Will we ever see a third major OS play a dominant role on computers?

[Alex]

i don't think so.... i think linux is gonna grow even more and a zillion other distros are gonna come out but it'll still be good ol linux!

 

[Chiller2]

Apple had an opportunity to gain a big market share when it switched to x86 processers but wasted it by tying the OS to their hardware.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
Umm, there are already millions of *nix boxes out there. I think you'd see that a vast majority of servers are running some version of Unix or Linux.

If you just mean "desktop home PC" when you say "computer" then no, I don't think BSD or Linux is dumbed down enough for the average person.

I wouldn't call plugging in a peripheral or hard drive and having it work, or changing your resolution and refresh rate to whatever you want, "dumbed down".

 

[cavingjan]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: ForumMaster
Heck, even today there are ppl running windows 3.2, NT, 95 and 98. ppl don't like change.

Some law firms still use Word Perfect 5.1 running on DOS because it meets all their needs, and change is disruptive.

There was an article in Federal Computing last year about the Department of Justive still using Wordperfect as its primary word processor. Cost and Reveal Codes were the reason if I remember correctly.

Reveal Codes is the reason it is still my primary word processor.

Change isn't bad. Rapid change is horrible. Slow and steady is the name of the game. If another OS comes out, more than likely it will be a derivative of an existing OS.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: LoKe

Originally posted by: duragezic
BeOS FTW



No seriously I don't see so in the near future. Linux has been around for quite a while now and has made amazing progress. Back when there was so few distros, I remember trying to get Mandrake (6 or 7) and some old version of Red Hat to work. Basically the hardware support was bad. I couldn't ever get my ethernet or sound to work back then. Then years later I try FC2 and later Ubuntu... man they are nice! And they are better now. Yet linux is still an extremely small part of the mainstream OS.

Even then, unless it was just absolutely mind-blowing, groundbreaking, and superior to current ones (some could say linux is for quite a bit of computer use), its almost impossible to break the hold that Windows has on the market. So I guess we better hope that Windows continues to improve and Linux keeps on its path of improvement.

You'll see a huge jump in Linux usage now. Lots of businesses, schools and other sorts of communities are switching to Linux.

Right. Welcome to 1998.

 

[Kaervak]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Workbench!

4.0 for life. WOOO!

 

[NuclearNed]

I would like to see a major player like IBM get back into the OS business. OS2 was pretty good. Only a major corporation like IBM will ever be able to compete with MS.

 

[judasmachine]

I switched the vet clinic I used to work for from Win95/DOS to XP and then to Linux. Each time took so much time (read overtime) that he vowed to never switch again. I find this sad, but I understand. I'd love to see things like BeOS, GoogleOS, or any other crazy idea nudge it's way into OEMs at Best Buy but I don't see it happening anytime soon. They will have to offer Windows like functionality mixed with something completely new and cheap to truly achieve the kind of success the current leaders enjoy.

 

[mugs]

Where you say third, I would say second. I don't consider Linux to be a major OS outside of servers. I don't consider OS X to be a major OS outside of its niche markets.