Will Linux ever be able to give consumers what they want?

Tech Republic ^ | 14 August 2014 | Jack Wallen

[ShadowAce]

In the world of consumer electronics, if you don't give the buyer what they want, they'll go elsewhere. We've recently witnessed this with the Firefox browser. The consumer wanted a faster, less-bloated piece of software, and the developers went in the other direction. In the end, the users migrated to Chrome or Chromium.

Linux needs to gaze deep into their crystal ball, watch carefully the final fallout of that browser war, and heed this bit of advice:

If you don't give them what they want, they'll leave.

Another great illustration of this backfiring is Windows 8. The consumer didn't want that interface. Microsoft, however, wanted it because it was necessary to begin the drive to all things Surface. This same scenario could have been applied to Canonical and Ubuntu Unity -- however, their goal wasn't geared singularly and specifically towards tablets (so, the interface was still highly functional and intuitive on the desktop).

For the longest time, it seemed like Linux developers and designers were gearing everything they did toward themselves. They took the "eat your own dog food" too far. In that, they forgot one very important thing:

Without new users, their "base" would only ever belong to them.

In other words, the choir had not only been preached to, it was the one doing the preaching. Let me give you three examples to hit this point home.

• For years, Linux has needed an equivalent of Active Directory. I would love to hand that title over to LDAP, but have you honestly tried to work with LDAP? It's a nightmare. Developers have tried to make LDAP easy, but none have succeeded. It amazes me that a platform that has thrived in multi-user situations still has nothing that can go toe-to-toe with AD. A team of developers needs to step up, start from scratch, and create the open-source equivalent to AD. This would be such a boon to mid-size companies looking to migrate away from Microsoft products. But until this product is created, the migration won't happen.
• Another Microsoft-driven need -- Exchange/Outlook. Yes, I realize that many are going to the cloud. But the truth is that medium- to large-scale businesses will continue relying on the Exchange/Outlook combo until something better comes along. This could very well happen within the open-source community. One piece of this puzzle is already there (though it needs some work) -- the groupware client, Evolution. If someone could take, say, a fork of Zimbra and re-tool it such a way that it would work with Evolution (and even Thunderbird) to serve as a drop-in replacement for Exchange, the game would change, and the trickle-down to consumers would be massive.
• Cheap, cheap, cheap. This one is a hard pill for most to swallow -- but consumers (and businesses) want cheap. Look at the Chromebook sales over the last year. Now, do a search for a Linux laptop and see if you can find one for under $700.00 (USD). For a third of that cost, you can get a Chromebook (a platform running the Linux kernel) that will serve you well. But because Linux is still such a niche market, it's hard to get the cost down. A company like Red Hat Linux could change that. They already have the server hardware in place. Why not crank out a bunch of low-cost, mid-range laptops that work in similar fashion to the Chromebook but only run a full-blown Linux environment? (see "Is the Cloudbook the future of Linux?") The key is that these devices must be low-cost and meet the needs of the average consumer. Stop thinking with your gamer/developer hat on and remember what the average user really needs -- a web browser and not much more. That's why the Chromebook is succeeding so handily. Google knew exactly what the consumer wanted, and they delivered. On the Linux front, companies still think the only way to attract buyers is to crank out high-end, expensive Linux hardware. There's a touch of irony there, considering one of the most-often shouted battle cries is that Linux runs on slower, older hardware.

Finally, Linux needs to take a page from the good ol' Book Of Jobs and figure out how to convince the consumer that what they truly need is Linux. In their businesses and in their homes -- everyone can benefit from using Linux. Honestly, how can the open-source community not pull that off? Linux already has the perfect built-in buzzwords: Stability, reliability, security, cloud, free -- plus Linux is already in the hands of an overwhelming amount of users (they just don't know it). It's now time to let them know. If you use Android or Chromebooks, you use (in one form or another) Linux.

Knowing just what the consumer wants has always been a bit of a stumbling block for the Linux community. And I get that -- so much of the development of Linux happens because a developer has a particular need. This means development is targeted to a "micro-niche." It's time, however, for the Linux development community to think globally. "What does the average user need, and how do we give it to them?" Let me offer up the most basic of primers.

The average user needs:

• Low cost
• Seamless integration with devices and services
• Intuitive and modern designs
• A 100% solid browser experience

That's pretty much it. With those four points in mind, it should be easy to take a foundation of Linux and create exactly what the user wants. Google did it... certainly the Linux community can build on what Google has done and create something even better. Mix that in with AD integration, give it an Exchange/Outlook or cloud-based groupware set of tools, and something very special will happen -- people will buy it.

[taxcontrol]

I am a technical geek and have been using Linux since 0.9x

I am of the opinion that the first company to create a Minux3 based kernel, plus integrated VM controls, with separate user spaces will consolidate the server market for Linux

The killer app for Linux will be a complete desktop suite including a DB based email server and email client with integrated calendering (Exchange/Outlook). This will also likely need a DB based AAA server to replace the function of AD. I see a possible path by converting TACACS+ or something similar.

[Lake Living]

I don’t know... it seems the one thing this author is forgetting is that profit often drives development. Who’s going to do all this work for free to develop all this so they can basically give it away?

[Cboldt]

I think the answer is "yes," but it depends on the user of course.

"Android"

[usconservative]

A well written article that uses alot of words to communicate a simple concept:

What are the Use Cases for Linux?

People generally have an idea of what they want/need to do with a computer. What they need to see is how a solution fits into what they want/need to do.

I'll give you an example. My wife's parents use a computer to do two basic things: (1) Check their email; (2) Browse the Internet to check prices on things. They don't care about an underlying OS. They care about how to use the web browser, and which buttons to click to start their email client, read email and compose/send email. That's it.

So when it came time to upgrade their computer from Windows XP, I didn't much give Windows 7 or Windows 8 a second thought for them. Rather, they got Linux Mint.

Same familiar icon for their web browser (Firefox) and the same method of accessing their email (web based via Firefox.)

Occasionally they want to print one of their emails (Lord only knows why with the crap they get ..) so the same familiar Firefox browser interface lets them print to their printer.

Beyond these functions, they have no use for a computer. If they'd have wanted to watch NetFlix or Hulu for example they could of course do that through a browser interface assuming their sound card in a 6 year old PC was compatible with Linux Mint (it was not.)

IMO, the Linux community really needs to speak in terms of Use Cases where Linux fits in people's every day lives.

Beyond the identification of the Use Cases, the next logical step is to address the complexity of implementing those use cases by a typical home pc user.

Here's what I mean by that: My in-laws are one use case with simple needs. Complexity of use for them is at or near 0. The Mint interface was close enough to XP that they easily adapted to it.

Contrast that to building a home theater PC using pretty much any flavor of Linux by an average home user. Here the level of complexity in installing and configuring a high number of packages is required and that assumes all the different packages required are compatible "out of the box" with each other and with the hardware in the PC being used for this purpose.

While Linux has made huge strides in component compatibility, the average home user isn't going to adopt it until it's at least as good plug-and-play as Microsoft Windows or Apple (the standard bearer for plug and play.)

Yes, I'm aware of all the different builds that are out there which are packaged up specifically for a home theater pc in my example above, the problem is the average home user doesn't want to research all the different (and sometimes confusing) builds that are out there to find the "right one" for them. That just exacerbates the problem. Truth is, the average home user just wants to shove a dvd in their computer, have an OS detect everything they have, and "just work" at the end of the install.

Microsoft and Apple fit that bill nicely only because the average home user can go to Best Buy (for example) and buy a DVD to shove in their computer. I've yet to see Linux mass-marketed the same way as either Microsoft and Apple which markets their products based on ease of use and Use Cases for everyone.

Just my .02. Nice article, thanks for posting.

[tacticalogic]

The killer app for Linux will be a complete desktop suite including a DB based email server and email client with integrated calendering (Exchange/Outlook).

It's going to have to integrate with the phone system too, if it's going to go toe-to-toe with Exchange.

[usconservative]

That's pretty much it. With those four points in mind, it should be easy to take a foundation of Linux and create exactly what the user wants. Google did it... certainly the Linux community can build on what Google has done and create something even better.

One last comment on this specific part of the article: The author fails to make the distinction between Google (a Corporation organized around a set of common operating principles, stated goals and a product strategy) vs. the "Linux Community" which is not organized around a set of common operating principles, stated goals and product strategy. In fact, looking at all the different builds, forks, etc.. of Linux it's pretty clear the "Linux Community" will never be organized around the things I've identified above.

It's those differences that have made Google successful while the Linux Community continues to fracture and struggle to gain wide market acceptance.

Author gets a FAIL for not understanding those differences and why they're important.

[GeronL]

Most of that was just restating the obvious but it is clear that the “consumer” wants something more flashy and colorful than most Linux.

I thought Chromebooks were doomed to fail, I laughed at their tiny hdd’s and stuff. I would never buy one, of course.

Efforts like Red Hat and others are fine, they do their job of writing code and making a platform but what about all the other things consumers look for? It is totally hit and miss.

I agree, Linux is great and how long does it have to stand “just at the edge” of NEXT BIG THING?

[usconservative]

We have fewer people supporting the Linux servers for a few reasons--we can do more than the average Windows admin, and the Linux servers do not need as much maintenance as the average Windows server.

Generally speaking the above is true. Where reality parts with the above statement is when both Windows Server and Linux (in our case: Red Hat Enterprise Linux) are both run in a heavily regulated industry such as Financial Services.

We have @ 4,800 Windows Servers as VM's running under VMWare and @4,200 Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers also running under VMWare.

I'll tell you point blank that the tools to patch Microsoft Windows Servers are far more mature and effective in reporting patch status for example, than Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server is. The difference in the toolsets to maintain both platforms is like night and day.

Hopefully solutions like Chef and Puppet which are being positioned to manage both can handle both platforms as we move to a private cloud solution w/VCE. It would sure be nice to use one Enterprise Class management tool that actually works for both.

[GeronL]

My Ubuntu was pretty much plug’n’play. I simply had to resize the screen settings (easy to do in “System Settings”) but I did need to download a very tiny fan control file. Finding the printer “driver” I needed was easy, since it was at the manufacturers website.

I was online within seconds, literally. I had gone online with the live disc and when I decided to install it, it even remembered the wi-fi password. That was pretty nifty.

Not a lot of top games for Linux but that is changing with Steam and hopefully other game companies will start making their games work with more than just Windows

[GeronL]

Command prompt? What is that?

:p

<— Ubuntu user asking

[GeronL]

If put a DVD in my laptop I am pretty sure I can watch it on my Ubuntu. I use Hulu Plus all the time on this thing, as well as foreign shows on DramaFever.com

[GeronL]

It's going to have to integrate with the phone system too

Ubuntu Touch

[tacticalogic]

Not mobile devices, corporate PBXs.

[trebb]

Perhaps I should have said "command line".

If you aren't joshing, then you may find out when something doesn't work right and needs to be tweaked.

[GeronL]

Just a little bit joshing

I hardly ever need to use a command line for anything.

[Talisker]

I don’t know... it seems the one thing this author is forgetting is that profit often drives development. Who’s going to do all this work for free to develop all this so they can basically give it away?

Especially when all you really have to do is show that you can put together a team that will get the job done, in order to get paid staggering amounts of money by Google, Microsoft and Apple NOT to create these front-end products.

It's called "denial of entry" and it's a huge part of how Silicon Valley actually works.

[Conservative Gato]

No problems here with Ubuntu either. For the basic home user, everything is there that you might need plus a lot less worries about viruses, malware and such.

The Ubuntu desktop is quite a bit different from Windows but Zorin and Mint desktops are set up similar to Windows for an easier transition to Linux. I’ve used all 3 but like Ubuntu the best because the application bar is on the side with everything I use can be pinned to it. It also can be hidden so it’s out of the way unless I need get to it to open an application.

CGato

[GeronL]

I don’t really know how to hide the bar unless I go “full screen” on something. lol

[Conservative Gato]

It’s in the System Settings and click on the Appearance icon. In the Appearance section, you can adjust the size of the Application Launcher icons at the bottom. Then find the Behavior tab and click on it and you can turn on the Auto-Hide and adjust the sensitivity so when you bump the curser on the left side it doesn’t pop out all the time.

CGato

[GeronL]

lol

I never noticed the “Behavior” tab before