I am getting annoyed
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Abe Jul 17, 2005 9:56 AM EDT |
I am getting annoyed with reporters who still are uninformed enough or aware of the latest enhancements from FOSS in the areas of installation, maintenance, user friendliness and ease of use. These areas are subjective, relative and a matter of personal perspective. But, it is easy to find facts and tangible evidence if the reports would take the time and try to present their experience in an objective unbiased fashion. A number of reporters do that already and their findings are valuable feedback to FOSS, but numerous more, take the easy way out, and repeat things they read in other articles or heard some where on the Internet without really checking or evaluating their truthfulness let alone the credibility and capacity of their sources. This guy reports [ There are downsides to open source Latest News about open source of course, and Golden points out the most important drawback: ease of use. "Open-source programs are not quite as good with the 'fit and finish,'" he says. "Microsoft excels at offering wizards and so on that make it easier to get started with a product."] PCLinuxOS, Knoppix (and its derivatives), MEPIS, Kubuntu, Suse, Mandriva, etc... all have GUI interface to configure, maintain and support everything and anything on a standard Linux machine. Does this guys have an ulterior motive or what? He is basically bad mouthing FOSS to make it look like it is not easy and you need us to help you run it. Bad way to do that. It would have much better if he said that FOSS is easy to learn, it is as easy if not easier than Windows, but we can help you to run and use it better and more efficiently. I would have used the analogy of backing bread, everyone knows or can learn how to bake it, sometimes it might get burnt and sometimes it comes out half baked, but it is better to send your dough to the bakery because their experience will always get it just right. He could have said that they can help you to accomplish what you want sooner and better when you do not have the time to do it yourselves and you need to concentrate on your real work. But no, this guy found it easier and had to bad mouth FOSS thinking that, scaring people is more effective. On the contrary, unjustifiably scaring users will instead keep them away. There is no reason to deceive users. It would be much better to attract users by highlighting FOSS's strength and benefits without giving false information and impressions. He also says [ "Linux, though it has millions of fans, poses more technical challenges. It's more difficult to install and learn than Windows, though once you do so, it's as easy to use, according to reports from those who use it. As testimony to how mainstream Linux has become, you can now buy a Linux-based computer at Wal-Mart."] How is it "more difficult to install and learn"? PCLinuxOS, Knoppix (and its derivatives), MEPIS, and Kubuntu, have a LiveCD where any one who knows how to insert a CD into the drive can bring up Linux in few minutes and have a full fledged OS and hundreds of basic application that everyone uses without risking any loss of their current system or data? They can dip their feet and test the waters. Check their hardware, explore their favorite apps., test their data with Linux apps., explore the Internet, read and send e-mail, chat with AOL, MSN, Yahoo, etc.. and reboot to their original system without risking any thing. Eventually, if they like what they explored, they can install it permanently on their hardware as dual boot if they wish in less than few clicks and less that 30 minutes. Compare that with Windows installation of OS install, configuration, apps. installations which will, as a minimum, take about 3 to 4 hours if you know what you are doing. Let alone the time and headache that most have to go through to download latest vendor drivers, virus protection software, and MS patches that have to be downloaded. Let us not forget the cost of the OS and all the applications to make their computer a worth while usable system. Are these guys out of their minds or what? The guy also says: "though once you do so, it's as easy to use, according to reports from those who use it.". Haven't you tried it yourself to know whether it is easy or easier than Windows? I thought you were supposed to add value or are you a parakeet to just repeat what you hear? |
| hkwint Jul 18, 2005 2:00 AM EDT |
I agree. Moreover, this people ALWAYS forget the time they spent learning Windows. If it took them 2 years to learn Windows, they forget about it, and equal the time to learn Windows to 0. Then they compare that time, which is 'zero' in their opinion, with the time learning Linux. As you might expect, only if 'Linux' (whichever distro) looks exactly the same like Windows, they don't have to learn anything 'new', and only if they don't have to learn anything 'new', they're satisfied. It's a real shame this people never consider the 'other way around': Someone is used to Linux, to some portage system. When switching to Windows, they suddenly have to learn you should find software to download yourself, maybe pay for it, you should read the license and most of the time agree explicitely, choose location, and so on. And even after that, they have to learn how to use anti-adware etc. That's the way to compare! Windows takes time to learn too! But this people (most people anyway) don't even consider that fact, and that's not going to change until kids start learning Linux instead of Windows at school, at the first moment they start using a computer. I look forward for the future stories of that kids, and I think they will say Windows is more complicated to use than Linux. |
| dinotrac Jul 18, 2005 3:57 AM EDT |
Guys: You forget one minor point -- Most people ALREADY KNOW HOW TO USE WINDOWS!!! That means Windows is easier for most people. It doesn't matter that Windows gets an unfair head start. It doesn't matter that my wife, teenager and 9 year old all use Linux. The world is as it is, not as we wish it to be. No point in having a stroke over the facts of life. Just keep working to change them and remember one important thing: Linux people love Linux. Mac users love their Macs. Pretty much nobody loves Windows. |
| sbergman27 Jul 18, 2005 10:08 AM EDT |
Dean, Please do not drag reality into this. It is considered rude, and bad netiquette in general. This is a Linux forum, thanyouverymuch. That said, I pretty much agree. In particular: "The world is as it is, not as we wish it to be." Can you imagine what a different world it would be if more people subscribed to that belief? Then again, we don't so it's not. :-) I, having supported AT&T Unix '386, Xenix ('286 and '386, but not 8086), and SCO Unix at work for many years, switched my desktop to Linux in 1996. I just haven't had a need for Windows since then. Nowadays, when I *do* have to sit down and use Windows, I feel like a fish out of water. It is at those times that I can understand how the people I train on Linux desktops must feel. |
| dinotrac Jul 18, 2005 6:05 PM EDT |
Steve - Great perspective. I always feel more awkward in Windows than I do with my happy little KDE desktop. If only more people knew how much easier their lives could be if only they would muddle through the transition. |
| tuxchick Jul 18, 2005 6:26 PM EDT |
In my own words Windows is great, Windows is best Windows is better than a dead robin red-breast Windows is awesome, Windows is fine Windows is better than being a slave in a pitchblende mine Windows is wonderful, beautiful, and smells nice Windows is better than being frozen in dry-ice thank you. |
| salparadise Jul 18, 2005 10:28 PM EDT |
Windows is great, Windows is best
Windows is better than a dead robin red-breast
Windows is awesome, Windows is fine
Windows is better than being a slave in a pitchblende mine
Windows is wonderful, beautiful, and smells nice
Windows is better than being frozen in dry-ice They started putting something in the water where you live m'dear? |
| PaulFerris Jul 19, 2005 5:42 AM EDT |
tuxchick: You need to go to the Beer&Bytes during the weekly "geek chique poem core dump" -- that poem would get you a standing ovation (probably a free latte as well...) |
| dinotrac Jul 19, 2005 10:10 AM EDT |
Humph.
Poetry, eh? Well, two can screw up at that game: Roses are red, Violets are blue. Linux don't rhyme, but that's all it don't do. |
| schwach Jul 19, 2005 10:52 AM EDT |
tuxchick: That's pretty good! You should form a group like the Prodigy! Put some grooves behind those lyrics! |
| PaulFerris Jul 19, 2005 10:57 AM EDT |
c'mon Dean, you can do better than that! Oh, wait. Maybe that's your best. Roses are pink, Violets are Purple, Dinos' poems stink, That's for sure, er, pull. |
| schwach Jul 19, 2005 11:11 AM EDT |
I recently moved from supporting the Windows environments to supporting Solaris, HPUX, and AIX at work. This is something that I have been working towards for sometime now, and to celebrate I converted my last XP workstation to Gentoo/KDE with OOo, etc. I do DVD burning, listen to MP3's, scanning, printing, and even sync my iPaq with this workstation. In all honesty, this is a lot more stable than the XP system ever was, and I'm amazed on how much speed I've regained. It's so nice not to cripple a computer with Windows, the insanely large service packs, anti-virus, and anti-spyware, etc. There's nothing more frustrating than to do all of that (spending time, energy, money) for Windows just to have it wacked by the newest virus.. Now if only there was some way to get all of that time back.. :) |
| dinotrac Jul 19, 2005 12:15 PM EDT |
I think that I shall never see,
A Paulie lovely as a tree. But, at least, if he should fall, It won't be far 'cos he ain't tall. |
| PaulFerris Jul 19, 2005 7:27 PM EDT |
dinotrac: as usual, as I see, you must resort to quite un-PC, bashing of vertically challenged Paully :P |
| PaulFerris Jul 19, 2005 7:30 PM EDT |
schwach, convert to CPM, it's much lighter. The only problems are: 1) Accessing the web site "CPMer.com", which is curiously light on traffic (unlike this site). 2) The drive letter limitations. 3) The support for anything but 8 inch floppies as a storage medium. |
| dinotrac Jul 20, 2005 5:09 AM EDT |
Paulie: It's just so darned hard to resist!!!! |
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