Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

[oshunluvr]

Re: Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

I was hoping to do that on a much smaller scale when I build my new home: Thin clients hooked to LED TV/monitors that run from a central (or two) cpu's. The idea would be to be able to log on at any console in my home and have my desktop and files and settings all ready to go without the headaches of having to maintain 6 or 7 computers.
Should be a peice of cake! 8)

[Snowhog]

Re: Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

Full-circle indeed. 'Dumb terminals' were what we had 'in the beginning' and as PCs made inroads, they began to disappear in favor of desktop units, with their own installed OS, enabling the user to have the ability to work on projects, and with software, that didn't encumber the mainframes resources.

Where I work, the 'servers' are running Oracle Unix, and all of the employees have PCs (mine is a laptop), all with Windows Vista Enterprise installed. But, our IT guys purchased, and have been in the process of setting up and configuring virtual servers using VMwares VM Server software. When completed, the users won't see their PCs replaced with dumb terminals, but the systems that they all connect to and work with, will all be virtualized. The savings, both in hardware and time, will be enormous.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

Yup. That process is going on now all over the world.

Most of those PCs will be turned into dumb terminals eventually, and to avoid viruses and such I expect that sooner or later the IT folks will pull the cables out from the back of the HDs and CDROMs so that they don't even draw power and can't work. The BIOS will be set to boot to the LAN first. As those PCs wear out they won't be replaced with other PCs, but with true dumb terminals.

So, with DTs in corporate, 4G's at home, will the laptop notebook/netbook become a hobbyist niche?

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

Those things are fine for browsing, e-mailing, and text messaging

For me, they're not even good for that. Following brain surgery last year my vision deteriorated in my right eye, and I have trouble focusing both eyes. Straining and straining to read on a tiny screen is just not that much fun!

But, if you are running a database application, or even a terminal to one, or doing image processing with gimp, or developing a web site, I just don't see the "mobile" thing being of any help.

Exactly. Those are among the things I do, and there's simply no way an itsy-bitsy keyboard and screen will *EVER* be my choice!

[lmilano]

Re: Desktop Linux "won" this week (in about 10 years)

Yes, I think the Cloud is progressively delivering what people envisioned a decade ago but didn't happen overnight: a world where the Desktop PC (note that PC means Personal Computer, not MS Windows) is a dinosaur, and personal computers are pretty much thin clients to ... well, today we'd say The Cloud, ten years ago it was "The Internet".

I'll much rather have an Android app in my phone and a KDE4 app (or android or whatever) in my PC to synch to a Calendar in Google's servers, where I can share with family and friends if needed, than having a groupware server at home. And the list goes.

I also think this opens a VERY lucrative business for Canonical, selling corporate clouds/client systems, where, if you need a Windows app, it's one more element in the cloud via Citrix or something.

Cheers!