I hesitate to add to this at all. I'm sure it will be misinterpreted. For the masses, Linux is useless on the desktop.
I've been using Linux since 99 and it has been my primary development platform since 2001. It is the foundation that, more or less, pays my bills and keeps the lights on. Until 3 years ago, I was a strong advocate to friends, family and colleges to use it on the desktop. Then an iMac came home. My wife and 4 kids, youngest at the time was 5, loved it. I have no idea why. But people I recommended Linux to always had issues, can't get my printer to work, can't plug in my camera, Flash is broken, Java doesn't work, blah blah blah. Usually all proprietary driver problems and/or some lame ass linux client application that was woefully useless compared to it's commercial, propriety counterparts. So now I tell people, if you want a great desktop experience, just pay the premium and buy a Mac. And don't call me when you can't get something to work. That's what the "Genius Bar" is for, lol. Now, if you are the French Police Service and you have 100,000 desktops to manage, that's an entirely different problem and well worth going down the garden path with Linux (Ubuntu). Here is why Linux on the desktop is a failure: It's designed by developers like you and me. Get a top notch design agency engaged, people that understand "user experience" and UI design, it could be a different story. We, developers, haven't come up with any UI improvements since the mid 80s. Just me two cents. Greg On 1 May 2012 12:59, Mel Walters <melwalt...@telus.net> wrote: > Robin, thanks for pointing out this article. > > <point moved to the top> > There should be nothing stopping FOSS from coming up the ultimate > solution... > Whether that involves using something like Linux Mint, OR using Debian > itself to solve is still up for debate in my mind. Yet I am unable to > spend the time I want on such a project at this time. > <END of point moved to the top> > > I have to agree for the most part, with the authors complaint of any > bothersome maintenance, especially on feeling the need to have to > reinstall to upgrade. Also the growing pains of Linux. > It's not like I agree with all he is saying either! > > For instance he moans there being so many versions of Linux. That's not > a problem in itself but confusion due to just to many ways to do things > is really a factor. > > It's simple really. Linux is GREAT the way it is, BUT look at the claims > of iXsystems PC-BSD. Then, can GNU/Linux come close or surpass the > PC-BSD claims. > In the short term I have my doubts. > So don't just scratch an your own itch, see the needs and fill them (my > biased opinion. > > Remember with PC-BSD they claim it is easy for both the user who just > wants it to work; and the very serious user who wants under the hood > (FreeBSD in that case) > > I would dearly like to hear your cases as to why we should use your > preference in OS/distro, etc. at the meeting. Think of "whats in it for > me?" (The COSSfest Question for the prospective ticket buyer.) > > Mel > > > On Sun, 2012-04-29 at 15:10 -0400, Richard Carter wrote: > > Hi Folks, > > > > > > This article may be of interest: > > http://www.economist.com/node/21551409 > > > > > > Robin > > _______________________________________________ > > clug-talk mailing list > > clug-talk@clug.ca > > 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 > clug-talk@clug.ca > http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca > Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) > **Please remove these lines when replying >
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