aaron, you are the first person that i have come across that do their email communication in almost all lower case. i have done that for years to colleagues inside the company but have used proper capitalization for outside communication.
Aaron J. Seigo wrote: > (note: deleting unused text in replies is nice(tm)) > > On Tuesday 18 April 2006 08:32, Juan Alberto Cirez wrote: > >> years; but rather to illustrate a simple reality (which seems to have >> escaped most everyone): Windows is the number one desktop OS. Linux is >> > > i think we all realize that. you'd have be somewhat mentally challenged not > to. > > >> not. Windows is supported by most--if not all--OEMs; Linux is not. A >> > > ditto. > > >> blind monkey can install, and use windows productively. With Linux, on >> someone once said that if you have a roomful of monkeys in a room and given time, they can produce a Shakespearian masterpiece. most distros are getting there if not there already. many of the linux software are starting to streamline their installation like kolab, openoffice. easy installation is only part of the issue. if one looks at other aspects like reliability, strategic structuring of data, maintainability, security and recoverability, linux has considered and implemented this right out of the box. > ah .. so -that's- why "video professor" makes so much money selling windows > how-to cd's! and why so many people struggle daily with windows! > > no, the -only- reason why most people in office professions can deal with > windows is because they are trained on it. and even then, most are marginally > proficient. > > >> the other hand, such monkey would need to be a bit smarter than the >> average Congo gorilla(which all of us on this list are). >> > > it is precisely this out-dated viewpoint that KDE/Linux is somehow Not Ready > due to usability that some continue to hold on to that i was trying to > address. > > 3 years ago (or was it only 2?) a professional, independent study was done > that put people who had only used win98 in front of either a winXP system or > a KDE/Linux system. despite KDE/Linux being a wildly different OS from > windows, they managed to complete the same tasks as they did on winXP with > ~10% time difference with no training and on the first usage. > > once KDE is installed properly on a system (which is really an advanced user > or a system integrator's job, much as properly installing Windows is), it's > not the horrible mess it was 5 years ago. i've personally supported non-tech, > average users on KDE for a number of years and have discovered that this > anecdotal experience reflects the above mentioned study. > > there are entire hospitals, banks, record stores, manufacturing plants, etc, > etc... running on KDE out there. these places are not staffed with > ubermunchen (see how i brought it back to nietzsche? ;) but regular people. > heck, *taco bell* is currently setting up their kde/linux deployment for > in-store usage alongside their in-store linux servers. it doesn't get much > more prole than that. > > so while we face challenges to adoption today, the ease of use issue isn't it. > > >> Yes, we are and >> will continue to make progress to make Linux easier to use to the >> average user; but even then we will need the support of "Aristocratic >> Society" to become a "mainstream", desktop OS. >> > > what i take issue with is the concept that big business will drive this to > success rather than jump on the bandwagon post-success. this thinking leads > directly to trying to pander to these people as opposed to our real user base > and the next market segments that we can cross to easiest (which isn't > enterprise, btw). if you think "aristocratic society" has -any- clue as to > what's going on here, i suggest looking at ibm's laughably bad "workplace" > linux offering or the "strategies" of companies such as dell. > > more good is happening right now in desktop deployment due to companies such > as Linspire, Mandriva and Xandros than most of the rest. Intel is putting a > huge push into these things as well. and yet -still- most of the development > and vision comes from outside of -all- of these companies. > > where i do agree is that "big business" will eventually become the primary > distribution channel through which people will get their kde and gnu/linux > systems. > linux success will not be driven by big business but by individuals and small business. one current example is the telcos (telephone service providers), new brunswick has one of the most advance telcos in canada, the reason why is because they are so small that to change their infrastructure, they don't have the bureaucracy, the capital constraints, the coverage (small provice) nor the requirement to support legacy systems whereas a province like ontario. > >> Also, the reason Linux has gained such respect and popularity as a >> server OS is simply because Most Systems Administrators (even the >> Windows ones) have a greater understanding of computer systems than the >> average users (and in most cases do have a say in the kind of network >> hardware/software that it is used in their environment) and can more >> easily grasp the advantages of using Linux over Windows in a server >> environment. >> > > for the enterprise and enthusiast markets, indeed. and so very little effort > went into making Linux accessible to the average user until relatively > recently. > > here's an interesting little tidbit to chew on though: more people in the > SMB/SME space pick linux on the server when it comes with a nice GUI that's > easy to point-n-click on. this happens to be because the decision makers in > these situations often are not those with "greater understanding" or have to > work with those without "greater understanding". > > >> You can argue all you want about the effects of disruptive >> technology and the power of grass-root movements; but not until either >> the average users becomes more computer literate or the OEMs throw their >> support behind Linux 'en masse' will Linux become all that it was meant to. >> > > they will be the delivery channels (no surprise there), but have had very > little impact in the development, improvement and current market demand for > desktop linux. > i disagree on both counts, the average user does not need nor wants to be more computer literate. i know people that are writers and what they want to do is write, not how the computer operates. most people want to use a computer as a tool, no different than a hammer or a fork - they have a job or task and they want to get it done and if a tool can help or do a better job, then great. secondly, it is not because the oems are not supporting linux but rather many have been threaten by ms to have their licensed pulled if they do not support ms exclusively. this also has occurred with many of the laptop manufacturers as well. if the both products had equal opportunity (equal shelf space), then i would think initially ms would outsell linux because of shear brand recognition, however over time i think the average consumer choose linux over ms. regardless of the performance, superiority or cost, there will always be a role for both linux and ms. > continue your "we need the angels" dreaming if you wish, but we would be > waiting forever for nothing if we took that route. even the people at Intel > and IBM have started to understand this and are working at supporting and > stimulating the grass roots side of the projects. and what do you think > google's SoC is all about? as scary as it might be for those who believe > strongly in power structure based systems, it is actually happening > differently than that here (happening, not "going to happen" or "will > happen") > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > clug-talk mailing list > [email protected] > http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca > Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) > **Please remove these lines when replying _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [email protected] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
