Desktop Linux (fwd)

[Derek Martin]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2004 at 07:40:07AM -0500, Travis Roy wrote:
> You also have to keep in mind the state of today's computer 
> buyers/users.  

This is, of course, essentially what I and others have been saying
throughout.

> People are bringing up the problem of installing Windows software,
> and dealing with windows drivers and the problems encountered
> there..  Most people that buy a computer today buy pre-built, 
> pre-installed WinXP machines from places like Dell, HP, or Gateway. 

Right.  This will happen for Linux only when businesses demand it.  Or
home users, but our argument is that businesses will (almost by
necessity) come first.  It is often said here that the average home
user can't handle installing windows any better than they can handle
installing Linux.  I think that's true as far as it goes, but it
misses an essential point:  The truth is that most home users can
handle both, if they set their mind to it; it's really not that hard
to install either.  Mostly, the process involves clicking on "Next" a
lot.  The problem is again one of perception, and more importantly
that most people simply don't want to be bothered.

> They take it out of the box and use it. They go and buy some USB 
> devices that plug in and just work. XP has come leaps and bounds over 
> Win98 and even 2k. It's easy to use, and very stable.

The hardware support argument is /almost/ a non-sequitur.  When
hardware works at all with linux, it almost always works seamlessly
and flawlessly.  IMNSHO, this is much less true with Windows, at least
historically.  I have run into more problems with bad drivers and
multiple conflicting drivers than I can shake a stick at.

Things are much better now for Windows than they were 10 years ago,
but the same is true for Linux.  And if your USB devices are supported
on Linux at all, as I said, you just plug them in and they work.  You
don't even need to install a device driver, as most distributions
already provide the appropriate kernel module pre-compiled. That's
better than Microsoft in a lot of cases.

Whether we're talking about software titles or hardware support, the
bottom line is that what you need is vendor support.  You'll only get
that when there's a mass demand for it.  That's STARTING to happen
now, as many businesses become fed up with Microsoft's shoddy software
and unfriendly business tactics.  As more businesses switch, others
will follow, and the market will build itself.

Is maddog right about 2004/5 being the timeframe?  Quite possibly, but
I don't know.  I hope so...  But there's no doubt in my mind that it's
not too far off.

-- 
Derek D. Martin
http://www.pizzashack.org/
GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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