OT: Siemens sees Linux desktops at 20% of market by 2008 --recommends GNOME over KDE

[George Staikos]

On Saturday 16 August 2003 13:28, M. Fioretti wrote:
> > I have worked for businesses that let you install whatever system
> > you wanted on your computer as long as the job was done
> > efficiently. All of those businesses were eventually bought out for
> > quite a bit of money.
>
> I know that this happens, but I said medium/big referring to number of
> employees and remote offices, say from 1000 people upwards, not to the
> money they make. The more an organization is big, the more
> standardized its IT must be to avoid paralysis. What you said confirms
> that freedom and choice is good, possible and done by some companies,
> not by the real big corporations. You are comparing apples (your work
> experience) to oranges (the companies like the one I'm in, to which
> that report is geared): they probably just didn't write that report
> for the kind of employers you had.

  I have worked in the smallest and largest computer firms in the world, and 
several in between.  I have an idea how they all work.

> >   Sorry this contradicts what the article just said.  They explicitly
> > stated that they want Gnome on the desktop.  They then went on to say
> > that they wanted Ximian (R) Desktop 2 on their desktop.  Which one is it?
>
> Frankly, I don't know, I didn't read it. I only stepped in to tell you
> that in *general* the corporate world (and again by corporate I mean
> the big leagues) thinks as I explained, so your kind of arguments will
> be ignored in the best case. I was not defending that article, sorry
> for the misunderstanding.

  You missed the point then.  I know they think this way, and it is wrong, and 
eventually this should change.  Those who think about Linux and OSS in the 
right way will eventually reap the real rewards.

> > > Just don't be surprised if it never happens, because, again, your
> > > arguments, as valid as they are, simply do not apply to corporate IT.
> >
> >    Not yet, but the idea of Linux doesn't apply to corporate IT yet
> > either.  I spent hours in workshops at OLS 3 weeks ago discussing just
> > this issue with industry leaders from government and big Linux
> > corporations.
>
> Sorry, I don't understand the paragraph above. May you elaborate on
> this?

  Last I checked, over 90% of corporate IT doesn't use Linux.  It doesn't 
apply.  They are still using Windows all the way.

> valid and objective reasons, in that world, to do so. I'm old enough
> to know that they will give the contract to whoever pays the best
> cocktail or hotel room, but only among candidates fitting that
> profile.

  I think we're all aware of this one, unfortunately. :-(  KDE just can't do 
this.

   This thread is really getting off-topic for kde-core-devel anyways.  We 
should move it elsewhere or end it I think.

-- 
George Staikos
KDE Developer				http://www.kde.org/
Staikos Computing Services Inc.		http://www.staikos.net/