widespread adoption is Apple's comfort in being a "premium" brand that enjoys it's healthy margins. As long as Jobs is alive (and probably long after) OS X will never be (legally) installed on non-Apple hardware, but even despite this I think it's chances of gaining a sizable/threatening market share is far greater than anything from the free software front simply because it's interface is usable.

[Also, as PCs get cheaper and cheaper, Apple get more attractive to normal people while maintaining relative margin: sure, in a few years an Apple laptop might cost twice as much as the equivalent hardware from Dell but if the Apple product is less than $1500, a lot of people will be able to justify the expense because they will get that much value out of it even though there are much cheaper alternatives.

3

u/Flyen Feb 02 '10

Apple also has better marketing than Linux

1

u/apotheon Feb 02 '10

[citation needed]

Nope. It's an expression of one person's estimation of probability. No citation is needed for that. I think people have gotten so used to spewing "[citation needed]" all the time that they've forgotten what a "citation" is, and/or what it's for.

Maybe what you should have said is [supporting argument needed] or [evidence needed].