[ale] Acceptance of Linux on the desktop

[Jonathan Rickman]

On Saturday 23 August 2003 14:40, Sean Kilpatrick wrote:
> I would possit that the single greatest bar to a
> more general acceptance of Linux on the desktop is
> the lack of manufacturer-supplied drivers.

I disagree. Here's why.

Windows NT4 was very successful on the desktops of corporations everywhere. 
It still has a huge installed base. It also suffered (and still does) from 
a lack of hardware manufacturer support. Having worked with large NT4 
installations in the late 90s (5000+ systems), I would argue that hardware 
support was worse then for NT than it is for Linux now. What NT did not 
suffer from, was a lack of applications. I'm not talking about generic 
office suites and the like, but line of business apps. The Ernie Ball story 
highlights this. Inertia is also at work, unfortunately in Microsoft's 
favor. I think that once the general desktop environment matures 
completely, more ISVs will port to Linux.

-- 
Jonathan Rickman
X Corps Security
http://www.xcorps.net


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