Are We Getting Closer to the Year of the Linux Desktop?
'Earlier this year TechRepublic argued that while 2021 wasn't the year of the Linux desktop, "there was no denying the continued dominance of Linux in the enterprise space and the very slow (and subtle) growth of Linux on the desktop. And in just about every space (minus the smartphone arena), Linux made some serious gains." So would 2022 be the year of the Linux desktop? "Probably not." But developer Tim Wells honestly believes we're getting closer: The idea of the year of the Linux desktop is that there would come a year that the free and open source operating system would reach a stage that the average user could install and use it on their pc without running into problems. Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips recently did an experiment where he installed Linux on his home PC for one month to see if he could use it not only for everyday tasks, but for gaming and also streaming. Ultimately he concluded (in a video just released) that this year will not be the year of the Linux desktop and that while doing everyday stuff was reasonably okay, the state of gaming on Linux (despite Valves lofty goals) is to put it simply, a shit-show. (That's my word, not his)... The experiment done by Linus seems to show that while some games do indeed run well using [Valve's Windows compatibility layer] Proton, there are just as many that run with issues. Some of those issues can be game breaking. Such as the game running, but its multiplayer functionality not working at all. Some games just plain don't work at all due to dependencies on services such as Easy Anti Cheat... In his video Linus mentions that the main problem preventing the "year of the Linux desktop" is the fragmentation. By fragmentation, he means the range of available distributions and the fact that each distribution has (potentially) different versions of libraries and drivers and software that makes the behind the scenes operate.... Flatpak and Snap as well as AppImage are making progress towards fixing this fragmentation issue, but those are not yet perfect either. Flatpak works by ensuring that the expected versions of libraries required for that software are installed along side it and independent of the existing library the distro may provide... Valve have said that the Steamdeck will also use an immutable core operating system for the same reasons. So while Linus is sure that 2022 isn't yet the year of the Linux desktop and that fragmentation is the biggest problem. I think maybe, just maybe, we're closer to solving those problems and closer perhaps to the year of the Linux desktop that some might realise.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/22/01/15/0224235 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 (office) +64 (7) 577-5304 (home office) https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/
Here’s one answer: Who cares? Let’s face it: “desktop” is a concept created by marketing departments, to characterize a platform that has had all its serverlike tendencies carefully neutered to avoid cannibalizing sales of more-expensive products from the same company. Back in the 1990s, we had “Unix workstations”, which combined both “server” and “desktop” functionality into the one product. Windows NT couldn’t compete with that. But Microsoft’s marketing managed to convince management at Unix-using companies that they didn’t need “server” functionality on the “desktop”. And so, the mediocre product was able to push out the more full-featured one. But Linux is still a workstation platform. In fact, it is king of workstation platforms, and has been since the death of Unix. If a “desktop” platform is all you want, then by all means stick with the cut-down products from Microsoft and Apple. But if you want something more, come to Linux.
On Mon, 17 Jan 2022 10:04:34 +1300, Peter Reutemann wrote:
'... while doing everyday stuff was reasonably okay, the state of gaming on Linux (despite Valves lofty goals) is to put it simply, a shit-show. (That's my word, not his)...'
Implication: Windows is not the go-to platform for serious work any more?
In his video Linus mentions that the main problem preventing the "year of the Linux desktop" is the fragmentation. By fragmentation, he means the range of available distributions and the fact that each distribution has (potentially) different versions of libraries and drivers and software that makes the behind the scenes operate....
I hear this is a big problem in the car market as well -- just too many models to choose from, with different body shapes, seating arrangements, numbers of doors, engines, colours, transmissions, infotainment systems ... it’s just bewildering, just for someone looking for a better horse. Cars will never push out the horse and buggy until the vendors can get together and agree on one common standard model that they can all ship.
On Mon, 17 Jan 2022 11:30:01 +1300, I wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jan 2022 10:04:34 +1300, Peter Reutemann wrote:
'... while doing everyday stuff was reasonably okay, the state of gaming on Linux (despite Valves lofty goals) is to put it simply, a shit-show. (That's my word, not his)...'
Implication: Windows is not the go-to platform for serious work any more?
Just to underscore this, consider Microsoft’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for some umpteen billion dollars <https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/18/microsoft_buys_activision_blizzard/>. Is Microsoft intending to buy up the entire gaming industry? Is this to ensure that Windows remains the pre-eminent gaming platform? (Notice it’s not making anywhere near the same level of acquisitions in any other market segment.)
participants (2)
-
Lawrence D'Oliveiro -
Peter Reutemann