So yes, Apple stuff vs Microsoft stuff blah blah blah. Why not include Linux stuff? Sure. Specifically Ubuntu and even more specifically Jolicloud. What brought this up was that a few days ago, I was typing away on my laptop (Sony Vaio -> Windows 7) next to my friend/classmate who was doing his thing on his Macbook (regular one with Snow Leopard) and I got to thinking, “Why PC? Why Mac?” and not to hate because I like and use Apple and Microsoft products, but I got to thinking, why do people pay so much more for Macs? I still honestly don’t get it. They’re based off Intel chipsets and the software you can often get for free or buy a much cheaper PC laptop and get even better software (high end Mac or PC software that is, think Garageband vs Cubase if you’re into music). Okay I get it now, the layout is much nice and more intuitive, as the argument goes. I do get that…sort of. Windows 7 is similar now, different for sure, but the functionality is the same or can be made to be the same on either Snow Leopard or Windows 7. So I get it now, people like shiny pretty things! That explains why millions don’t tune in to watch Miss Plus Size America. Ok I get that, plus people often have such a disdain for Windows that in comparison they like Macs that much more(no everyone, but judging by Apple’s marketing strategy that’s the demographic they like to market to most).
So all of this makes sense to me and I can understand why people choose what they do. In a Web 2.0 (see how I included it there?) era people use Windows or Macs to access many of the same things. I mostly see students on Facebook on either a Mac or PC at the University here and it looks exactly the same, so the market for Laptops/Netbooks and OSes, in a sense, is a somewhat level playing field. This all makes me wonder why we we don’t see many if any laptops and netbooks shipping with Linux, and more notably Ubuntu or Jolicloud. I got my girlfriend a Samsung NC10 (I know ladies, I’m a dream come true) and it came with XP but I see some Samsungs are now shipping with Jolicloud. Which I think is sweet. Take a look at it here (keep in mind it's for netbooks):
It's a very straightforward and user friendly interface. In fact it's very similar to an iPhone (which are sweet). Jolicloud and Ubuntu are also free. So why don't we see more linux out of the box computers? They have even more full features on a standard install than basic Windows 7 and just as much as Snow Leopard (well close), and once again it's free. Now let's look at two screenshots of Ubuntu, the first is the current screen and the second is a concept view that is supposed to be implemented in the next major build:
We can see how the first option is very decluttered and how the second pic looks very similar to OSX (but you can get Ubuntu to look somewhat like OSX anyways). Ubuntu is very secure (less susceptible than a Mac or PC) and it's got tons of free software. It's software center and self organization are also great...amazing actually. I do love Windows due to the fact I can play Street Fighter in it and code in Visual Studio, but you can't play many games on Ubuntu or use Windows software on it, but you can't do this on a Mac either (you can run the same virtual pc programs on either though). Really I love Ubuntu, and I still don't get why we don't see more of Linux on laptops and netbooks out of the gate (I remember seeing yellow penguin boxes in tons of shops 10 years ago...as a kid). You get all the slick easiness and access to all the web 2.0 features you get with a Mac plus you get an extra layer of open source accessibility to tweak and program it yourself if you choose to go that route.
Post some comments if you have some insights in this...love to hear it.
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