I fail to see how IBMs business model would affect domestic uptake of AROS. I know countless people who want to use an open source operating system, but cannot be bothered with the complexity of linux.
IBM being a giant corporation who's software business model is very heavily based on linux ?
To be commercially viable you need corporations doing the heavy lifting and pulling. Sad but true.
People get discouraged because a wireless card needs a driver in linux, because it doesn't run Excel or it doesn't look like their windows desktop.
If people were eager to jump on an OS with very few applications, very little hardware support and no familiarity whatsoever, I imagine BEOS would have worked out a lot better than it did.
There's two types of people that use computers:
There's people who like figuring things out. They already use what they want to use.
There's people who use whatever came on the machine. They already use what they want to use.
The sad thing, even price is irrelevant in the comparison. People are so used to pirating windows and photoshop etc, that it doesn't make any difference that linux or AROS is "free". The linux people are okay, as they rule the embedded and server application markets. AROS people are okay, as they aim at retro guys and amiga fans.
Fighting over the desktop is pointless as long as there's pirated windows for free from your neighbour.
