Slashdot is discussing the results of a Lxer survey on why people switch to Linux. OReillynet has a good summary.
Long time readers, or even casual readers, will probably know that I’m an advocate of desktop Linux; I’m always interested in ways that desktop Linux is being improved, and in any stories of companies/cities/individuals who have successfully made it their primary platform. I think it is a viable platform for consumer use, if not today then definitely within the coming 5-10 years.
However, I would say that the answers to this survey are telling as to why Linux is still primarily the platform of tech-savvy individuals, and not the average consumer. One respondent said that Linux gave him the chance to “play with the kernel,” which was “something I’d been wanting to do for a long time…” Let’s be honest; my brother-in-law is not interested in playing with his kernel. Nor are my parents, my sister, or most of the people I help everyday solve computer problems. You might say it isn’t fair to pick this one example, but a lot of the responses fall into this category; the user wanted to “fiddle” and Linux allowed for this; or because they wanted a “challenge.”
These are not reasons, in general, which will make your Mom decide to switch to Linux.
The more pragmatic reasons to switch to Linux–relative security from viruses, trojans, and malware, more stability, less expensive–are almost all echoed by the #2 desktop platform, Macintosh (except the “less expensive” part, of course).
So, supposing that we are interested in the advance of Linux on the desktop in the next 5-10 years; what sort of reasons do we want to be hearing from users?
I think we want to hear things like, I switched to Linux because it was easier to use; I switched because all the software I needed had an alternative there that was cheap or free; or, even better (the tipping point) I switched because so many of my friends/associates were using it, it was a lot easier to be working on the same platform.
Yes, the future success of Linux will depend to an extent on the engineering of the various software components which make up the whole operating environment. If the software is buggy, that would be a big turn-off, so naturally well-integrated software will be a major key.
If we want people to love Linux, we will basically need to tell them why they should love Linux; which is just another name for marketing. The success of Linux will rest on who markets it, and how they market it.
