Quick, what’s the first thing you think about when you hear the term “Linux”? If your answer is among the lines of “old-fashion complicated-to-use operating system that’s anything but user-friendly”, you’re clearly thinking of what Linux used to be, and not about what Linux is today. You see, Linux has come a long way since the old-days, when you needed to be technically-savvy to use it. Linux has gotten better, faster, and more powerful than ever, and 2015 might just be the year Linux takes a serious swing at Microsoft’s domination when it comes to desktop computers. Here’s why.
Microsoft is Goofing Up
Even since Microsoft introduced the Metro interface in Windows 8, its users never looked at the company again. One of the main reasons users chose to go with Microsoft Windows is because it offered consistency and a fair level of user-friendliness, so when Microsoft hit them with a whole new interface out of the blue, a lot of people totally freaked out. Not only did Microsoft made a huge mistake with the Metro interface, but they also removed a crucial component of Windows – the Start Menu.
While they have been trying to fix their mistakes later on along the road, making small improvements in Windows 8.1 and claiming that Windows 10 will get everything just right, its reputation of a consistent operating system is long gone.
Also, with the sudden introduction of a whole new interface and ecosystem, Microsoft unwillingly prepared its users for an eventual switch to Linux, because hey, if they’re able to learn their way around a new interface, why not try that with a new operating system altogether?
Users Are Becoming Power Users
With all the emerging technologies everywhere, a lot of users are finding their way to the next level on the technological hierarchy, gaining the status of power users. A while ago people didn’t care much about how a computer, or any other device, for that matter, got the job done – as long as it did, they were fine with it. Nowadays, though, we live in the era of customization, and Linux breathes customization with all its pores, so a lot of users opt to switch to Linux for a better experience.
Linux is everywhere
A fun fact about Linux is that, except for the desktop platform, it’s literally everywhere else. Just think about it for a second: smart devices pop up every day, and guess what – it ain’t Windows that they’re running. Every smart electronic, from the tiny Raspberry Pi, all the way up to sophisticated TVs, and the vast majority of smartphones (oh, right, in case you don’t know it, Android is Linux-based, and so is iOS) all run a flavor of Linux. With this in mind, it’s only logical for Linux to make a push and try to establish itself as a big player on the desktop scene as well.
New Distros
It may be a coincidence that a lot of important Linux distributions are meant to hit the market during 2015, but with all the previous aspects in mind, do you really still believe in coincidences? At least three major Linux distros are scheduled to be released in 2015:
– Ubuntu 15.04: Ubuntu is by far one of the most popular flavors of Linux, and the fact that it gets a major makeover in 2015 is a clear sign that it is making a push towards the bigger audience. Ubuntu 15.04 will include a whole new kernel, an updated version of GNOME and probably even a new version of Unity, its popular desktop shell.
– Ozon OS: Hydrogen: Ozon OS is a new project set to deliver highly customizable Linux distribution, and the first release, Hydrogen, is set to come optimized for gaming. Gaming was an important element that was missing from the Linux scenery. Not anymore.
– Evolve OS: If you’ve ever used a Chromebook, Evolve OS will look very familiar to you, as that’s its actual purpose – to mimic the simplicity and minimalistic feel of Chrome OS.
This is the guest post by Jason Phillips and Dirt Bike Games 365!
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Reasons it wouldn’t: laptops are becoming touch tablets and no one but GNOME seems to be ready for the change.
It is incredible to observe that this kind of propaganda is still spreaded. The major fact being that it is very bad for Linux desktop itself.
Over the good, but irrelevant marketing speech from Canonical, serious Linux are not belonging to the Ubuntu’s camp (anyway, what to do with an _unstable_ and _buggy_ system which is not maintained 5 years after its launch date?), the main reason for no ‘2015 as Linux desktop year’ is the infamous betrayal that _every_ distro had commited when rendering an _Open Source_ project not available anymore (after years and years of good services) in their repositories.
I’m obviously speaking here about the swith from OpenOffice to the ulttra-buggy, and not acceptable for other ethical reasons, lbreoffice.
How do you want to trust someone which render one of your very used application not available for no reason, while trying to force adoption of an inept project?