Doc Searls’ latest SuitWatch column for LinuxJournal talks about what it will take for Linux to become a viable option for mainstream laptop users. At first glance, pointing to this article might seem a little bit off-topic on Operation Gadget, but Doc makes a number of good points in this article that are worth knowing about:
-
IBM has made a commitment to deliver Linux on at least one commercially-available desktop and laptop by the end of 2004. IBM has already deployed Linux on the desks of 15,000 of its employees, so it will quickly develop experience supporting end-users.
-
Apple Powerbook G4 laptops are currently the best option for people that want to run a Linux-like operating system. This is because Apple’s OS X is derived from the BSD branch of UNIX. If you dig down, you can use the UNIX features. As Doc says, “…it obeys common UNIX commands. Its default shell is bash. On it, I can ssh to my servers at home or to my Linux server at Rackspace….” OS X can also run Microsoft Office, which still beats OpenOffice in terms of stability and compatibility with documents you might receive from other people.
-
The
IBM ThinkPad T40 is an ideal candidate for IBM’s Linux laptop effort. Doc describes it as follows: “The screen is bright and sharp, the keyboard layout and feel are close to perfect, the magnesium-alloy body is sturdy, it’s light (4.9 pounds), the battery life is outstanding, it has both a trackpad and a nub pointer (a total of five mouse buttons) and it’s about as fast as a laptop gets. All of this is great if you’re a road warrior running Windows or a hacker running Linux.”
The article goes on to point out areas where particular emphasis needs to be put before Linux will be acceptable to regular folks: power management, printing, device drivers (for electronic accessories), WiFi, package management (for additional software), DVD burning, and technical support. He’s right on all of these.
I think IBM’s commitment to Linux will result in some individuals eventually buying PCs that primarily run Linux. This is not going to happen in large numbers too quickly– there are too many issues that are show-stoppers for the non-technical. But, if IBM maintains their current level of commitment, they ought to be able to work the kinks out of a distribution that could at least be used on corporate desktops. So, some of us will undoubtedly be sitting in front of Linux in the future.
In the meantime, this Dell Inspiron user lusts after the 15 or 17-inch models of the Apple Powerbook G4. With it, you get Microsoft Office support, good power management, DVD playing and burning, excellent wireless, and UNIX features if you want them.