
'Luke Wolf, a KDE developer, argues that PC-BSD might become a serious desktop OS contender by year 2020, since Linux so far has failed to grasp any serious market share. He writes, "Consider this: In the past 10 years has the distribution you run changed significantly in what it offers over other distributions? I think you'll find the answer is largely no. I do have to give a shout out to openSUSE for the OBS, but otherwise I've used my desktop in the same exact way that I have always used it within the continuity of distribution X,Y, or Z since I started using them. Distributions simply aren't focused on desktop features, they're leaving it up to the DEs to do so." He continues, "PC-BSD on the other hand in fitting with the BSD mindset of holistic solutions is focused on developing desktop features and is moving rapidly to implement them." What do you think?' -- source: http://bsd.slashdot.org/story/15/02/16/2355236 NB: Mentioning "Linux + Year of the Desktop" is always bait for a flamewar. But... Did anyone ever use PC-BSD as their primary OS (work/home)? Willing to share some insight? Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

On Tue, 17 Feb 2015 21:40:02 +1300, Peter Reutemann wrote:
'Luke Wolf, ... writes, "Consider this: In the past 10 years has the distribution you run changed significantly in what it offers over other distributions? I think you'll find the answer is largely no.'
And how has Windows changed “significantly” in that same time?
NB: Mentioning "Linux + Year of the Desktop" is always bait for a flamewar.
The fact of the matter is, Linux has got the desktop surrounded. It dominates everywhere there is free market competition (i.e. everywhere except the desktop). Machines/devices running some form of Linux outsell Windows PCs by over 2:1 and still growing. Meanwhile, desktop PC sales have been in steady decline for years. Why do you think Microsoft and Intel are so desperate to get a foothold in mobile, in particular, that they sustain huge losses in this market by practically (or actually) giving away their products? They know that’s where the future lies.
participants (2)
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro
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Peter Reutemann