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Comment by bitwize | Hacker News Reader

The thing that's keeping Linux from taking over the desktop is the thing that kept Windows from taking over the desktop: OEM preinstalls. As soon as there are enough OEMs shipping consumer kit that runs Linux (and doesn't crumple under Microsoft pressure) then Linux will be a force to be reckoned with on the desktop. Otherwise, all of the DE bikeshedding in the world won't get Linux's foot in the door.

It's a long shot, because Microsoft pretty much controls and defines what a "PC" is now, but maybe there's an opportunity for Raspberry Pi, Pine64 and other SBC vendors here.

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I have heard people saying that for 20 years. "We just need to get more OEM preinstalls and then Windows will fail." Meanwhile, various OEMs have come and gone (i.e. they all crumpled under the pressure) and nothing happened. System76 has been around for 16 years, they have their niche but that's about it. Ultimately, they are a hardware company making a distribution that works well with their laptops, and that's all they can really do.

For any of these companies, I would seriously ask them "do you think you can be the next Microsoft or Apple, and if so what would you do to get there". And if the answer has something to do with trying to convince OEMs to install Linux, or trying to ship more random embedded devices, then I probably say they need to come up with a new plan.

I understand the sentiment, but I think the forgotten part on OEM installs is, current OEM offerings are on more premium models. I would be curious to see what would happen if Dell or Hp made like a 250-400 dollar laptop and put it on shelves in Best Buy and Walmart with Ubuntu, Pop or Mint installed. I don't know if it would work, but interesting to try. Like I said, most OEM install tries have been on premium hardware, or in the case of the PineBook, for the person who wants to tinker.

EDIT: Especially since winning on the desktop would be mass adoption. Most home computers are not Dell XPs Or Lenovo thinkpads. And marketing cheap laptops geared to students works in the case of ChromeOS

Dell does already ship a laptop with Ubuntu installed. No I don't think Best Buy and Walmart carry it, because the only target market for it is developers. I remember seeing lots of cheap netbooks that had a Linux option but no stores carried them because nobody besides developers and geeks actually wants that.

My experience with Dell's laptops, despite being supposedly ubuntu supported, would randomly restart, trackpad stopped working, and their docks wouldn't be compatible with linux.

Dell arguably did more damage: by releasing a flawed product, then the rest of the OEMs said "See? No one wants linux".

I think Walmart tried the downmarket linux thing about ... wow, ten years ago maybe? I see an article on Everex Green GPC, I thought there was another one too.

But.. the linux desktop is way better today compared to then, despite my bitching about it.

Maybe a kickass turnkey cloud-based desktop solution would be a big uptake. AWS has won servers, but why shouldn't they win desktops too? What company doesn't want to move to remote desktops for everyone?

That would probably take some investment in stabilizing the remote/RDP video drivers, a lot like what has always plagued linux desktop: video support and drivers.

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