Tux and the Sixth Sense: I See Dead Linux!

"DESKTOP LINUX IS DEAD!!"

It was so comforting to read those features asserting the unquestionable death of the Penguin OS on desktop computers at last. Windows is growing; Linux is disappearing. That's the way it should be. Linux can stay on servers, mainframes, supercomputers, highly important systems, where it belongs, not inside computers used by plain people. After all, why would regular users want an OS that runs on supercomputers sitting on their home/work systems?

When I read the first article about the death of Linux desktop, a shock of unbelief went through my spine. Could it be true? Could the dreams of glory of these obnoxious Penguin lovers be shattered as broken glass by the supremacy of the Redmond empire that we love so much?

More posts came up; all of them reinforced the idea of how Linux plummeted. Hence, a smile of satisfaction appeared in my face as I tasted the wine brewed from victory.

However, something happened which began to unsettle me.

IS LINUX DEAD?

In my city, I had only seen a Linux computer in the wild: it was a bothering little aubergine desktop in a small restaurant. Except for that one, all of the computers that I have seen for public use were nice and friendly Windows systems. So, I expected the owner to come to his senses in a two-month period...Yet, the Ubuntu computer is still there after four months. It's one example of unexplainable phenomena in the world.

Then, I recall that only two professors used Linux netbooks in the Faculty of the University where I work. Those systems were like a pair of little insects; I knew their owners had to switch to Windows soon. But they never did. As a matter of fact, I realized that there is another professor that is running Linux on her netbook and now wants to put it on her laptop as well...And there's a dual boot desktop in one of the offices, too. Every time I see it, the machine is running Linux.

Does that mean that Linux on the desktop is still alive and kicking? No, that's simply not possible! The articles were very solid and convincing. There must be something wrong here.

Let me take a look at numbers again:

From 1 Ubuntu desktop, 1 Mandriva netbook, and 1 Mepis netbook, it has gone to 1 Ubuntu desktop, 1 Mandriva desktop, 2 Mandriva netbooks, 1 Mepis netbook, and 1 Mepis desktop in a five month period.

Slowly, unrest took hold of me as I attended an event in the Faculty last Friday. It was a speech about Open Source!

They are announcing an institutional migration to Linux!

From 4,000 licenses the University paid to Microsoft two years ago, they went down to 500 this year. With the additional budget, the University has managed to acquire new equipment for students. The madness has gone to some regional centers, where they have already substituted their Windows systems. The University is also promoting open culture with a repository called Kérwá. As if all this were not enough, the University has a mirror server for ... (the horror!) Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and there is even an institutional customized version of Open Office!

My colleagues who went to the talk also want to migrate to Linux and Open Office! Didn't they see the beautiful video Microsoft produced explaining why you shouldn't? Or how the grades of students are affected negatively if they use Open Office instead of MS Office for their assignments?

Maybe people are actually reading the EULAs and they do not like the idea that you become a serf of Microsoft (a Microserf!)....I mean, if you neither own MS Office nor the proprietary formats (.doc, docx, etc) in which you save the files, how can you claim that the documents you produced are yours?...Could that be the reason explaining why professors and researchers here are gradually abandoning beautiful MS Office and its fair price? Or is it that they read the EULA and discovered that its terms are threatening their productivity?

But the story does not end there... Why should students of a Language School want to install Linux? They are simple users, not engineers! Linux is for GEEKS, not for normal people! Are they so geeky after all? What's wrong with them?? LINUX IS DEAD!!

I have suddenly realized that I must have paranormal powers... Yes, I have the Sixth Sense! Aaaargh!

Wanna know a secret...?
I see dead LINUX!

OS representations and the choice of migration

I have noticed that there are several representations of Linux and Windows that are used to dissuade people from migrating. Unfortunately, an uninformed migration normally ends up in disappointment and, as a result, hurt people resort to disqualifying depictions again in a never-ending circle. I decided to list some of those representations here as a reminder of the fanboy spirit that rests upon the pedestal of prejudice.

1. Windows, the Imaginary Friend

Many users, blind because Windows constitutes their only experience with an OS, simply reject the opportunity to try Linux. Their perception of satisfaction has been dulled by years of exposure to the same problems, to the point that they just accept those shortcomings as "natural". These people are not to be blamed, though. After all, when one is immersed into a paradigm, rarely is it that one questions the nature of the experience one is going through. So, as major security flaws and abusive policies become the air these people breathe, they consider themselves satisfied if they can obtain an "additional feature for free". I cannot but think of MS Security Essentials because these people fall for deals like those you see in TV offers ("If you buy the hair styler now, you get, completely free, the power cord!") or they are even willing to pay to unlock OS features that were previously given to them (wallpapers or language packs in Windows 7 Starter, anyone?). Yet, they think Windows is their loving friend...A friend that rips them off time and again...But they are happy!

2. Linux, the Deadly Monster

MS evangelists do train people to bluntly reject Linux. This is not a myth; I had an encounter with one of those brain-washed professionals once and she tried to disqualify Linux even though Windows made her look like a fool during her presentation.

When you mention the word "Linux" to these individuals, they cringe and gnaw wildly. It is true that they have no practical reason or criterion to badmouth the penguin, but they do it just the same because it is part of their creed. I suppose that they sing:
"Mine eyes have seen the glory,
of good, old Microsoft.
It is trampling out the kernel
where the Linux code is stored..."
or something like that before they are sent to the world. These people are self-deluded and become irritated if they see Linux succeed in public...especially if Windows failed at performing the same task.

3. Linux, the Redeemer

"Break the shackles of tyranny! Go Linux!," cry out certain people for whom Linux has become the solution for computer problems, social injustice, environmental disasters, and metaphysical concerns. They are the Linux equivalent of the MS evangelists I described above.

Let us be realistic: yes, Linux can give solutions to a number of computer-based concerns and it can make your computer more appealing and practical once you know how to work with it. However, if you believed that Linux is the promised land, then remember there was a long pilgrimage on rough desert terrain to get there. This applies particularly well to Windows users who simply grabbed an Ubuntu Live CD and installed Canonical's distro thinking that it would magically read all hardware (something that Windows cannot do, either, unless you have the drivers) and, after banging their heads on walls, they curse ALL Linux distributions today...or Mandriva users who update to Cooker and wonder why the computer is not working as it was before...Yes, believe it or not, there are people who actually do that and later blame Linux!

4. Linux, My Bodyguard

For these beginner Linux users, Linux represents an all-mighty fortress that stands impenetrable. Consequently, they engage in all sorts of risky on line behavior. While it is a fact that Linux is more secure than Windows is, the hubris of these tragic heroes gradually leads them to their destruction...or to the bitter realization that a great many of the attacks a computer can suffer are fostered by a careless user.


Fanboys always wage wars based on prejudice. Regardless of the OS you like, an open mind will help you fly over the clouds of ignorance and, eventually, you can make a conscious choice about whether or not your OS satisfies your needs or if a migration is the solution to your computer woes or the beginning of them.

If Linux is not for Everyone, Neither is Windows

When contrasting Linux and Windows, one frequently hears the fallacy that Linux is not an OS anyone can use. Read this reaction about it. That recurrent argument is based on several misconceptions that I would like to discuss but, first, let us clarify something: there exists no such a thing as an easy, perfect OS. There is always a learning curve when using a system and the more you get exposed to an OS, the more "manageable" it seems. But easiness of use is only a perception, a mirage. Now, let us take a look at the misconceptions.

A. Simplicity:
Some people believe that you need to know many of the hidden arcane secrets of computer sciences to be able to operate a Linux system. They say "You must know command line to use Linux". That is not necessarily true. I will present you two cases in which Windows cannot beat the simplicity of Linux:
1. Erasing USB viruses
Those pesky .exe files become a real nightmare in Windows once they jump from your USB stick to your hard drive. Talk as much as you like, but neither MS Security Essentials, nor antiviruses beat the two-click solution in Linux to get rid those annoying viruses. Yes, in Linux, you just select the virus and delete it from the USB drive and the problem is gone forever. You need no scans for reassurance, with the implication of the waste of time. Clean and fast. A simple five-second operation...or maybe less than five seconds (that depends on your trigger-happy abilities with the mouse).
2. Installation
In Linux, you install only once and you get pretty much everything you need: the OS, the Office Suite, and a good assortment of useful programs, not demos. After installation, you just have to start using your system. No need for entering long strings of numbers to activate anything... In Linux, you forget about registering software, or unlocking, or downloading additional programs to unlock the OS features that you were supposed to get in the first place.

It is true that you might need the console if you want to do something additional with your system. However, that depends on two factors: what you intend to do and the Linux distro that you are using. About the former, most people I know only use the computer to do simple things, like browsing the web, making documents, and keeping in contact with others. All Linux systems excel at that, with the additional plus of security. Concerning the latter factor, if you use Mandriva, Mepis, Pardus, or PCLOS, chances are that you might not need to use the console. I'm not sure about Ubuntu, as it is based on Debian testing, but if you do not stumble with your hardware while taking your first steps, I think that even Canonical's distro can work for you.


B. Support
Who hasn't heard "Windows is backed up by Microsoft" as some sort of unquestionable guarantee of support? Linux, some say, does not have a company behind to help you when you have hardware problems. Now, we have to be open minded here. Who says that Windows will not give you hardware-related headaches? Remember that Windows produces the illusion of being efficient on hardware BECAUSE of the drivers released by hardware manufacturers, not because of the OS itself. What if your shiny Windows 7 lacks the driver to use, say, your scanner? That being the case, your scanner becomes an expensive piece of garbage in Windows. If there is no driver, then you either have to get new hardware or to downgrade. Do you remember Vista and its infamous hardware incompatibility? Many people were furious because, after paying for Vista, their printers did not work. But, if there IS a driver, (and you are sure because you had it on the DVD that you lost) then your option is to go driver-hunting online. If you are lucky and find it, then you have to install it... Going back to reality, the vast majority of people are so uninformed that will end up depending on a technician (who will rip them off) or on a friend who has more experience. I wonder how many of them actually depend on Microsoft every time they have a problem with their computers... I challenge you to try it: Next time your computer breaks, instead of calling a techie or a dependable friend, call Microsoft for support...as in the case of Windows 7 and the laptop batteries that has been discussed to exhaustion...

I would like to finish with an anecdote. Last week, a person came to my office because he wanted to show me something online. I let him use my computer, which was running Mandriva 2010 Spring and, after ten minutes of use, this person realized that he was not using Windows because the ALT+64 keyboard combination did not give him "@"...He used Mandriva Linux for ten minutes and did not notice it was not Windows!

If Linux is not for anyone, I guess Windows domestication is not for all of us, either.