Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Servers

    Trying for the Top: Desktop Linux Aims for the Big Time

    By
    Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
    -
    November 29, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Linux desktops have always faced an uphill battle against Windows desktops. Now, OSDL is calling together architects from over two-dozen key desktop-oriented Linux projects to a Dec. 1-2 meeting at its headquarters to set strategic directions and standards, and find synergies amongst Desktop Linux organizations.

      Armed with detailed information about what Linux desktop users really want from their desktops from a recent OSDL (Open Source Development Labs Inc.) survey, the developers will attempt to fix the technical problems keeping Linux from winning a lions share of the desktop market.

      There have been numerous attempts in the past to popularize the Linux desktop. Indeed, OSDL has sponsored some of these efforts.

      Whats different this time is that instead of simply trying to set a policy, OSDL has reached out to other open-source organizations to work in a small group of less than a hundred developers on how to dramatically improve the Linux desktop.

      Some of the major desktop organizations represented include Gnome.org and KDE.org, to LinuxBase.org and Oasis-Open.org, to Mozilla.org and OpenOffice.org.

      The plan also has the corporate support of Adobe Systems Inc., Intel Corp., IBM, Hewlett-Packard Co., Linspire Inc., Mandriva SA, Novell Inc., RealNetworks Inc., Red Hat Inc., Trolltech, and Xandros Inc.

      John Cherry, OSDLs Initiative manager for the Linux desktop, said that the OSDL decided to take a close look at why the Linux desktop had lagged behind other areas where Linux had been accepted much more quickly.

      Part of the problem, according to Cherry, was that the changes that needed “to be adopted for Linux to become successful on the Linux desktop had to be driven by the Linux communities and their distros. The Linux companies alone couldnt do it.”

      Since OSDL is vendor-neutral, Cherry said, “Its uniquely positioned to pull together developers.

      Dave Rosenberg, OSDLs principal analyst, said, “Theres a huge amount of innovation going on in the Linux desktop, but theres been no unified thread.”

      Things are changing.

      “We werent aware how much the Linux desktop was in peoples minds,” said Rosenberg. There has been a great deal of interest in the meeting.

      In advance of the weekend get-together at OSDLs Beaverton, Ore., headquarters, developers have been hammering out what areas theyll be tackling at the meeting.

      The meeting is not just limited to fat-client desktops such as a Linux equivalent to Microsofts Windows XP.

      For example, Jim McQuillan of the LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project), a thin-client group, has identified resource utilization of high-powered desktop clients, better local device and audio support, and enterprise level management and security tools as being important for thin-client Linux desktops.

      The group, in advance of the meeting, has also identified issues that are standing in the way of the Linux desktops adoption.

      In addition to the recent surveys identification of the need for more device drivers and the porting of some Windows applications to Linux, the developers have identified FUD and a need for better Linux interfaces for the blind.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifRead more here about the demand for Linux device drivers.

      Perhaps the most important problem the meeting will address is a very mundane one. It is, as Jon Perr, a technology marketing executive and former Ximian official, put it, the “Who will do it?” problem.

      “Some of the toughest barriers to Linux desktop adoption, especially by corporate customers, are bigger than any given vendor. However, the complexity (and often, the sheer drudgery) of the development work, combined with lower interest among community hackers as end users, mean that key issues dont get addressed (or at least, not in a timely way, from a market perspective),” said Perr in a planning group e-mail discussion.

      Some of this grunt work is already being done.

      The OSDLs Open Source Device Drivers Web site was launched on Nov. 11 as a repository of device driver information and to help device driver developers get accustomed to the methods and processes of the Linux kernel community.

      While announced in August, the launch was prompted in part by the upcoming desktop meeting.

      The meeting will address include other areas, as Patrice Lagrange, Adobe Systems Inc.s Linux market development and strategy director, suggested, “Desktop organizations should leave the meeting with a clear understanding of gaps in inter-org interactions and dependencies, (and) define a common list of … gaps in technology where there would be benefit in coordination across desktop organizations.”

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest open-source news, reviews and analysis.

      Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
      I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×