Linux: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:39, 3 January 2013

Revision as of 05:42, 3 January 2013

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The performance of Linux on the desktop has been a controversial topic; for example in 2007 [[Con Kolivas]] accused the Linux community of favoring performance on servers. He quit Linux kernel development because he was frustrated with this lack of focus on the desktop, and then gave a "tell all" interview on the topic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why I quit: kernel developer Con Kolivas|url=http://apcmag.com/node/6735/|accessdate=15 August 2011|date=24 July 2007|work=APC Magazine|publisher=ACP Magazines}}</ref> Since then a significant amount of development has been undertaken in an effort to improve the desktop experience. Projects such as [[Upstart]] and [[systemd]] aim for a faster boot time.

Many popular applications are available for a wide variety of operating systems. For example [[Mozilla Firefox]], [[OpenOffice.org]]/[[LibreOffice]] and [[Blender (software)|Blender]] have downloadable versions for all major operating systems. Furthermore, some applications were initially developed for Linux, such as [[Pidgin (software)|Pidgin]], and [[GIMP]], and were ported to other operating systems including [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Mac OS X]] due to their popularity. In addition, a growing number of proprietary desktop applications are also supported on Linux;<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.iist.unu.edu/globaldesktop/ | title = The Global Desktop Project, Building Technology and Communities|accessdate =7 May 2006 }}</ref> see [[List of proprietary software for Linux]]. In the field of animation and visual effects, most high end software, such as [[Maya (software)|Autodesk Maya]], Softimage XSI and [[Shake (software)|Apple Shake]], is available for Linux, Windows and/or Mac OS X. There are also [[Linux gaming#Commercial games|several companies]] that have ported their own or other companies' games to Linux, with Linux also being a supported platform on both the popular ''[[Steam (software)|Steam]]'' and ''[[Desura]]'' digital distribution services.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/a-2012-review-and-whats-in-store-for-2013.1591/ | title = A 2012 review and what's in store for 2013?| accessdate=2013-01-02 | last=Dawe |first=Liam | date =2013-01-01 | publisher=Gaming on Linux}}</ref>

Many types of applications available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X are also available for Linux. Commonly, either a [[free software]] application will exist which does the functions of an application found on another operating system, or that application will have a version that works on Linux, such as with [[Skype]] and some [[Linux gaming#Commercial games|video games]]. {{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} Furthermore, the [[Wine (software)|Wine]] project provides a Windows compatibility layer to run unmodified Windows applications on Linux. [[CrossOver]] is a proprietary solution based on the open source [[Wine (software)|Wine]] project that supports running Windows versions of [[Microsoft Office]], [[Intuit]] applications such as [[Quicken]] and [[QuickBooks]], [[Adobe Photoshop]] versions through CS2, and many popular games such as ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. In other cases, where there is no Linux port of some software in areas such as [[desktop publishing]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freeos.com/articles/2540/ |title=Microsoft Office for Linux? |accessdate=3 February 2008 |last=Advani |first=Prakash |date=27 October 2000 |work=FreeOS |publisher=FreeOS Technologies (I) Pvt. Ltd. }}</ref> and [[professional audio]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks/linux-audio.ars |title=Editing audio in Linux |accessdate=3 February 2008 |last=Smith-Heisters |first=Ian |date=11 October 2005 |work=Ars Technica |publisher=Ars Technica, LLC }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/linux-its-not/apr-07/27458 |title=Linux: It's Not Just For Computer Geeks Anymore |accessdate=3 February 2008 |last=Lumma |first=Carl |date = April 2007|work=Keyboard Magazine |publisher=New Bay Media, LLC. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb04/articles/mirrorimage.htm |title=Using Linux For Recording & Mastering |accessdate=3 February 2008 |last=James |first=Daniel |date = February 2004|work=Sound On Sound |publisher=SOS Publications Group }}</ref> there is equivalent software available on Linux.