Again, again

Letter of the month

So here it is. Another release of Windows and, as expected, LXF201’ s lead story is another marketing exercise to say how far behind Windows is from Linux.

It’s got translucency? PAH! Linux had that years ago. It supports older hardware? PAP! Linux has done for years… What are you going to do now Windows is a rolling free update? Run something annually?

Come on! We buy LXF because we like Linux and know it is far better than the ‘beast from Redmond’. Do you really need all those pages dedicated to something we already appreciate? There is so much more in the Linux world that you could cover. Yes, certainly report that a rival has updated its offering, though when iOS gets an upgrade there isn’t the same level of trumpeting, for obvious reasons. But what about reporting on where Linux really has got a major foothold, embedded computing?

Look at any product line with embedded software – routers, switches, TVs, set-top boxes. What is most likely the software running on them? Linux, of course. The reason? The source code is free to use and is a great baseline! You only have to look at the smartphone market: iOS and Android have the largest market share by a very large margin and you can see Linux roots.

You’re doing a great job with Raspberry Pi but the projects just whet the appetite. What about running a home automation project over several months with Pis as end nodes and a PC, running Linux of course, as the central server/controller? You can then show off the Pi modules and Linux services in real world situations. Come on, guys, stop trying to push Linux to the fore with a heavy hand. It’s already there! AlHarris,viaemail Neil says: I think it’s good to keep an eye on competitors – there’s always things to learn, and as Linux users we might not appreciate the advances or mistakes Windows has made. As for embedded, certainly over the last three years we’ve looked at Android and NAS options. The problem is, embedded is generally locked down and hence boring. The Pi on the other hand is very interesting as it’s a full PC open to tinkering, extending and doing almost anything you want. Watch for a home automation issue soon!