Linux sales soar in Japan, Windows sales slump

The Inquirer.net ^ | 1-8-04 | Inquirer Staff

[Musket]

Linux sales soar in Japan, Windows sales slump

IDC Report will cause some alarm bells to ring

Thursday 08 January 2004, 10:51

A SURVEY BY IDC Japan said that Linux licensing agreements in the country soared by 37.5% during 2003.

The report, in today's Japan Times, said that sales of Windows only grew by half a per cent during the same period.

But the same report suggests that limited availability of application software for Linux could hamper its growth. You can find the report here.

[Musket]

Oh no. This is terrible news I tell ya, just terrible. :)

And so is this - Internal memo confirms IBM move to Linux desktop.

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[Petronski]

Internal memo confirms IBM move to Linux desktop

All stories come true eventually

By Mike Magee: Wednesday 07 January 2004, 16:39

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WE REPORTED last year that Big Blue was firmly committed to moving to a Linux desktop environment, and we now have confirmation in the form of an IBM memo that this is going to happen.

The memo, titled On Demand Initiatives, from IBM CIO Bob Greenberg, and forwarded to us by an insider at IBM on the West Coast, is encouraging senior execs at Big Blue to switch to a Linux desktop by the end of 2005.

That, says Greenberg, is a challenge that IBM's chairman himself put to Big Blue's IT organisation. µ

Team,

We have been on our journey to on demand for one year now. While we have made important progress in transforming our business and IT systems we must be even more aggressive in driving this transformation. I am writing to you today because I need your assistance on two key projects that are central to our vision of IBM as an on demand business.

First, our chairman has challenged the IT organization, and indeed all of IBM, to move to a Linux based desktop before the end of 2005. This means replacing productivity, web access and viewing tools with open standards based equivalents. The CIO office, in conjunction with Research and SWG, is building the Open Desktop project office to lead this effort. You need to have people participate in this project. You'll want people that can bring together the business and technical perspectives from your organization. These individuals will work with the project office to surface business unit issues and requirements and to communicate information back through your organization.

Secondly, at the heart of our cultural transformation is the On Demand Workplace. The On Demand Workplace (ODW) will provide employees with immediate access to resources and capabilities in an integrated role-based work environment. As such, business unit specific portals, websites, stand-alone applications and capabilities need to be integrated into the ODW. To support this integration, the CIO's organization is structuring a Framework that will provide the set of definitions/standards for those building these resources & capabilities. This will ultimately provide a consistent user experience for all employees that runs on a common platform in a shared environment that leverages common services by all applications.

You will receive two invitations, one from the Open Desktop Project Office and the other from the On Demand Workplace Framework team. Please extend the meeting invitation to the individuals in your organization who will be representing your team on these efforts. The individuals assigned to these initiatives should understand your application portfolio, have contacts with your leaders in other geographies, and be able to asses the impact of these On Demand initiatives to your business plans.

[snip of e-mail addresses]

These are ambitious projects that cut through all of our company and extend deeply into our external messages. I look forward to your strong support and participation.

Regards,
Bob Greenberg

[Astronaut]

I had an interesting experience with Linux recently. I installed SuSE Linux 9.0 on my ThinkPad. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to work with our office's networked printers. It did connect to the internet. Eventually I gave up and went back to the mediocrity of Windows XP. I was looking for an alternative to viruses, spyware, and security problems, but Linux wasn't it. My conclusion was the Linux is great in the server area, but not on the desktop, no matter what the Linux zealots will tell you. I don't think either Microsoft or Apple has any reason to fear Linux taking over the desktop. Its a great hobby OS for geeks, but still not ready for Mr. and Mrs. America.

When I spend my own money, I buy Apple products. My PowerBook 17 at home is my digital hub. Everything that is extremely complicated under Linux and aggravating in Windows is a joy in Mac OS X. When my ThinkPad is eventually replaced, I will get another PowerBook for work. In my opinion, Macintosh not Linux is the only real alternative to Windows in the office environment.

[Crazieman]

Until a majority of applications and games are written for Linux, I'm staying with Windows.

But most Linux enthusiasts (Read: Crazy fanatics) seem to think that it is some sort of magical OS that does everything and is infinitely secure.

As I would like to point out, if it was as widespread as Windows, it would be a target for crackers and virus writers.

[Cronos]

Windows XP

Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh, where's my garlic, holy water and silver bullets??

horrendous operating system, I loathe XP. Win2K was the best OS put out by Microsoft.

[ShadowAce]

No matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to work with our office's networked printers.

I'm sorry to hear that. I've got Fedora Core on my Sager laptop, and it connects to all our networked printers, plus the HP LaserJet on my desk, plus the Epson Stylus Photo I have at home.

I use it for all my sysadmin needs--and I run a Windows network.

[ShadowAce]

As I would like to point out, if it was as widespread as Windows, it would be a target for crackers and virus writers.

That is a myth that has already been debunked. First of all, it is already a target, and second, if you are saying that it would be an equal target to Windows if it was as widespread, then you are comparing them as if their security is equal.

It's not. While Linux is not hack-proof, it does have superior security to Windows. Of course, I understand that is not saying much, as Windows security is pretty lame out of the box.

[Publius6961]

My conclusion was the Linux is great in the server area, but not on the desktop, no matter what the Linux zealots will tell you.

I am not a Linux user and have no dog in this hunt, but even I know the difference between "desktop" and a business networked environment. In my job where "only" a few hundred are networked, and thousands county wide, the problem you described is a daily (hourly?) problem somewhere. In a totally PC/Microsoft environment.

[Publius6961]

Win2K was the best OS put out by Microsoft.

I agree, although I'm not sure what the fallout will be when Microsoft stops supporting it. They already do all they can to stifle its continued distribution.

[mj1234]

Sorry to disagree, this is why.

1. A typical small buisness (50 desktops): running microsofts
SBE- wih clients running outlook/exchange- internet access
They need mail/ some type of document handling / the
buisness end (meaning financial/ERP function) is really
separate from the companys majority of desktop's if
everything is web enabled - there should be no reason to
use even a PDA for connection to the company's resources.

The big deal- if IBM or Sun or Apple or one of the other
linux vendors can do -)(easily/seamlessly)- integrate web
enabled clients to their current infrastructure- lowering
costs. This becomes a matter of supplying a "service"
at reasonable cost -versus I only know brand X - so we
will stick with brand X.

Most people call unix guys geeks- not true or fair- the
most Limited tech/programmers/system managers- that I
have seen, have been Microsoft Only capable- unwilling
to look at any other operating system even-(VM,VMS,AS400)
I will be converting our exchange/outlook clients over to
Sun's Java desktop- cost have been targeted to drop-
functionality should rise ( all of our apps will be web
enabled)

[stainlessbanner]

You are happy with Fedora? I have the ProWorkstation Beta, which is pretty stable, but I've been toying with moving to Fedora. I assume it's solid if you are managing your network!

[amigatec]

I have found it to be the other way around. I use a JetDirect 300 to connect with 5 PC's. With Windows I first have to install the JetDirect software from HP, then I have to install the print drivers from my printer disk. These are 2 seperate operations.

With Mandrake I usr go to add printer and it installs all the software needed for the JetDirect and AND the printer. No need to look for the printer disk or the look for the HP drivers.

I can add a Mandrake box in half the time as a Windows box.

[Happy2BMe]

It will take years (if ever) for Linux to reach the hardware, application, and entertainment compatibility levels Microsoft has achieved over the past twenty years with Windows.

Nothing new to see here folks . . move along.

[ShadowAce]

Yes, so far, Fedora's been the best distro I've tried on this box. I put RH 9.0 on here at first, but I had some minor issues with it that just annoyed me. As a result, I DL'ed half a dozen different distros looking for one that I could use easily and that would install fairly easily.

When Fedora was released, I tried it just as another in the line of try-outs I was going through. It installed flawlessly, and the minor issues I experienced with RH 9.0 were absent.

It comes with Yum, and I had used that before, so updating my system is a breeze--and totally configurable.

[BRK]

I went through the whole Linux thing and, at first, I was very excited about it. I downloaded the Red HAT. I also downloaded Mandrake. I tried both of them and yes, I was able to cruise the net, and do email. So it does work, but not ANY better than Windows. What shocked me was the abundance of buggy applications with weird names in the "free community" and how they almost never really quite worked. I know many fine smart people worked hard on many of thse programs and I admire thier brillance, but the Soviet Style business model of these open source projects means that they just never seem to get totally complete. I locked up more in Linux in 3 days than I had in almost 20 years of using Microsoft products. A notable exception was The GIMP. It was so good, I downloaded a Windows version of it.
Another huge surprise was the almost daily security updates. I still get email from Mandrake warning me to download the latest security packages. And Red HAT was also updating me nearly everyday until they finally realized I wasn't going to join the "club" where the software is free, you just pay to be in the club.(Do we get a secret handshake with that?)
After reading probably millions of lines of blogs, commentary, posting and reviews. I thought Linux was so secure and stable, why would anybody in their right mind want to EVER update it? I thought updates were a Microsoft problem solely because Bill Gates was so evil. I also thought it was free. It isn't.
So my experience wasn't really any different than a lot of peoples. All we hear about hear is buzzwords like "stability" and "security". But if you can't get any work done because you have no applications, what good is stability and security? Take a Windows computer, cut the power cord and you have a Linux machine. It's Stable and Secure, it just doesn't do anything!
What kind of security are Linux people talking about anyway? What does it mean? My router has a firewall, my computer is invisible to the Internet? Windows XP even has a simple firewall built in now. How much security do I need? If you can get past all that, then you are welcome to steal what ever you may find on my little home email and surfing machine.
Now maybe IBM has something up its' sleeve and that is fine. Who knows, maybe even Microsoft will be forced to cut prices or go "open source" someday. All of that is good information and good news. But please spare me the Linux hype. For most people, who don't run their machine for the sole purpose of running it, it is not a very enjoyable user experience. My 65 year old mother is on the internet and sends me email everyday. She has a hard time with the technology, while she has made peace with it. I just can't imagine how "super stable and secure" Linux would be better for her.
Now that is my 2 cents. Flame away Linux people, but I am overseas right now so I may not be able to respond, but it is not because I am snooty. (I'll leave snooty for the Apple folks.)

[taxcontrol]

I work for IBM and would LOVE a Linux desktop. But nothing so far. You can't even get permission for a dual boot.

[sigh]

I guess I'll have to wait till 2005.

[Bush2000]

Poor Microsoft. They only have 95% market share. Linux has less than 2%. So, instead of 50 copies of Linux in Japan, there are now 68. Whoopie. /SARCASM

[Bush2000]

It will take years (if ever) for Linux to reach the hardware, application, and entertainment compatibility levels Microsoft has achieved over the past twenty years with Windows.

Compatibility is a pipe dream under Linux. The dozens of Linux distributions each have competing standards, APIs, and graphical interfaces. Betting on any particular one is a crapshoot.