The answer to the question - why doesn't Linux gain more market share
considering all the problems with Windows..
Manoj Srivastava raises some interesting points which highlights exactly
the reason why Linux doesn't capture more market share.
I have grouped together related statements to make it easier to respond.
Manoj Srivastava wrote:
I think one of the things that the linux community does not understand
about ordinary users is that:
I think that people who write things like this have no clue
about what drives the Linux community. The lack of understanding of
what drives free software developers
Feeding hangers on who just want a free meal is not really a
primary motivation. Sure, having the meal in the open where anyone can
pick up a fork lets new fork-weilders join in, but making extraordinary
effort to feed the non-participating is not something very likely to
happen on a broad scale.
2) Free software is about community; and people who care and
participate, it is not a marketing machine; it is a group of people
getting together to help each other achieve more from computers.
These people are not part of the free software community, and I
see no real reason to try to cater to them. Free software is about
community; is it surprising that no extraordinary effort is made to
pander to those who are resistant to inclusion?
Again, this is not about gaining market share.
5) Free software is written by people who have an itch to scratch,
and for like minded people. The basis is what I label as "The
Dinid Philosophers Solution" -- it is written for other people who
pick up the fork and help feed each other.
1) A computer is an expensive, useful, general purpose
tool. Researching the purchase of the machine and peripherals for
compatibility seems reasonable. As long as it is possible to
accomplish the task with some hardware, it does not matter that
some hardware vendors make incompatible equipment.
Actually, I think it is easier than getting things not blessed
by the Vendor to work on Vista. And now that some hardware
manufacturers are pre-installing Linux, it means that drivers are often
available (Dell distributes their printer driver for my color laser as
a GPL'd .deb).
Frankly, I would not buy hardware before learning whether it
supports Linux; and boycott the other hardware vendors.
2) For most people, OS is not a religion. Most users won't even know
what is an OS and neither do they care to know.
3) You get very little support if you call up BSNL/Airtel etc and ask3) The free software community helps each other; and the network has
why your DSL modem is not working with the Linux distro installed
on your machine.
the results of people sharing how they made things work, and the
pitfalls to avoid.
ISP's, retail shop salespeople, hardware vendors might not be
clued in to free software, which is only recently encroaching into the
mainstream, but the community provides its own resources to each
other. This is why this LUG is here, and why people participate.