News - Apple’s new “Why iPhone” page seeks to reassure buyers

[TheAnimus]

Plus don't forget that 1.21% of linux means what.

That you've got a POSIX environment to target? What percentage are running X!

However, I think that the fact people write things in cross platform frameworks like Qt or Java or Moonlight actually hurts you argument that with 1.21% market share no one will target it. The fact is no one targets it for a worse reason, their users, probably won't buy it. A lot of people in the open source community rally against anything which is commercial.

[b0redom]

'Why iPhone?'

Sounds like a Newcastle marketing slogan.

[eugenius]

That's about the ONLY thing that sucks about Linux by the way.

That's why you still don't have a great audio editing app, a great video editing app, AAA games under Linux.

[crossy]

If there is an argument for Apple it's this: developers make more money. That translates into better apps (sometimes). That's why Linux sucks, it still hasn't found a way to get paid, professional (expensive) apps and games on it. Until it does, it remains a second tier OS.

Second tier desktop OS actually - when it comes to the SERVER side of things Linux is definitely "Tier 1" - only the most hardened Window Washer would argue otherwise.
Then again, I've never understood this idea that Android/Linux software must always be free. If an application is good then I'm quite happy to pay for it, and from comments elsewhere other people feel the same. You've only got to look at the figures coming from the Humble Bundle folks to see that Linux folks aren't necessarily freeloaders.

That's about the ONLY thing that sucks about Linux by the way. That's why you still don't have a great audio editing app, a great video editing app, AAA games under Linux.

Audio Editing - Audacity et al
Video Editing - Open Shot. Which is apparently so good that they're now looking for funding to port it to Windows! LOL
AAA games - presumably that means stuff from the likes of EA, Activision, Ubisoft et al. In which case, you've undoubtedly got a point. On the other hand, encouragement from folks like Valve/Steam isn't going to hurt one iota, along with the current laser-focus on desktop usability. And I'll argue that desktop issues are the thing that have stopped Linux from taking more desktop (mind)share.

To be brutally honest, Nuance Paperport, iTunes (for my iPod) and the games are the only reason I keep a Windows desktop around - if not for those then I could easily switch to Linux and hence bid a fond farewell to BSODs, frequent reboots and all those other little foibles that keep being a Windows user "interesting". And I'm not so sure that I couldn't replace iTunes with one of the alternatives and run Paperport under Wine. I think come the end of the year my Windows desktop may become a dual-boot setup.

One thing that Linux could "borrow" from Apple though is the app store. Apple's is - quite rightly - held up as an example of how to do it (minus the variable and draconian rules though). A Linux store that covered the major distros (Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, Suse) I think would be well received, and that's what I'm hoping Valve-for-Linux will become.