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by muuh-gnu 5203 days ago
> The main reason why OSX/iOS, Android, and Windows attract more commercial developers is because those platforms have a much greater installed base!

A few years ago, Linux had a bigger installed base than both iOS and Android. Both of them outran linux with ease.
3 comments
tikhonj 5203 days ago
Yeah, but they're in a brand new market on brand new devices. People who already have a proprietary PC OS aren't going to switch to Linux out of the blue, but they are going to buy a shiny smart phone.

So the two situations are really not comparable. I still think the main difference is that you have to install Linux yourself. It's not even that installing is difficult--it isn't!--it's that normal people don't even realize it's an option. Your average random laptop buyer who just spent $600 on a laptop from Staples would be able to use Linux perfectly well if that's what his laptop came with--I suspect some wouldn't even realize it wasn't just a different version of Windows. But since his laptop invariably came with Windows, that's what he's going to use, not for any reason but inertia.

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muuh-gnu 5203 days ago
> but they're in a brand new market on brand new devices.

But they still had no problem starting with an ecosystem with zero apps. Now they have hundreds of thousands.

> I still think the main difference is that you have to install Linux yourself.

Over the years, I've had several people, whom I talked into checking out Linux, give it up and go back to Windows because they refused to accept that they have to upgrade the whole distribution just to be able to install new versions of single apps. Did you ever try to explain a Windows user what a "backport" is, and whats it good for, and why there are none on Windows and why he can he can install whatever app and whatever version of an app he wants on Windows, but cant on Linux?

> Your average random laptop buyer who just spent $600 on a laptop from Staples would be able to use Linux perfectly well if that's what his laptop came with

For 6 months, then he wouldnt be able any more to update his apps.

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cgoddard 5203 days ago
Ummm yeah they're also OS's for a completely different platform. That makes a pretty big difference.
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freshhawk 5203 days ago
This is the most incoherent statement in this entire thread full of non-hackers saying "wouldn't it be nice if there weren't dependencies in software?".

The last thing this discussion needs is troll comments.

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