Windows 7: Linux Killer, Or Windows Killer?

The newest installment of Conventional Computer Wisdom holds that Windows 7 will be "a Linux-killer," unseating Linux on netbooks and sealing its fate on the desktop. Well, maybe XP-killer and Vista-killer is more like it.

The details (as mused over at ComputerWorld.com) go something like this. Linux is taking off most aggressively on netbooks and similar devices. Windows 7 was designed to run well on such machines. Therefore, once Windows 7 is out, Linux market share on those devices (and, by the same token, Linux market share in general) will implode. It sounds fine in theory, but the picture has pieces missing.

1. Netbooks are not the only place where Linux is finding a foothold. Smartphones (hello, Android!), embedded devices, kiosks / corporate desktop setups ... not all of this is as sexy or attention-getting as the desktop, but it's every bit as crucial.

[verb3k]

/

[dragunrising]

I c your a beta tester eh? Too bad everyone disagrees with you. Here's my source:

http://www.geek.com/article...

Where is your's?

[incogneato]

typical linux propagandaist that doesnt know anything about computers and just wants to rebel against LOL MICRO$OFTTT

Windows 7 will finally put linux in its grave (this new linux trend was short lived LOL) and at the same time be better than all previous windows and os x

[verb3k]

You are real noobs. When you install Windows for the first time, it will work blazing fast (faster than Linux) but 1 month later you have to format your hard disk and do a fresh install, because windows will be real Sloooooooow, and will start getting slower and slower. If you don't feel this then you don't deserve to speak about noobs and OSes.

[Proxy]

Windows doesn't use to much resources IMO. Sure, it uses lots of RAM, but it pushes it all the HDD cache if the need arises. I was able to play a game that used 800 mb of ram, on 1 gig of ram. Took some time to alt-tab, but no biggie.

I am concerned about Windows fallowing the way of Trusted Computing. That is, giving secrete controls to DRM and cooperate spywares.

[incogneato]

verb3k, you dont know what youre talking about. they fixed that in Vista. maybe if you got rid of your obsolete Windows XP because you believe garbage written by linux propagandaists against Vista you would have noticed this.

[vdesai]

Everyone above me is a moron who thinks they can talk computers but they cant.

Windows 7 is awsome!
Linux is awsome! (Always has been)

Now Windows is usually switched because it consumes resources, while linux uses far less amount of resources you must sacrifice some compatibility, but in return you also get security that is second to none. There is also the benefit of knowing that someone who helps you knows what they are talking about when you need help with linux. Rapid development is also another plus. Windows falls short when meeting the standards of people with minimal amount of money and resources. This problem alienates a very large group of people even though most decide to stick with windows because, "linux is a hassle". Windows will never ever kill Unix or any of its derivatives, because there is no way a NT kernel based OS will out pace a linux OS.

I leave you with this, most websites, game servers, clusters, computing projects, supercomputers run linux or some other derivative of unix.

Shut the hell up and Windows is NEVER EVER FASTER THEN LINUX! Well unless you use DOS but if you use command line only then LINUX is THE FASTEST, and with the lowest foot print.

EDIT: Not blind from the sun, he just had a smart remark :p

[Zip]

why is it that 99 % of the n4g´s articles wants x product to fail? I mean? whats going on in you guys universe?

[FordGTGuy]

They still have just about 90% of the OS marketshare don't they?

A linux killer would be like beating a dead horse as far as windows is concerned.

@Viper7

Even being aggressive the Microsoft Zune owns more of the MP3 marketshare percentage wise then Apple owns OS marketshares percentage wise.

[Viper7]

Actualy Apple and Linux distributions expecialy Ubunutu have been on the rise because of Vista didnt promise good for future of windows. However if Microsoft has managed to quickly make a good OS it may save few percentages worth of marketshare.

However Apple has been pretty agressive lately.

Ubuntu has done pretty well now, Eventough Linux is still more of an underground OS, it has plenty of potential which it could use if the masses would take notice.
However as usual Microsoft is quick to buy their way ahead of competition by pre-installing every computer with their OS so seeing Apple sucseed might bring more ppl to check out the Free Linux option as well.

Many ppl still have the image that Linux is somehow "only for geecks" kind of OS which is partly right as some distros, but as for Ubuntu I dont see any other reason that problem with some drivers that it would be harder to use than any windows relased. (as for me, I have had hell a lot less problems with Ubuntu than Vista)

[Viper7]

I dont see how Zune has anything to do with this. But as for marketting it seems that Apple is pwning Microsofts ass with adds that cost nearly to none to make.

As for buying Mp3:s I dont know nothing as it hasnt really catched much of interest Here in Europe. Might be in some key countries but as for my own I dont recall hearing any1 buying Mp3:s from online store.
Never seen Zune eather.

[FordGTGuy]

Those Apple ads actually do more harm then good a study found that most people who watched those ads were less likely to buy an apple product after watching those ads.

I heard it from Leo Laporte a while ago on his podcast This Week In Tech.......

[Viper7]

"Those Apple ads actually do more harm then good a study found that most people who watched those ads were less likely to buy an apple product after watching those ads."

"what I heard" is just something you might have heard or made up. Theres no way one could go in to ppls head and see how they react to adds. We cant read ppls minds and theres no real "default oppinnion" about this matter.

You cant really tell if Adds help anything else than giving ppl the information that the product exists and is hoping to be purchased.

The only thing I was pointing there is that Apple is agressively attacking windows with their adds while keeping the adds really simple and cost effective.

[sakuragi]

While I've heard good things about Windows 7, what will happen to the consumers who already purchased Vista? Will Microsoft allow them to upgrade to Windows 7 free of charge? Or will they forget about them the same way they forgot about the Xbox consumers and moved over to the Xbox 360 like nobodies business?

Am I seeing a pattern here?

[FordGTGuy]

So your saying that because you didn't like a product you bought you think you deserve the companies next product in the series to be free for you? Ummm how about no...

However you will be able to most likely buy and upgrade disc an upgrade for alot cheaper as opposed to buying a normal copy which would cost more.

Also do you really expect them to give you a free Xbox 360 because you owned an Xbox? Does Apple give you a free iPod if you owned the last gen iPod? No.

@Viper 7

Linux is not Windows.

[Viper7]

"While I've heard good things about Windows 7, what will happen to the consumers who already purchased Vista? Will Microsoft allow them to upgrade to Windows 7 free of charge? Or will they forget about them the same way they forgot about the Xbox consumers and moved over to the Xbox 360 like nobodies business?

Am I seeing a pattern here?"

Yes, Microsoft is doing "Vista" all over again. They will probbaly add the OS to every pre-made computer and screw the ppl with Vista and probably kill off the Windows XP and force ppl to swich. That is how they do business and thats how they will continue to do business.

"Also do you really expect them to give you a free Xbox 360 because you owned an Xbox? Does Apple give you a free iPod if you owned the last gen iPod? No.
"

Ubuntu lets me update me from Hardy heron to Interpid Ipex for free of charge :P
(Hardy heron = older version of ubuntu
Interpid Ipex = newest available version of ubuntu)

[Viper7]

"@Viper 7

Linux is not Windows. "

But it is competing OS that lets you upgrade the old operating system without any cost. However you are right that the business model differs greatly with Windows and Linux and one would be fool to even think about getting a free upgrade to next version of windows free of charge.

[GIJeff]

in a way, if you got vista you should be given 7 for free. They're essentially the same OS, 7 is just fixed. And yes, everyone expected to get a new 360 when MS admitted it was flawed, why shouldn't the same rule apply to ALL of their faulty wares?

[vdesai]

No, you will not get it for free as long as Microsoft continues to release updates for it. It is wrong of you to expect it. Windows 7 is a new product so there is no reason for you to expect to get a new product for free because the last product sucked. As long as Microsoft lets Vista live about 5 years they made a good decision in my eye.

[Zip]

if it flops! then screw it! you mean that pattern?

[sakuragi]

FordGTGuy, seeing as how Vista is basically the dumb down beta version of Windows 7, yes I would fully expect Windows 7 to be free for the existing Windows 7 beta testers, errr I mean Vista consumers.

Vista wasn't really the big upgrade like Windows Xp was, and seeing Microsoft pattern of dropping its failed product and not supporting it, I highly doubt that Vista will be supported once Windows 7 hits the market.

Vista was simply a disaster and many people fell for the Vista hype. Its kind of similar to the Xbox and Xbox 360. I hope Microsoft don't prematurely drop the support of the Vista consumers like they did with the Xbox.

[FordGTGuy]

When I bought a PSP-1000 I should've got the PSP-2000 and PSP-3000 for free.....

Vista was a huge upgrade over XP I don't know that last time you went back and used XP after using Vista for a while but it is quite clear once you do how much better Vista is.

[sakuragi]

Your PSP argument is out of place because that isn't what I am inferring to.

When I purchase a console, I would fully expect the manufacturer to support it's product and the consumers who bought it throughout the life cycle, where the average life cycle is 4 years. Dropping its support prematurely like the way Microsoft did with the Xbox is anti consumer in my opinion and pisses me off.

Now apply the same logic to Vista where it hasn't even been 2 years until the next Windows upgrade. In comparison, Windows xp was released on the 25th of October 2001. Vista was released on January 30, 2007. That is nearly six years apart. I feel cheated when instead of fully supporting my fresh copy of Vista, Microsoft diverts most of its attention to the newer Windows 7. And given Microsoft track record, Vista will be soon forgotten and I will indirectly be forced to upgrade my OS just after 2 years compared to the six years xp life cycle.

[Viper7]

My oppinnion differs greatly. There has been not a single time I have used vista this year where I wouldnt have screamed that "I seriously need to install windows XP"
I do understand that many of the issues I am having with Vista are related to the fact that my computer has 1gb of Ram.

But then again I dont use my Vista computer much, basicly because I took a leap of faith with my older computer (about 7-8 years old Compaq presario 6000 with 700~ Ram and 1,6ghz amd athlon and Nvidia Gforce MX440 with 64mb memory)
and installed Ubuntu it. After few weeks of using the Os I was seriously stunned by the fact that:
- It starts and closes multiple times faster than my never computer
- The desktop effects beat the grap out of vista (and I can turn them off for extra performance!)
- I can completely customize the desktop by the way I want it to be, If I want I can have Vista look without no problem.
- I need no virus protection or firewall.
- Theres alternative program for nearly every program I used in Windows enviroment, and whats best thing? its all free!

I play games on my Ps3 as I support consolegaming far more than PC gaming. So loosing the games means pretty much nothing to me.

But I am not really a fanboy in this matter, maybe slightly but it doesnt stop me from wishing all the best for Microsofts windows 7. World needs better operating systems with new great features. Microsoft certainly has the money and ppl to do them, but they have been slacking off for many years now.
I only want to see more competition on the os market so we will see MS to show their claws again.

[evrfighter]

That's fine for you viper. I won't bash for not using vista. For your uses you could use osx or a linux os and be happy with it. I personally have owned vista for a year but still use xp. However for some reason, I'm looking forward to windows 7. Very much more than I did vista. I've seen the benchmarks and tests where pre-build 7 is pushing less resources the vista. just google windows 7 benchmarks to know what I mean.

Also unlike you I'm a competitive gamer so I HAVE to stick with windows. Linux or Apple does not offer what I'm looking for. Sure I can get games "to work" on linux but I just don't need games to work. I need them to work fluidly with every possible frame per second I can get. That is competitive gaming.

I have made the vista switch to one of my pc's in which I recently stuck 4gb of ram in. After disabling the User account control, security center, and updates. Vista feels very much like xp now. It's just as responsive and actually feels more fluid. I would recommend 4gb ram as it's being sold for dirt cheap. got mine for $40 free shipping at newegg. For some people though I'd agree Linux or OsX would be fine. Especially for users pushing less than 2gb of ram.

[vdesai]

"Vista wasn't really the big upgrade like Windows Xp was, and seeing Microsoft pattern of dropping its failed product and not supporting it, I highly doubt that Vista will be supported once Windows 7 hits the market."

Not a big upgrade what the hell are you talking about, a completely new Network Stack and a major kernel version jump from 5.2 > 6.0. I would say that is major. Also there was allot of changes made to the background, aswell as the new manger for the GUI. It was a major upgrade if anything Win Vista > Win 7 is not a major upgrade. Thus I would say discounted disks for Vista users if they do end support but if they continue support there is no need for even a discount.

[dragunrising]

Nothing will kill Linux, however Linux will only appeal to niche markets. Case in point: the Eee PC. My Eee PC 1000 came pre-installed with Linux Xandros...the preschool version of Linux for those who don't know. As far as usability, its very simple and your grandma could use it with ease. The problem with Xandros is that it is not XP. Those who have used XP (or Leopard for that matter) expect more out of their OS of choice. In netbooks it might be ok to include a vanilla OS but not in a mainstream and/or high end PC/laptop. For obvious reasons I installed Ubuntu Eee and couldn't be happier. However...Ubuntu Linux still is not compatible with the vast majority of apps and net programs available for XP. For example, unless you have moderate experience with Wine, your SOL if you hope to get something like STEAM on your Linux computer. Want to connect your iPod or Zune to your Linux computer? Good luck. The point I'm trying to make is that despite an increase in computers using Linux, Windows will always be the better choice for the greatest number of consumers.

Edit: One more point. The problem with Linux is that it is not uniform. There are too many versions of the open source OS that it will never appeal outside its fan base and businesses who want to save money. This is not a knock against Linux, as it is able to perform in many/most cases more efficiently than XP/Vista. Its the reality. Show me a version of Linux I can run STEAM/games in general, Netflix instant streaming, Internet Explorer (for work), Zune/Ipod software, etc without screwing with it. You will never find it. It is too customizable and won't make a dent in market share until the switch to cloud based computing.

[vdesai]

Why are people disagreeing with you?

[DJ]

And Microsoft themselves have stated that Windows 7 is based on the Windows Vista code-base, just with basic tweaks to the GUI and drivers.

Unless I see a significant drop in RAM requirements, I'm not going to be impressed. The fact that Vista costs me extra money by eating up half of my system memory shows how inconsiderate Microsoft is. If they could, they'd have Vista use even more than the 1.4 GB that it requires on my new Gateway FX 6800 computer.

Now i need to spend $100 on a new DDR3 RAM stick because the programmers at Microsoft were too lazy/uneducated to create a lean OS.

[vdesai]

"And Microsoft themselves have stated that Windows 7 is based on the Windows Vista code-base, just with basic tweaks to the GUI and drivers."

If that is what you believe then you should not expect a major amount of ram reduction to my knowledge there has been no such thing said. I would appreciate it if you show me the source.

But, as far as I know majority of the work being done on Windows 7 is under the hood, meaning they are going to clean out the kernel as well as the number of thinks that hook on to it. There is no problem with the devs but it is the problem of the consumers and originally Microsoft themselves because they insisted on pushing backwards compatibility. If right now the devs were to rip out the Drivers and the excess code for supporting obsolete hardware Windows would run like a cheetah. Don't say that they tweak drivers Microsoft does not do that it is the hardware manufacturers. I think you meant the kernel so please say that or else you will irritate allot of people :P.

[dadeisvenm]

Its a fact. Would you want your bank ATM running Linux or Windows?
Linux for me thanks.

[SaintMantooth]

We are way to dependent on linux/unix os's. Most of our stoves, watches, bathroom scales, tv's, toasters, home theatre amplifiers, anyotherappliance is running off of either Linux or Unix. Windows 7 will not be 'the linux killer'. It just won't happen.

And to whoever above stated that companies will never switch to Linux/Unix because it 'doesnt work'... apparently you've never heard of freeBSD, Red Hat, or SuSE. When it comes to server software, Linux/Unix takes the cake.

[JonahFalcon]

"Linux killer"?

Huh?

Did I fall asleep and find Linux was in more than 6% of PCs?

[Kakkoii]

Everyone needs to shut up and pull their egotistical fanboy heads out of their asses.

Instead of bashing that of which you do not know, try it and read about it first. Don't go around calling something sh!t merely because you favor one OS over the other.

Windows 7 WILL be a hit as long as retards like you guys are kept to a minimum. Because I have personally tried it and they did quite a fine job, it's faster than a new installation of XP even. Not to mention it comes with DirectX 11 which is an awesome update to DirectX. Windows 7 is also highly optimized to use multiple cores in CPU's now, further increasing it's speed and reducing it's resource footprint. There are tons of improvements/optimizations in Windows 7. It's what Vista should have been and it's quite great. Download it from a torrent site and try for yourselves before opening your mouth's.

Of course they will "stop supporting" Windows XP after a while. That's how every damn company works. From cell phones to washing machines, that's just how it goes. It's not like you have to suddenly stop using Windows XP just because they don't update it anymore... That is ridiculous lol.

And if you paid for Vista and don't think you should pay for Windows 7. Then just pirate it for f*ck's sake. Most generated volume key's last for years, many forever.

And for some laughs:
http://fun.drno.de/flash/ho...

http://fun.drno.de/flash/Sw...

Also these guys do some nice Mac commercial spoofs lol
http://www.youtube.com/view...