“PC Magazine Labs just completed its first evaluation of four
competing Linux packages. Putting them to the test gave us lots to
think about.”
“First of all: There?s little chance that Linux will knock
Windows 95 or 98 off your desktop soon.”
“Microsoft’s competitors now see Linux as a way to break the
Wintel block, and many plan to support Linux with future releases.
Nevertheless, Microsoft doesn’t yet see the same threat in Linux
that it did in Netscape.”
“There is no doubt the Linux market is growing; Red Hat
estimates there are 5 to 10 million users. But that still
represents only a fraction of the total number of operating systems
shipped on new PCs”
“I think the Windows user interface has a long way to go, but
Windows has an obvious lead in usability: Even Linux vendors
concede its developers have paid little heed to ease-of-use
issues.”
“Other barriers to Linux have to do with the perceived
limitations of the open-source model. Microsoft points out that as
the operating system becomes more mainstream, developers will be
hesitant to give away their expertise. When you add to this the
customer-support issues, the odds of Linux’s breaking out seem
long. Still, recent support from IBM and others make Linux a much
more realistic competitor.”