Did we all just witness Windows start to die?

[Iggy]

Linux is as much derived from Minix (not Minux) as Justin Bieber music is derived from Black Sabbath...

Absolutely true, Staf.
Minix uses a microkernel and is designed as a educational exercise in OS development.
Linux steal its thunder from Unix and has a much messier kernel structure.

[persia]

Android is basically Linux wit a usable GUI.

[commodorejohn]

Android is basically Linux wit a usable GUI.

And a less creaky, archaic userland.

Also: could we ban persia from posting pictures, please?

[Megamig]

IMHO the worst MS additions are the ribbon and metro interfaces. If people are that stupid that they cannot work out how to use a PC they should buy a mac instead!

Experienced users want to use keyboard shortcuts instead of silly icons.

Take for example finding a program (that is not a tile) to launch using Windows 8 you need to [Windows]+[Q] then start typing the name and hit enter yet in Windows 7 you can simply press the [start] button and type what you want in the search box. So much for making life easier.

Office 2003 is much easier to use as experienced typists could simply use [Alt]+[F]+[A] for example without the use of a mouse or touching the screen.

MS has a tendency to dictate what users want - pity that failed in Windows 8 with their start menu backflip. If MS wants to retain their reduced market share they need to start listening and giving users what they want because their Windows 3.x/95 heyday has long gone.

[Duce]

IMHO the worst MS additions are the ribbon and metro interfaces. If people are that stupid that they cannot work out how to use a PC they should buy a mac instead!

Experienced users want to use keyboard shortcuts instead of silly icons.

Take for example finding a program (that is not a tile) to launch using Windows 8 you need to [Windows]+[Q] then start typing the name and hit enter yet in Windows 7 you can simply press the [start] button and type what you want in the search box. So much for making life easier.

Office 2003 is much easier to use as experienced typists could simply use [Alt]+[F]+[A] for example without the use of a mouse or touching the screen.

MS has a tendency to dictate what users want - pity that failed in Windows 8 with their start menu backflip. If MS wants to retain their reduced market share they need to start listening and giving users what they want because their Windows 3.x/95 heyday has long gone.

And oddly enough, the keyboard shortcuts and full desktop GUI are still there in Windows 8.  She's pretty much a Windows 7 Desktop experience under the hood.  As are they the same in every Windows and Office release since the dawn of time.

[nicholas]

And a less creaky, archaic userland.

Android uses the GNU userland, I use it every day.

[commodorejohn]

Android uses the GNU userland, I use it every day.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but according to what I read, it doesn't have the full set of GNU libraries - and it certainly doesn't have X or any X desktop environment.

[nicholas]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but according to what I read, it doesn't have the full set of GNU libraries - and it certainly doesn't have X or any X desktop environment.

I run the full gamut of software available from the Debian ARM repositories on my phone.

[commodorejohn]

Hmm, really? And you didn't have to manually install an X server?

Guess someone needs to update that page...

[nicholas]

Hmm, really? And you didn't have to manually install an X server?

Guess someone needs to update that page...

I don't use an xserver on it, but I could if I so wanted to.

edit:  I don't think you quite grasp the concept of what "GNU userland" is either.

[Fats]

Android uses the GNU userland, I use it every day.

I needed to install BusyBox to get a shell which is somewhat usable on my Android phone and some people will claim BusyBox is not GNU userland.

[nicholas]

I needed to install BusyBox to get a shell which is somewhat usable on my Android phone and some people will claim BusyBox is not GNU userland.

Surely there are such people.

But the fact I can ssh into my phone and apt-get install pretty much anything I need makes Android no different to any of my other Linux boxes.

[nicholas]

Android has barely dented iOS on the tablet front.

Orly? :?

Android tablets now account for 61.2 percent of the Western European tablet market, more than double the 25.1 percent recorded the same time last year. Apple iOS devices, meanwhile, fell to 37.2 percent of Western European tablet market sales by distribution, from 71.2 percent at the same time last year.

http://www.osnews.com/comments/27219

[commodorejohn]

You know that there are other parts of the world than western Europe, right?

[nicholas]

You know that there are other parts of the world than western Europe, right?

Nowhere worth living though.

[persia]

I must admit Ice Cream Sandwich is pretty nice, you know an OS has come of age when it stops stealing ideas from Apple and Apple starts stealing ideas from it.