Robin T Cox <nomail@xxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> You really have to wonder ...
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/06/opensource.olpc
>
><quote>
> Until now, the received wisdom has been that GNU/Linux will never take
> off with general users because it's too complicated. One of the signal
> achievements of the Asus Eee PC is that it has come up with a front end
> that hides the richness of the underlying GNU/Linux. It divides programs
> up into a few basic categories - Internet, Work, Learn, Play - and then
> provides large, self-explanatory icons for the main programs within each
> group. The result is that anyone can use the system without training or
> even handholding.
>
<snip>
>
> In the process, she hopes to spawn an entirely new generation of
> computers. "We'll have decent, highly portable, rugged, multi-use
> computers everywhere. That poses constraints on the circumstances of use
> - the input aspects and the screens, the networking and the software, all
> will have to evolve." If they're to be cheap enough for many people in
> developing countries to buy, these systems will almost certainly be using
> open source, but Jepsen doesn't see the zero price tag as its main
> advantage: "The true and large value of free [software] is the ability to
> change and customise it."
>
> In other words, Microsoft could give away its software, and it still
> couldn't compete with the truly open, customisable nature of free code.
> It seems that the only way Microsoft can hope to get people using its
> software on this new class of low-cost, ultraportable machines is by
> going fully open source itself.
></quote>
>
As I've always said, the real gain is avoidance of lock-in by putting
control into the hands of the customer. The traditional proprietary
lock-in model is very nasty... foss unlocks this well indeed.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
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