Desktop Linux still remote

Despite having established a strong presence as a server operating system, Linux has so far failed to make a dent in Microsoft's dominance of the desktop.

Some Linux vendors have abandoned this market entirely, but a number of new initiatives may give Linux another chance. If successful, Linux on the desktop could lead to lower operating costs for large firms.

Over the last two years, vendors such as Red Hat have offered Linux to PC builders as an alternative to Windows. Linux is able to run on relatively modest hardware, which could help firms to reduce the cost of new systems or remove the need for upgrading at all.

But there has so far been little interest from corporate buyers, who cite the comparatively small number of Linux applications, and staff retraining costs, as some of the reasons for remaining with Windows.

PC maker Dell dropped Linux as a desktop option in August this year, and Red Hat has now decided to focus its efforts solely on the server market.

Servers and handhelds

Some analysts are sceptical about the future of Linux on the desktop. "There is no potential in this market," said Neil Ward-Dutton of analyst firm Ovum. "Linux will be used for certain server tasks and on handheld devices only."

However, new licensing schemes being introduced by Microsoft look set to cost firms more, and may persuade increasing numbers of IT managers to take a closer look at its open source rival.

Although desktop Linux appears to be struggling, some vendors are still attempting to make headway in this market. The release of Mozilla 1.0, the updated version of the browser development kit that gave rise to Netscape, should provide more resources for Linux developers. But Mozilla's troubled gestation will have failed to impress many in the commercial world.

Originally intended for release in April 2001, Mozilla's delivery date has now been set back to April 2002. Changes in the project scope, as well as residual problems with bugs, have affected development.

Ximian, the firm that created the Ximian Desktop, which is based on the Gnome interface, also has an interest in this market. Ximian Desktop provides a graphical front end aimed at business users, and includes third-party productivity tools such as Sun's StarOffice and Ximian's own Evolution software. Evolution is a personal information manager designed to mirror Microsoft Outlook in functionality.

Red Carpet is another Ximian initiative. This software management service co-ordinates new releases and product updates from a broad range of Linux suppliers. The service can provide a single point of contact for upgrades and maintenance, which makes large-scale management more straightforward.

Red Carpet also supports multiple Linux distributions including Red Hat, Suse, Mandrake and Debian.

Lack of applications

But despite these new tools, Ward-Dutton still does not believe that many companies will want to move to Linux on the desktop. "There's a lot of inertia, and applications for Linux still don't match up to Windows," he said.

Even Apple's niche desktop markets may be immune from the threat of Linux, he added. "Education sites that are traditional users [of Macs] might have been a potential target for Linux, but this market has also moved towards Windows recently."

Tools such as StarOffice and Evolution may alter the view that there are too few business products for Linux. The Gnome Foundation, supported by Ximian, is aiming to provide a better user interface for Linux, addressing another traditional concern.

Plans to improve the manageability of Linux are also slowly progressing through initiatives such as Red Carpet. However, the operating system still has a long way to go if it is to make a genuine breakthrough on the desktop, and the Linux community will need to learn from past failures in order to make future efforts more successful.

SUMMARY:

• Linux has so far failed to make significant inroads into Microsoft's domination of the desktop.
• Despite a number of advantages, such as lower cost and less stringent hardware requirements, firms are still deterred by the lack of applications and high retraining costs.
• Initiatives such as Ximian's Red Carpet Linux service and tools such as StarOffice may attract more companies to Linux, but analysts believe few will have enough reason to move away from Windows.

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