Are there too many Linux distros? · Saturday January 27, 2007
I was just in sauna (where all the best ideas usually get birth) and started thinking about the quantity of Linux distros. Is it good for Linux that there are so many distributions or is it turning against Linux?
I found out that I wasn’t the only one wondering about this: Open Source Strategies: Are There Too Many Linux Distros. (Even though that blog entry dates back to December 2005, but the question is still current IMO.) I agree with Si Chen on most of what he (or she?) writes, but I want to take another look on this.
Let’s imagine a scenario where someone tries Linux for the first time and selects a random distro for that experimentation. Let’s assume that the distro he/she selected didn’t meet the needs or didn’t function properly for some reason and that person gets disappointed and never wants to try Linux again. OK, one might not get frustrated and try again with another distro, but usually people don’t have much time to experiment and expect things to work out-of-the-box. So in this case Linux might have lost a possible user.
My point is that Linux isn’t yet as easy to pick up as it probably should be to gain more ground. I assume that a regular computer user doesn’t want to do much configuring to get the operating system rolling. With Linux you have to do some distro research before you can trust that it will work on your computer and meet your needs. But again, is that a good or a bad thing? You tell me.
I’m just thinking about the average computer user here. Myself, I usually take the time to discover different distros and try them out just for fun. But there are people out there, who just want their computer to work and don’t want to tweak every little thing. Is Linux today suitable for them, what do you think?
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waatti #
I just found out that I’m a dolt. Maybe so, but I guess I can respond to that bold claim.
Okay, probably I’m a dolt, because I haven’t been using Linux for the last 2 – 3 years. But I guess I wasn’t ready for Linux, not the opposite. It has taken (and will take) time to get used to the world of Linux.
This terry character on Yet Another Linux Blog commented that he/she has put about 3 dozen people on Linux during the past 12 months. That already says something about the situation. I am betting that it is easier to get to know a new operating system when you have someone guiding you and telling you what to do than to learn it all by yourself. But I am not saying that people would learn to use Windows or OS X easier than Linux, that is not the point here. In any case a little help goes a long way.
Actually, when you think about it, the quantity of Linux distros might not mean a thing to a new user. I think it just means that a person who is interested in Linux has to do some background research or get someone to give some advise on distro choice etc. Probably that is not too much asked when you don’t have to pay anything for the operating system.
Looking back at my original post, I realise I stressed configuring and tweaking when talking about Linux. Afterwards I can say it isn’t like that at all. Most distros do work really well right out of the box. And if one particular distro doesn’t work on your hardware, you can always try another and probably it’ll be all right. And you can always give feedback to the developers and tell if you’ve had problems with their distro.
It has been over six months since I wrote this blog entry. I have learned a lot more about Linux and I think terry is right in pointing out my sentence “My point is that Linux isn’t yet as easy to pick up as it probably should be to gain more ground.” as somewhat incorrect. Linux has proven its simplicity to me during these last six months.
Terry: you first called me a dolt and then recommended I’d switch to Mac. Should I understand that recommendation the way that all Mac users are dolts or what..? I don’t think so. Besides, I would be very interested to try a Mac any time, the opportunity hasn’t just arrived yet.