The announcement today by RedHat that they will not be releasing a consumer desktop offering is not bad news. RedHat is concentrating on what it does best: offering enterprise software solutions. Ditto for SUSE, even though both companies offer a product that works great as a desktop.
The advancements for the Linux desktop (in the context of increasing adaptation and awareness) have come from the large hardware producers that customise a Linux install for their hardware. We have seen great results with the gPC, Asus eee PC, Everex Cloudbook, and the expanding offerings from Dell.
We are moving forward on the Linux desktop front. When you buy Windows pre-installed on a computer it is a custom install too, as in you only get the drivers for the hardware that is on your motherboard, in that computer. Do not forget that it may be a violation of your Microsoft EULA to install the OEM copy of Windows that came with your computer, on another computer, despite the fact that the original computer is as dead as a doornail. And this is fair. If the cost of the original licence for your Windows XP that came with your computer was around $100.00, then after 4 – 6 years, you probably paid less than $20.00 per year to use that software.
But an advantage of Linux is that you are free to install it on as many computers as you please. Linux for SOHO or the consumer is the forte of small local shops. A local computer shop can build custom Linux computers and charge $50.00 for the service of installing Linux. That $50.00 is pure profit. And then there is the economic benefit of the money spent on software stays in the community.
With Linux there is a wonderful network of free support, this webiste is a good example. But there is some support that a person or company may want to pay for, and that is what RedHat offers.
So it really comes down to what kind of service can be offered at what price. Praise to RedHat for recognizing their strength and sticking to it.
