Why Isn’t Linux the #1 Operating System?

Ahh the age-old argument… “Why isn’t Linux popular?”. I’ve discussed this exact sentiment a lot in our news before, so I’m sure my thoughts on the matter are clear. Linux should be a lot more popular than it is, but the main reason isn’t so much the fact that it’s “too different”… it’s that developers can’t streamline key features from one distro to the next. Proof? How about the fact that certain application download pages don’t offer a single installer? Skype, for example, provides eight different Linux-based installers. That’s way too complex.

The How-To Geek takes a look at a few different angles, some of which I agree with, some of which I’d argue. The first and foremost complaint is FUD, and that to an extent would be true. People like what they are used to, and given the extreme lack of patience that some people have nowadays (including me at times), having the will to dedicate days’ worth of testing a new OS mind turn some people off. That could be with anything, though. Even a new coffee machine could carry a learning curve.

Other arguments are that the hardware manufacturers are to blame… which could also be true. I blame it more on the fact that hardware drivers are difficult to install. In Windows, you click and install. In Linux, you might have to compile, then install, then inject the module into the kernel… it’s just not straight-forward at all.

I might sound like a Linux hater, but I’m far from it. I’ve used Gentoo as my primary OS for well over two years now and enjoy it, but I’m also the type of person who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. Even I’m not naive enough to think that Linux is ready for the masses. There’s probably a good reason that the vast majority of people either stick with Windows or pay out their rear for an Apple.

Microsoft paying off hardware manufacturers for their loyalty, aka the recent Foxconn scandal, and the manufacturers themselves are ignoring the linux platform when creating drivers, to reduce costs. They can afford that Linux because the marketshare is very low. It’s the snowball effect -reversed.