Topic: Five reasons why the sun is setting on Windows dominance

[Clive]

LINK

[Simon]

I still think it will dominant for some time to come.

[sam]

I like how they bascially suggest that the PC = windows. Really not the case what about mac os and linux?   

[Rik]

I think inertia in businesses will keep MS healthy for some time to come. The article is correct, though, that Windows hasn't significantly changed since '95. Redmond have tinkered, rather than build a new OS from the ground up. Sooner or later, that might come back to haunt them.

[D-Dan]

I'm surprised that Linux wasn't mentioned, particularly since both Dell and HP will now ship with Linux based OS's, coupled with the fact the, IMO, the Linux desktop has finally matured to a level where the average user could migrate from Windows with little difficulty, and new computer users should encounter no problems whatsoever.

However, rather than a new market leader emerging, I think it more likely that the future will embrace a diverse selection of operating systems and interfaces (including Windows) to fill the needs of the end user, particularly once virtualisation becomes more accessible to the masses and makes the switch from one to another seamless in day to day use, where the hardware and the user's needs determine what particular underlying structure is used to fulfill any given task.

Steve

[Rik]

Back in the earliest days of PCs, Steve, people didn't buy any particular hardware or OS, instead they bought a machine which would run VisiCalc. In many respects, that's always been the way since, people have bought a machine to do a particular job. At one time, Macs dominated the reprographics world, because they had a better GUI and, most importantly, they handled colour correctly. MS finally woke up to that and, once Windows had a workable colour management system, it was as common to see a Windows machine as a Mac.

I think the problem for *nix is, and will remain, the lack of big name software. Until, for example, Adobe produce a version of Photoshop which will run on Linux, I will need to maintain at least one machine which runs either Windows or Mac OS.

What I can see happening, though, is that my laptops and netbook will move to Linux, handling day to day comms and 'office' functions, leaving the desktop to become the reprographics machine.

[sam]

I agree with people buying machines todo a task.

Graphics designers buy macs.

People who want games use windows (only reason I have it running on the hardware and not through a VM).

People who want to do anything serious use linux. But it is now a perfectly good desktop replacement for the average user too. Probably better than windows as when you turn on things like ubuntu after installing you have basically everything you need.

[Rik]

... except Photoshop.

[sam]

well there is gimp, not really good enough... and you can get photoshop working with wine or playonlinux (which uses wine).

I also don't think the average user I'm aiming at needs photoshop - I'm aiming at the people who really just want a webbrowser.

[Rik]

That's what I was getting at in saying I'd convert my laptops, Sam. Browsing, email and the odd letter is probably all I'd use them for.

[Clive]

VisiCalc... how could I have forgotten thee old friend?   

[Rik]

Later squeezed out by 1-2-3.

[Clive]

Another old friend of mine.  Along with dBase4.   

[Rik]

Yup. Plus WordPerfect for DOS and a raft of arcane codes to learn. Then there were the dot matrix printers...

[Simon]

Hold on, is that Arthur Negus over there?