Linux must be slicker to grab desktop space
Published: 26 Apr 2004 11:40 BST
Linux may be entrenched in the data centre, but it will need some sprucing up before the upstart operating system grabs a significant spot on the desktop PC.
Cosmetic adjustments, better business applications -- and more of them -- and improved marketing will help turn the tide, according to speakers at the Desktop Linux Summit here.
While figures vary widely on worldwide Linux desktop penetration, most credible sources place it between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the market, making the open-source operating system a slowly rising third to Windows and Apple Computer's Mac OS.
Still, many are optimistic Linux will reach mainstream status, typically defined as 10 percent market share or better, within the next five years.
To get there, analysts say, developers and businesspeople behind Linux will need to make some changes. The user interfaces used by most Linux distributions are a good place to start, independent analyst Amy Wohl said. Some relatively simple cosmetic changes to make Linux look prettier and more similar to dominant Windows conventions would make a big difference, she said.
"It's an issue of how you package things up and present them," she said. "These are issues that are highly fixable. Let's get them fixed."
Open-source marketers also need to change their focus in some areas, Wohl said. Instead of trying to convert Microsoft customers, think about the much bigger potential markets of people who can't afford Microsoft applications, she said, citing the software giant's Office productivity package as an example.
"The fact of the matter is, there are approximately nine workers available as a target market for every one worker using Microsoft Office," she said. "There's a huge market out there without even touching the Microsoft issue."
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