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Re: Fool.Com
"R A Kaup sr." <papaw626@earthlink.net> wrote:
>...I think both missed the third and I thought central issue of the
>article. Desktop use and most importantly "Ease of desktop use".
I didn't miss it, but I chose not to comment on it. EVERY Linux article
discusses "ease of use" on the desktop; I was intersting in highlighting
other aspects of the article.
>... but as is said " Not ready for Prime Time" Sorry Bob but from a
>newbie point of view this is all to true.
No need to apologize to me, Robert. I can understand your point of view, but
it is apparant that many people are buying this stuff, and perhaps they are
putting it to use rather quickly. I can't say where you stand on that path,
no do I know how long you've taken compared to others.
Similarly, we don't need to settle the "not ready for prime-time" issue here,
partly because I feel its a side issue, and partly because the market is going
to fix it for us. When I see something I need or want to set up, I do it, and
I must admit that I'm relatively insensitive to whether or not it is as easy
as possible to use. At the end of the day, what I need to have accomplished
gets done, and I do note where it can be improved for next time.
>....This is the next big hurdle for linux....
One hurdle Linux has to overcome is that reputation seems to trail reality by
a fair amount, maybe 4-8 months. The reality is that there are LOTS of desktop
applications out there for Linux, but that has not hit the trade press yet. I
will agree that there are FEWER apps for Linux than there are for Windows, but
I also feel this is no a good way to look at things. I really don't care if the
OS I'm using has 80,000 apps for it, or 8,000. Similarly, I don't care if there
are 300 word processing applications, or 50. I DO care about two things:
- That there are enough applications in a particular niche for there to
be competition.
- That there is at least ONE application that I can use to accomplish my
goal.
>The Microsoft trial and its future ending is not going to impact this much
>on the good side. In fact may do just the opposite...
That's right; people have this funny notion that when this litigation is over,
Someones going to behead Bill Gates and carry his head around on a pike. In
reality, nothing could be more silly. The effect of the outcome of this whole
trial is going to be much more complex, much more subtle, than anything like
that. No matter what happens, we're going to be living with the consequences
for years to come.
>...if Microsoft frees up it's code and more people can add good
>improvements, as the linux groups and individuals have, it may improve
>to the point to be a real rival to the vaunted and deserved dependability
>of linux.
I don't see this happening, but if it does, I wouldn't be opposed to it. After
all, competition and success based on merit are values that exemplify the Linux
community, we probably all share these to a great degree. If it applies to
Linux now, why wouldn't it apply to anything that meets the same standards, or
better?
>Well my attempt to turn this conversation to desktops ends here. Hope I gave
>you something to think about.
You have, Robert, and one thing I want to do is install and try out a few other
Linux distributions, such as Caldera and Mandrake; this new EasyLinux is
another candidate. Actually, one reason I did not write a lot about desktops
is that it's clear to me that Red Hat (the only Linux in use around here at
the moment) has been bypassed as "best desktop", and writing about it would
expose my ignorance in a most embarrasing way (instead of 'fessing up to it,
like I'm doing here! :) I've installed enough MS stuff to know what "ease of
install" is, and it is already clear that NT 4.0 doesn't lead the pack any
more. I've heard great things about Mandrake as a desktop, comparing it to NT
or Windows 2000 beta would be interesting.
Regards,
---> RGB <---