Windows 11 and Linux
Apparently the hardware requirements for Windows 11 will require some, perhaps many, people to buy new computers. As might be expected this results in an increase of online discussions and speculation about Linux being a replacement operating system.
In the past decade or so this conversation happens with each new Windows release. People begin discussing The Year of the Linux Desktop.
In the end most people remain with Windows.
Many people will not migrate because of ignorance — they do not know that Linux systems exist. Many people will not migrate because of comfort and familiarity. Many people will not migrate because Linux is not preinstalled. Many people will not migrate because Linux remains designed by geeks for geeks.
Many people will remain with Windows because of vertical software. Many people cannot migrate because of needs and work flows. Business staples such as MS Office, Outlook, QuickBooks, AutoCAD, and Photoshop are unlikely to be ported to Linux. Further, the owners of such software are pushing those programs to a rent seeking Software as a Service license. While alternatives exist that might be palatable for some people, those options are irrelevant to people dependent on those programs.
And that is too bad for the Linux desktop.
Posted: Category: Usability Tagged: Windows
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