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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Thursday, December 18, 2003

WSJ looks at Linux on the desktop

"[Linux] software is free, but setup of Windows alternative is not for the faint of heart," an article by a staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal begins. "Only 1.4% of computer users have Linux on their home desktops, according to market researcher Jupiter Research. Most estimates put Microsoft's share of the home market above 90%, with Apple's Mac OS at about 5%." (That's really old data. Actually, Apple's share of the market is 2 percent or less.) "Our goal was to put together a working Linux PC at home that could handle such basic tasks as Web browsing, e-mail, word processing and digital music playing -- and that would save us money. We weren't looking to whiz through graphic-intensive video games or edit giant digital photos. With Linux available at no cost, we only needed to buy hardware. One of Linux's strengths is that it runs satisfactorily on the older, less-expensive gear with which Windows can struggle." They threw together a $300 PC and went to town. Interesting results.

[ Posted at 8:58 AM | Permalink ]