Very Computer

Many of the posts in here *ing about problems with Linux are rather
worrying. They seem to think that Linux is being pitched at average users -
when it really is not.

Sure, there are some companies pitching at the desktop, but they are not the
people who decide where linux goes and how it gets there. The core
developers write it _for them_ in the large part  - they scratch their own
itches and then let everyone else share in their work. That is the whole
GNU philosophy.

IMO it is a superb way to do business - there are bits of sheer brilliance
in the GNU system that are unequalled elsewhere. However, this raw
creativeness comes at a cost - things are very diverse in the GNU world,
and may be more complex than in a coordinated single project. This is not a
disadvantage but something superb which in many cases you life easier, not
harder, as apps are developed to meet a purpose not to fit into a template.

This means then that to take advantage of the technically superb GNU
utilities and operating systems you need to put in a little effort, a
little thought, you won't get handed everything on a plate. If this upsets
you then you can ignore it if you like, but I choose (as do many others) to
take full advantage of the great OS and applications, and hopefully give
something back where I develop solutions to scratch my itch.

If you don't like the way your dektop looks, fix it. If you don't like the
applications work, fix it. If your hardware isn't supported, fix it. None
of these things are beyond you, it just requires a modicum of thought and
patience, and I love that aspect of Linux.

--
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Quote:> Many of the posts in here *ing about problems with Linux are
> rather worrying. They seem to think that Linux is being pitched at
> average users - when it really is not.

This is why Linux desktop is destined to be number two in about a years
time and not *now*.

Quote:> Sure, there are some companies pitching at the desktop, but they are
> not the people who decide where linux goes and how it gets there. The
> core developers write it _for them_ in the large part  - they scratch
> their own itches and then let everyone else share in their work. That
> is the whole GNU philosophy.

So Linux is for core developers and the rest of the world can go to hell?
Is that a good philosophy for Linux to be accepted?

Quote:> IMO it is a superb way to do business - there are bits of sheer
> brilliance in the GNU system that are unequalled elsewhere. However,
> this raw creativeness comes at a cost - things are very diverse in the
> GNU world, and may be more complex than in a coordinated single
> project. This is not a disadvantage but something superb which in many
> cases you life easier, not harder, as apps are developed to meet a
> purpose not to fit into a template.

You say it comes at a cost, then you say it's not a disadvantage? If its
at a cost, then I'd say its at a disadvantage!

Quote:> This means then that to take advantage of the technically superb GNU
> utilities and operating systems you need to put in a little effort, a
> little thought, you won't get handed everything on a plate. If this
> upsets you then you can ignore it if you like, but I choose (as do
> many others) to take full advantage of the great OS and applications,
> and hopefully give something back where I develop solutions to scratch
> my itch.

Then I would say that technically superb GNU is not as technically superb
as you say it is.

Quote:> If you don't like the way your dektop looks, fix it. If you don't like
> the applications work, fix it. If your hardware isn't supported, fix
> it. None of these things are beyond you, it just requires a modicum of
> thought and patience, and I love that aspect of Linux.

I don't have time for that. It's like saying "here's a kit car, go build
it yourself". I'd rather have one sleek working one out of the box. That
is not Linux.

--
Pete Goodwin, running on Windows XP

This is precisely why I think that the initial market for Linux desktops is
corporate. In this situation Linux is precisely what they want. They can
quickly image a machine for new users. It's virus-resistant and stays the
way it was configured. It's remote-configurable from the word "go". The
very things that home users complain about are the things that many
companies look for.

This year you'll see companies deploying it on corporate desktops. During
the same year you'll see a development push to make it more palatable to
home consumers. But it won't be until the end of 2004 that you'll see it
begin to be widely adopted by the home market. That's still my prediction
and I'm sticking to it.

Quote:> 2. The problem arises when things need to be changed. When MS specific web
> sites don't work, files need to be transported to and from Windows users
> and when hardware needs to be upgraded.

> If it were a Linux world this would be a moot point, but reality states it
> is a Microsoft world and even the Mac users are pawns in the scheme of
> things.

> Like it or not, we all have to work with what we have and when what we
> have is 95 percent of desktop systems running Microsoft, we have a
> problem.

>  A big problem.

Yet not insurmountable. It just takes time and effort.

--
Dave Leigh, Consulting Systems Analyst
Cratchit.org

He's wrong, though, if you think about the latest major distros.

BZZZZ.

The reality is that Linux, like Windows, has a wide range of users.
Every frickin' one of them will find some crapass excuse to complain.

Quote:> The reality is that Linux, like Windows, has a wide range of users.
> Every frickin' one of them will find some crapass excuse to complain.

Wow. I agree with you for once.

Simon