why not linux?
As computing has gradually moved toward the cloud in the past three years, one may not have noticed until Google announced its Chrome OS this week. But as Microsoft and Apple have put their money on locking in users by controlling their platforms in consistently more restrictive ways through patenting everything they can think of, App Stores, constantly shifting proprietary formats, and silly-looking ribbonized UIs, Linux has moved in and made itself at home with embedded chips, server space, large colliders, netbooks, and mobile phones.
October saw the industry upgrade its operating systems. Ubuntu continues to embarrass “Linux” by ignoring usability issues while Fedora and openSUSE have impressed most everyone. Apple’s OSX plays the middle of the road for the masses, almost as if Apple wants out of the OS/PC business, and while Microsoft stabilized Vista with Win7, it’s still a big fat expensive OS to run. Google announced its Linux-based Chrome OS and if you look close enough, you see the future far more clearly than a week ago. openSUSE is fast, can virtualize anyone else’s OS using VirtualBox, can run well on netbooks, and so far has been stable as a rock.
If you’re a developer, your best bet is to go with open development. Not Apple. Not Microsoft. Linux. And if you go with Google, remember, Google is one variant of the Linux kernel. And you don’t have to program for an OS; you can spend your time in browsers, embedded devices, phones, cars, robots, etc. If you’re a user, Linux distros are primarily built for the web from installation to updates to browser choices. Also, it cost nothing. Nothing! You won’t need a new machine, you won’t need to save money, you won’t need to upgrade or validate or register or activate or call in to get a serial number and so on. It’s ready to go.
So I ask: why not Linux?