Five reasons why the Linux market has not surpassed Windows

Article Title: Five reasons why the Linux market has not surpassed Windows. Linux is a technology channel of the IT lab in China. Includes basic categories such as desktop applications, Linux system management, kernel research, embedded systems, and open source.

Competition in the PC market is extremely fierce. Because when consumers need to buy a new system, they will do their best to save some money. However, this saving does not mean that users will choose PCs with Linux instead of Windows. In fact, there are still many users who prefer to break the law and do not want to install pirated Windows on a legal basis. In general, most people prefer to spend money on Windows or Mac, rather than spending time learning to try Linux.

　　Why?

It seems that many people are confused about this. Since Linux entered the world, I have seen this problem on countless websites, forums, and blogs. Why is Linux's market share so low when users are so satisfied with Windows (at least according to the comments in many communities that support Linux? This is really sad, but some computer users cannot give up Linux.

Over the past decade, I have had the opportunity to access thousands of computer users from all walks of life, and these experiences are very valuable for me to learn about the relationship between them and their computers. Based on these materials and some of my recent experiences with Linux distributions and communities, I plan to launch five key things that the Linux community does not know about ordinary computer users, these five factors are slowing down Linux's entry into home and office desktop systems.

1. In general, not all users are dissatisfied with Windows

Although you may see comments on websites, blogs, newspapers, and magazines, not all Windows users are dissatisfied. There are still countless users who only need to install Windows to use it without any practical difficulties.

Over the past ten years, I have observed a lot of trends and listened to what people call "every day now". many people have left Windows, I did not see this happen. Indeed, the number of Linux users has increased by several percentage points over a decade ago, but there is no indication that a large number of users have switched from Windows to Linux. In fact, the addition of Mac also has a certain relationship, and it is also said that people predict that open source will fail. It does not seem that people are willing to switch from a paid, closed-source operating system to a free Linux version.

Another bad expectation is that dissatisfaction will drive users to switch to other operating systems, but this is not what people think. When faced with a computer problem, people will not take the initiative to think about it, will they think that they should choose other operating systems? This is not the case. These people only want to solve the problem so that they can continue to perform their work or some leisure activities they were doing. Switching the operating system is not a simple solution to solve the problem. [Next]

2. excessive distribution versions

　　Want to know why more people will not choose Linux?

Simply put, there are too many versions to choose from. Indeed, if you spend some time and experience studying and experimenting, you will be able to find the version that suits you. let's take a look at Windows users, it takes enough time for them to select between Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. Adding time to study the advantages and disadvantages of all Linux versions is too complicated for users. Check the number of Mac users and ask what Mac does not have in Windows and Linux? -- One choice.

You may want to know why people prefer to choose a browser instead of the operating system they use. In fact, this is very simple. it is safer to test a browser, and Live CD and virtual machines are not what most people will do. If you tell people that you have spent the whole weekend running many Linux versions through virtual machines, then most people will want to know whether your eyes are as painful as nails after these steps are completed.

3. people need to ensure that both hardware and software can run.

Please give me a list of five types of hardware that uses Linux as the support system. After a week in my office, I couldn't find anything that explicitly listed Linux. Unless we can see that the hardware vendor releases the Linux driver as the hardware standard, it will be a nightmare for people who do not want to take risks to use Linux.

The software is worse. Any user who has switched from Windows to Linux must first understand the application. This is a far more difficult task than Linux claims. It is also a hassle to come up with alternative tools for all your applications.

Although Dell plans to launch a pre-installed Linux PC, it is possible that only those who have sufficient experience in using Linux and know what can work in it and what can't, or those who know where to ask for answers. I also want to know how many people will buy computers with Ubuntu. Dell can only find that running a Linux version is more difficult than obtaining an operating system with nothing. But how many people will eventually give up, and install Windows on it?

4. for most people, the command line is already tracking the extinction of dinosaurs.

Linux users may be excited to say that in Linux, you can save the GUI and return to the command line era. Although I like some of the powerful functions provided by the command line, let's face the fact that these "command line fans" are already a minority. Most people are happier today than those who are old enough to remember DOS. for those who have access to computers in the Windows age, it is hard to explain the benefits of the command-driven interface to them.

In today's era, it has been difficult for people to remember some keyboard commands with control keys for a long time, so the idea of switching to the command line system is impractical for many people.

5. Linux is still so weird

In the past few years, there have been some powerful forces to make more easy-to-use improvements to Linux distribution versions, and when you see a version like Ubuntu, you will realize that they are doing well. The problem is that there are inevitable complexities in many aspects of the operating system, such as update and upgrade. Here is what I wrote a few weeks ago:

"Ubuntu is really good. it is stable, fast, and strong, but it is still abnormal in some places. Don't misunderstand what I mean. In general, Ubuntu is good and friendly. However, in some of the dark corners, only Linux experts can sniff them, but general users cannot feel them. Ubuntu updates are of this type and have high requirements for understanding its running status. I think what the Ubuntu development team needs to find out is that among the 100 super players who are not Linux players, and then find them to face the operating system. Let these people give feedback on all aspects of the operating system. If your average family users can regard Ubuntu as a replacement for Windows or Mac, all these anomalies will be restored ."