Author
Hi,
Will Linux be the target gaming platofrm in the next few years?
I think it should be adobted by at least the leaders in the industry.
I still cannot understand why Windows rules. Is it DirectX?
or is it the dummy users who prefare to run it on their Pentium?
Need your feedback.
At the moment Windows is likely to prevail in the desktop scenario market, because of marketing, because for the average user it is easier to use than linux, people generally associate quality with the expenditure of money, microsoft''s lobbying of PC manufacturers and the fact that it generally just about fits their percieved requirements. As long as this situation persists developers of products they are likely to buy will continue to develop for windows as their main platform with others coming a distinct second - a kind of viscious circle.
Once (if?) linux becomes user friendly to install & use, and if the linux community can give it enough awareness then it could become the platform of choice. Examples of good things under linux are the KDE config plugin for Samba, under Gentoo emerge is in many ways great, although to make it end-user friendly it should have a gui. Things that aren''t great, why do I have to restart the X server to get a different resolution or colour setting? messing about in text config files is fine for geeks ... but your average home user? Linux also needs greater hardware support; projects that can use windows drivers and integrate them into linux will help, but in the end consumer hardware manufacturers must be persuaded to provide production quality drivers.
Don''t get me wrong, Linux is a great OS, but at the moment the end user is likely to end up finding it hard to operate, especially installing and configuring software and devices and until this happens it is likely to remain the preserve of geeks and professionals who need reliability and can deal with the difficulties implict in setting linux up.
Once (if?) linux becomes user friendly to install & use, and if the linux community can give it enough awareness then it could become the platform of choice. Examples of good things under linux are the KDE config plugin for Samba, under Gentoo emerge is in many ways great, although to make it end-user friendly it should have a gui. Things that aren''t great, why do I have to restart the X server to get a different resolution or colour setting? messing about in text config files is fine for geeks ... but your average home user? Linux also needs greater hardware support; projects that can use windows drivers and integrate them into linux will help, but in the end consumer hardware manufacturers must be persuaded to provide production quality drivers.
Don''t get me wrong, Linux is a great OS, but at the moment the end user is likely to end up finding it hard to operate, especially installing and configuring software and devices and until this happens it is likely to remain the preserve of geeks and professionals who need reliability and can deal with the difficulties implict in setting linux up.
quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster
Things that aren''t great, why do I have to restart the X server to get a different resolution or colour setting?
You don''t. The XRandR extension (implemented in XFree86 4.3 and onward) allows changing the size of the root window and it''s integrated in the big desktop environments already. Changing the bit depth may someday be added to it, but it''s not a big concern. The size of the viewport could always be changed without effort (as you likely know).
I would like to remark at this point that in my opinion Windows is the more difficult OS.
I say this because Windows has more effort needed to keep it working correctly (who hasn''t had to reinstall? and of course spyware, virii, disk defragging, the list goes on and on)
linux can be a bear to get working properly, but then so can Windows
As a Windows user, you know all the tricks needed to get Windows functioning, so you think it is easy. I spent the past couple of days working with a small rack of Windows machines at work, and as someone who hadn''t used windows much in over a year, it was amazing how difficult many tasks are -- people are affective at what they know.
And as for the mythical "average user", they don''t install Windows either -- they have relatives/aquaintances or tech support do it for them -- which can be done as easily with Linux.
The main thing holding Linux back at the moment, IMHO, is marketting and inertia.
I say this because Windows has more effort needed to keep it working correctly (who hasn''t had to reinstall? and of course spyware, virii, disk defragging, the list goes on and on)
linux can be a bear to get working properly, but then so can Windows
As a Windows user, you know all the tricks needed to get Windows functioning, so you think it is easy. I spent the past couple of days working with a small rack of Windows machines at work, and as someone who hadn''t used windows much in over a year, it was amazing how difficult many tasks are -- people are affective at what they know.
And as for the mythical "average user", they don''t install Windows either -- they have relatives/aquaintances or tech support do it for them -- which can be done as easily with Linux.
The main thing holding Linux back at the moment, IMHO, is marketting and inertia.
one word: market.
Linux still has to become one. And linux users still have to get used to buy things for it.
Big software companies (adobe, discrete, microsoft<-why not?) should all, for once, start porting their applications to linux. That will mark the beginning of linux as a real end-user market.
Linux still has to become one. And linux users still have to get used to buy things for it.
Big software companies (adobe, discrete, microsoft<-why not?) should all, for once, start porting their applications to linux. That will mark the beginning of linux as a real end-user market.
as i said -- marketting and inertia
but inertia can be over come, and several major firms like Novell and IBM are pushing Linux now, and are working on the marketting angle
basically, the next few years are going to be interesting
maybe today Linux isnt taking over the desktop, but it might take over faster than you think -- i mean, WALMART sells linux preinstalled on computers now
programming for computers is trying to hit a moving target -- if you arent prepared for possible moves, you could find yourself in deep trouble down the road
but inertia can be over come, and several major firms like Novell and IBM are pushing Linux now, and are working on the marketting angle
basically, the next few years are going to be interesting
maybe today Linux isnt taking over the desktop, but it might take over faster than you think -- i mean, WALMART sells linux preinstalled on computers now
programming for computers is trying to hit a moving target -- if you arent prepared for possible moves, you could find yourself in deep trouble down the road
If you look at the Google Zeitgeist, Linux''s desktop userbase doesn''t seem to be going anywhere. It''s been at about 1% for years now.
The main reason I like to target Linux as well as Windows is simply because a theoretical OSX port would be a very small step from that. (all I need now is Mac hardware!)
"Without deviation, progress itself is impossible." -- Frank Zappa
The main reason I like to target Linux as well as Windows is simply because a theoretical OSX port would be a very small step from that. (all I need now is Mac hardware!)
"Without deviation, progress itself is impossible." -- Frank Zappa
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