From Newsgroup: alt.comp.os.windows-11
On Wed, 3/25/2026 5:39 PM, T wrote:
Hi All,
I configured out a Lenovo Think Pad T14 for
a customer yesterday.
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadt/thinkpad-t14-gen-6-14-inch-intel/len101t0126
I noticed something new: operating systems:
Windows 11 home $0
Windows 11 Pro +$44
Linux UBooBoo -$45
Linux Fedora -$45
Yippee!!
But, unfortunately, due to "Catch 22" (a no-win loop
where the rule contradicts itself):
You can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t
get experience without a job.
You need a credit history to get approved for a credit
card, but you need a credit card to build credit history
* The Catch 22 that wildly affects Linux: *
Linux won’t get widely adopted until major commercial apps
support it, but companies won’t build those apps until
Linux is widely adopted.
Software companies won’t invest in Linux because it lacks
users, and users won’t switch to Linux because it lacks
software.
To make Linux popular, it needs mainstream apps—but those
apps will only come after Linux is already popular.
He went with Windows 11 Pro. I can defang it.
At one time, this would be considered true.
But there are more opportunities for "write once run anywhere",
with things like Qt.
For the Linux business case, we need the opportunity (may cover
off making it for the platform, when we make the MacOS solution).
But the real question is, how many Linux people will buy commercial
software. I think Enterprise offers an opportunity (but not a large
enough customer pool). Whereas it would be much harder to make
a buck off the ordinary users. "You were thinking $39.95, the
customers were thinking more like $3." And that's a reason to not
be selling stuff into Linux.
If you look at the winners and losers in the Microsoft Store,
many devs don't even make enough for cup-of-noodles when they
put an entry in the store. The percentage of real winners
in the store (people can afford gas for their car), is not all
that great.
One of my friends is a serial entrepreneur, and it was my job
to tell him every idea he had was stupid :-) For example, one
idea was to gather those hubcaps you find on the side of the road,
and... resell the cosmetically good ones. Which is certainly
a good recycling project, but nobody is ever going to get
rich selling used hubcaps.
The manager at my tire store, used to sell used tires. He didn't
get rich doing that, and that was more of a "customer loyalty"
program, for people who would some day be rich enough for new tires.
When you're doing business at the low end of the spectrum, the
chances of "making it big" are pretty slim. And a $3 Linux software
package will not "make retirement money". You need those MacOS users
with the fat wallets.
Paul
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