__/ [Ian Hilliard] on Sunday 04 December 2005 20:50 \__
> On Sun, 04 Dec 2005 12:19:24 -0800, John Bailo wrote:
>
>> Ian Hilliard wrote:
>>
>>> Linux is getting better and better, but it is still an OS designed for
>>> Power Users by Power Users
>>
>>> OSX users for the most part are people who don't understand computers and
>>> don't want to understand computers.
>>
>>> Windows users on the other hand are usually just people who use the OS
>>> because they don't know any better.
>>
>> You create three distinct categories of OS users, but they are not
>> exclusive to any OS, and, in fact, Linux can fill all three slots (in
>> fact, the whole point of the OP was that Linux is now filling Apple's
>> shoes, as Apple is admitting in its guidance for 2006).
>>
>> For example, the three categories you propose are:
>>
>> 1) Power Users
>> 2) Simple Users
>> 3) Pre-installed Users
Interesting break-down.
>> (1) Power
>>
>> You say that Linux fulfills the needs of (1), Power Users. Well if you
>> include the scientific and engineering community (including IT) then
>> that's
>> 20 percent of the workforce. Throw in managers and financial oriented
>> professions and that's another 10 percent. Thank you very much, Linux
>> will take that!
>>
>
> This is currently the big growth area for Linux. I expect it to grow
> exponentially.
If you speak about /growth/, then yes. The total number of users will not
grow at such a high rate. I think it's a derivative of the pace of growth.
>> (2) Simplicity
>>
>> You trolls constantly refer to some arcane installation of a very high end
>> all inclusive distro as the reason why someone might have trouble
>> configuring Linux. I would say "yes"; however, that doesn't have to be
>> the case. In fact, OSX is "simple" only because the number of hardware
>> choices is so limited that they can "configure" OSX out of the box.
>
> This is very true, but OSX is also easy because the choices are very
> limited for most users. It is clear from the design of OSX that the user
> is to be protected from themselves. In most Linux distros there is the
> assumption that the user knows what they are doing. This is gradually
> changing, but even distros like Ubuntu can get pear shaped very quickly in
> the hands of someone that doesn't know what they are doing.
There is often the issue of over-customisation and lack of uniformity, which
is the result of leniency and eager for individuality. As a practical
instance, I would probably feel uncomfortable using somebody else's Linux
workstation. The WM might differ, the mouse focus policy might differ, the
menus are altogether different. Same with paths, control panels and basic
applications like a text editor.
>> There is nothing stopping someone from building a "MAC" with a
>> restricted set of hardware and a very limited number of applications
>> using FLOSS.
>>
>
> True, but this hasn't happened yet.
Ubuntu is getting nearer. *thumbs up*
>> In fact, businesses that are signing up with Novell Desktop are doing
>> just that.
>>
>> (3) Pre-installed
>>
>> Ok, so all you are saying here is that a very large number of people,
>> perhaps most, just use Windows "because it is there". Well, that
>> argument could apply to any and all OSes. I mean, you could say that
>> Apple users use OSX "because it is there". Right?
>
> Wrong, people buy Macs because of the nice hardware and because of OSX. As
> far as I am concerned, Linux is now user friendlier than Windows and
> improving rapidly. But, as I said before, OSX is still the one to catch
> when it comes to user friendliness and total integration. OSX is a well
> designed OS for computer illiterates.
I agree. Maybe distro assemblers can learn a few lessons from Apple and make
a Linux distribution that is adverse to "Linux as a platform for engineers".
Ubuntu gets close as I said, yet I don't think a bootloader and kernel panic
is what your 6-year-old needs to see when switching on the machine.
>> And in the new markets of India, China and so on, that is exactly what
>> they are doing: buying Linux machines and using it because it is there.
>
> These markets are helping Linux to find the lowest common denominator.
> This is good for getting Linux out there. Unfortunately, in the West a lot
> of people are afraid to leave their comfort zone, because they are too
> busy fighting a massive onslaught of malware. The joke of it all is that
> leaving Windows would solve all their problems. The masses have a long
> history of behaving like sheep.
Good point made.
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: Every polar bear is left-handed
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