What Linux needs.

Okay, so let me preface this a bit so people won't be like "hurr durr X is better than linux/windows/mac". I have a Windows 7 computer and two Ubuntu computers. I use Mac OS X regularly because it's what my school uses. I know my way around a computer. I've built about 20 or something at NextStep Recycling, not to mention the two at my house. I'm not taking sides here, I'm just pointing out some stuff.

What I'm trying to address here is the limitations that Linux has in a competitive market with Windows (the current most widely used PC platform) and Mac (whose fanbase is about as rabid as a tapeworm). People have needs that are not being fulfilled by linux, stuff that I know can be fixed, but I don't think anyone's really thought about it because linux isn't really considered as a newbie OS.

Which it kind of needs to be, in order for people to realize the obvious benefits of linux (everything is FUCKING FREE, to start with). So here's the list. There might be more later, this is a short list.

1. iTunes.
I know. I hate iTunes. I think it blows. But it has such a deathgrip on the mp3 player realm that it's kind of impossible for someone to not expect a linux user to have an iPod. iTunes is just barely usable on linux with Wine, but it is so flawed and unresponsive that it's basically worthless to install anyway. There needs to be a Linux-iTunes port, and a workable one. Whether this should be a job of Apple or the Linux community, I don't know. But a lot of the people I know who have used Linux have ditched it because of the lack of iTunes, which is kind of sad.

2. Games.
I have a kickass computer. It can run just about any game on Windows. There was a short period that I was running Ubuntu, out of necessity. I love Ubuntu. It's slick, it's pretty, and it works. But I was often found... um... bored. Linux is kind of lacking in the games category, which turned my nVidia GT220 into a glorified wobbly-windows generator.

3. A Unified Executable.
Windows has .exe files, Apple has .app. Linux is, as a whole, missing a unified executable file. I know, most of the time this is unnecessary if you've mastered installing tarballs or .debs or whatever, but face it. The average idiot who is just starting linux does not want to deal with tarballs. Debs are better, but they only work in Debian-esque distros. Linux needs an executable that works on all distros, and is easy enough for the dumbest guy to figure out.