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[translated] 20140818 Will Linux ever be able to give consumers what they want.md
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zpl1025
Will Linux ever be able to give consumers what they want?
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> Jack Wallen offers up the novel idea that giving the consumers what they want might well be the key to boundless success.
![](http://tr2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2014/08/14/ce90a81e-d17b-4b8f-bd5b-053120e305e6/resize/620x485/f5f9e0798798172d4e41edbedeb6b7e5/whattheyneedhero.png)
In the world of consumer electronics, if you don't give the buyer what they want, they'll go elsewhere. We've recently witnessed this with the Firefox browser. The consumer wanted a faster, less-bloated piece of software, and the developers went in the other direction. In the end, the users migrated to Chrome or Chromium.
Linux needs to gaze deep into their crystal ball, watch carefully the final fallout of that browser war, and heed this bit of advice:
If you don't give them what they want, they'll leave.
Another great illustration of this backfiring is Windows 8. The consumer didn't want that interface. Microsoft, however, wanted it because it was necessary to begin the drive to all things Surface. This same scenario could have been applied to Canonical and Ubuntu Unity -- however, their goal wasn't geared singularly and specifically towards tablets (so, the interface was still highly functional and intuitive on the desktop).
For the longest time, it seemed like Linux developers and designers were gearing everything they did toward themselves. They took the "eat your own dog food" too far. In that, they forgot one very important thing:
Without new users, their "base" would only ever belong to them.
In other words, the choir had not only been preached to, it was the one doing the preaching. Let me give you three examples to hit this point home.
- For years, Linux has needed an equivalent of Active Directory. I would love to hand that title over to LDAP, but have you honestly tried to work with LDAP? It's a nightmare. Developers have tried to make LDAP easy, but none have succeeded. It amazes me that a platform that has thrived in multi-user situations still has nothing that can go toe-to-toe with AD. A team of developers needs to step up, start from scratch, and create the open-source equivalent to AD. This would be such a boon to mid-size companies looking to migrate away from Microsoft products. But until this product is created, the migration won't happen.
- Another Microsoft-driven need -Exchange/Outlook. Yes, I realize that many are going to the cloud. But the truth is that mediumto large-scale businesses will continue relying on the Exchange/Outlook combo until something better comes along. This could very well happen within the open-source community. One piece of this puzzle is already there (though it needs some work) -the groupware client, Evolution. If someone could take, say, a fork of Zimbra and re-tool it such a way that it would work with Evolution (and even Thunderbird) to serve as a drop-in replacement for Exchange, the game would change, and the trickle-down to consumers would be massive.
- Cheap, cheap, cheap. This one is a hard pill for most to swallow -but consumers (and businesses) want cheap. Look at the Chromebook sales over the last year. Now, do a search for a Linux laptop and see if you can find one for under $700.00 (USD). For a third of that cost, you can get a Chromebook (a platform running the Linux kernel) that will serve you well. But because Linux is still such a niche market, it's hard to get the cost down. A company like Red Hat Linux could change that. They already have the server hardware in place. Why not crank out a bunch of low-cost, mid-range laptops that work in similar fashion to the Chromebook but only run a full-blown Linux environment? (see "[Is the Cloudbook the future of Linux?][1]") The key is that these devices must be low-cost and meet the needs of the average consumer. Stop thinking with your gamer/developer hat on and remember what the average user really needs -a web browser and not much more. That's why the Chromebook is succeeding so handily. Google knew exactly what the consumer wanted, and they delivered. On the Linux front, companies still think the only way to attract buyers is to crank out high-end, expensive Linux hardware. There's a touch of irony there, considering one of the most-often shouted battle cries is that Linux runs on slower, older hardware.
Finally, Linux needs to take a page from the good ol' Book Of Jobs and figure out how to convince the consumer that what they truly need is Linux. In their businesses and in their homes -- everyone can benefit from using Linux. Honestly, how can the open-source community not pull that off? Linux already has the perfect built-in buzzwords: Stability, reliability, security, cloud, free -- plus Linux is already in the hands of an overwhelming amount of users (they just don't know it). It's now time to let them know. If you use Android or Chromebooks, you use (in one form or another) Linux.
Knowing just what the consumer wants has always been a bit of a stumbling block for the Linux community. And I get that -- so much of the development of Linux happens because a developer has a particular need. This means development is targeted to a "micro-niche." It's time, however, for the Linux development community to think globally. "What does the average user need, and how do we give it to them?" Let me offer up the most basic of primers.
The average user needs:
- Low cost
- Seamless integration with devices and services
- Intuitive and modern designs
- A 100% solid browser experience
That's pretty much it. With those four points in mind, it should be easy to take a foundation of Linux and create exactly what the user wants. Google did it... certainly the Linux community can build on what Google has done and create something even better. Mix that in with AD integration, give it an Exchange/Outlook or cloud-based groupware set of tools, and something very special will happen -- people will buy it.
Do you think the Linux community will ever be able to give the consumer what they want? Share your opinion in the discussion thread below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
via: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/will-linux-ever-be-able-to-give-consumers-what-they-want/
作者:[Jack Wallen][a]
译者:[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID)
校对:[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID)
本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创翻译,[Linux中国](http://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出
[a]:http://www.techrepublic.com/search/?a=jack+wallen
[1]:http://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-the-cloudbook-the-future-of-linux/

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Linux能够提供消费者想要的东西吗
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> 由Jack Wallen提出的新观点提供消费者想要的东西也许是收获无限成就的关键。
![](http://tr2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2014/08/14/ce90a81e-d17b-4b8f-bd5b-053120e305e6/resize/620x485/f5f9e0798798172d4e41edbedeb6b7e5/whattheyneedhero.png)
在消费电子的世界里如果你不能提供购买者想要的东西那他们就会跑去别家。我们最近在Firefox浏览器上就看过类似的事情。消费者想要的是一个快速而不那么臃肿的软件而开发者们却走到了另外的方向上。最后用户都转移到Chrome或Chromium上去了。
Linux需要深深凝视自己的水晶球仔细体会那场浏览器大战留下的尘埃然后留意一下这点建议
如果你不能提供他们想要的,他们就会离开。
而这种事与愿违的另一个例子是Windows 8。消费者不喜欢那套界面。而微软却坚持使用因为这是把所有东西搬到Surface平板上所必须的。相同的情况也可能发生在Canonical和Ubuntu Unity身上 -- 尽管它们的目标并不是单一独特地针对平板电脑来设计(所以,整套界面在桌面系统上仍然很实用而且直观)。
一直以来Linux开发者和设计者们看上去都按照他们自己的想法来做事情。他们过分在意“吃你自家的狗粮”这句话了。以至于他们忘记了一件非常重要的事情
没有新用户,他们的“根基”也仅仅只属于他们自己。
换句话说,唱诗班不仅仅是被传道,他们也同时在宣传。让我给你看三个案例来完全掌握这一点。
- 多年以来有在Linux系统中替代活动目录Active Directory的需求。我很想把这个名称换成LDAP但是你真的用过LDAP吗那就是个噩梦。开发者们也努力了想让LDAP能易用一点但是没一个做到了。而让我很震惊的是这样一个从多用户环境下发展起来的平台居然没有一个能和AD正面较量的功能。这需要一组开发人员从头开始建立一个AD的开源替代。这对那些寻求从微软产品迁移的中型企业来说是非常大的福利。但是在这个产品做好之前他们还不能开始迁移。
- 另一个从微软激发的需求是Exchange/Outlook。是我也知道许多人都开始用云。但是事实上中等和大型规模生意仍然依赖于Exchange/Outlook组合直到能有更好的产品出现。而这将非常有希望发生在开源社区。整个拼图的一小块已经摆好了虽然还需要一些工作- 群件客户端Evolution。如果有人能够从Zimbra拉出一个分支然后重新设计成可以配合Evolution甚至Thunderbird来提供服务实现Exchange的简单替代那这个游戏就不是这么玩了而消费者获得的利益将是巨大的。
- 便宜,便宜,还是便宜。这是大多数人都得咽下去的苦药片 - 但是消费者和生意就是希望便宜。看看去年一年Chromebook的销量吧。现在搜索一下Linux笔记本看能不能找到700美元以下的。而只用三分之一的价格就可以买到一个让你够用的Chromebook一个使用了Linux内核的平台。但是因为Linux仍然是一个细分市场很难降低成本。像红帽那种公司也许可以改变现状。他们也已经推出了服务器硬件。为什么不推出一些和Chromebook有类似定位但是却运行完整Linux环境的低价中档笔记本呢请看“[Cloudbook是Linux的未来吗][1]”)其中的关键是这种设备要低成本并且符合普通消费者的要求。不要站在游戏玩家/开发者的角度去思考了,记住普通消费者真正的需求 - 一个网页浏览器不会有更多了。这是Chromebook为什么可以这么轻松地成功。Google精确地知道消费者想要什么然后推出相应的产品。而面对Linux一些公司仍然认为他们吸引买家的唯一途径是高端昂贵的硬件。而有一点讽刺的是口水战中最经常听到的却是Linux只能在更慢更旧的硬件上运行。
最后Linux需要看一看乔布斯传Book Of Jobs搞清楚如何说服消费者们他们真正要的就是Linux。在生意上和在家里 -- 每个人都可以享受到Linux带来的好处。说真的开源社区怎么可能做不到这点呢Linux本身就已经带有很多漂亮的时髦术语标签稳定性可靠性安全性免费 -- 再加上Linux实际已经进入到绝大多数人手中了只是他们自己还不清楚罢了。现在是时候让他们知道这一点了。如果你是用Android或者Chromebooks那么你就在用某种形式上的Linux。
搞清楚消费者需求一直以来都是Linux社区的绊脚石。而且我知道 -- 太多的Linux开发都基于某个开发者有个特殊的想法。这意味着这些开发都针对的“微型市场”。是时候无论如何让Linux开发社区能够进行全球性思考了。“一般用户有什么需求我们怎么满足他们”让我提几个最基本的点。
一般用户想要:
- 低价
- 设备和服务能无缝衔接
- 直观而现代的设计
- 百分百可靠的浏览器体验
把这四点放在心中应该可以轻松地以Linux为基础开发出用户实际需要的产品。Google做到了...当然Linux社区也可以参照Google的工作并开发出更好的产品。把这些应用到集成AD这件事上能开发出Exchange/Outlook的替代或者基于云的群件工具就会发生一件非常特殊的事 -- 人们会为它买单。
你觉得Linux社区能够提供消费者想要的东西吗在下边的讨论区里分享一下你的看法。
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
via: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/will-linux-ever-be-able-to-give-consumers-what-they-want/
作者:[Jack Wallen][a]
译者:[zpl1025](https://github.com/zpl1025)
校对:[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID)
本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创翻译,[Linux中国](http://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出
[a]:http://www.techrepublic.com/search/?a=jack+wallen
[1]:http://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-the-cloudbook-the-future-of-linux/