Why LInux is not the most popular OS?

[alex.cu]

First than anything. I'm sorry for my bad english (I will make it better)

Linux is a SO powerful,free,gratis and free of restrictions for everybody.
If this is so beauty Why is not the most popular SO?

[GNU-Fan]

But it is.

[techieMoe]

First than anything. I'm sorry for my bad english (I will make it better)

Linux is a SO powerful,free,gratis and free of restrictions for everybody.
If this is so beauty Why is not the most popular SO?

That's a popular question, and there are a number of answers. One significant factor is that humans are creatures of habit, and most people out there today don't see their computers as anything other than an appliance. Do you pay attention to what kind of software runs your oven or microwave? Not usually.

The vast majority of the world was first exposed to a computer running Microsoft Windows, and they simply don't care to realize that there are alternatives out there. Others mistake familiarity with superiority and think Linux "sucks" compared to their usual OS.

Still others simply don't understand the value in free software. They see "free" as meaning "low quality" as evidenced by spyware products you can get for cheap or free in Microsoft Windows.

Linux doesn't have a single company behind it spending millions of dollars in advertising either. There are several versions of Linux all marketed by their individual companies, and mostly to the business sector.

There are a number of reasons why Linux isn't as popular as it could be.

[rokytnji]

Fear has something to do with it.

[wowbag1]

Another reason I think is many people who are if I may use the term users of a computer do not know what an OS is, and many do not care. Which is not likely to change as it is not a priority for them.

[i92guboj]

That's a popular question, and there are a number of answers. One significant factor is that humans are creatures of habit, and most people out there today don't see their computers as anything other than an appliance. Do you pay attention to what kind of software runs your oven or microwave? Not usually.

Yep. MS took the market one decade before. The story started in 1981, with DOS. In 1985, Windows was born (though admitedly, it wasn't until 3.x on 1990 when it became usable for anything else than having a graphical calculator).

By that time, everyone using a computer with x86 (PC) architecture, was using DOS (except for a minor minority which used an early version of OS/2).

The vast majority of the world was first exposed to a computer running Microsoft Windows, and they simply don't care to realize that there are alternatives out there. Others mistake familiarity with superiority and think Linux "sucks" compared to their usual OS.

Such is the human spirit. If something doesn't work the way we think it should work, then it's crap. That also why "mine is better than yours", always.

Still others simply don't understand the value in free software. They see "free" as meaning "low quality" as evidenced by spyware products you can get for cheap or free in Microsoft Windows.

That's why I prefer the term "Open source software", which is precise, clear, and unmistakable. I doubt that most people know the true meaning of "free software" in reference to linux. They just mean and understand it as "gratuitous software". People don't understand either the true risks of using closed source stuff to manage their personal data (and the data in general).

Linux doesn't have a single company behind it spending millions of dollars in advertising either. There are several versions of Linux all marketed by their individual companies, and mostly to the business sector.

Marketing is also very important.

But I think that the main factor has been the MS policies. They have managed to convince most hardware manufacturers to put a sticker on the box of their product with that flashy flag which is their logo. They have also managed to convince most of the assemblers to ship their OS by default preinstalled. It isn't until recent times when the laws have offered *some* support for those that do not want to pay for a preinstalled OS, and people simply didn't know that there was anything else, just like people from 1400 didn't know that the Earth was an sphere, and that there was something else on the other side of the ocean.

Just some thoughts.

[arinlares]

along with 192guboj's market explanation, computer companies, or at least dell, give small mention to their Open source offerings. when I heard Dell sells Ubuntu, i spent half an hout trying to find their Ubuntu offerings (the open source section was way out of the way!), but Vista was all over the place. It seems more like an afterthought, really.