____/ Charlie Wilkes on Thursday 13 March 2008 11:55 : \____
> On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:20:50 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | But maybe the decision was much more personal. There is a strong
>> executive | tie between Microsoft and Wal-Mart. |
>
> Bah! I have been reading the back-and-forth about this WalMart thing for
> two days now. It's time for Linux enthusiasts to face the facts. Linux
> is not yet fully mainstream, and it presents idiosyncrasies and rough
> edges that most WalMart customers would be hard-pressed to address.
>
> Example 1: I had a hell of a time setting up a dialup connection on my
> laptop... I figured out what kind of modem I had, installed the right
> driver, configured everything properly, and then had to spend two hours
> hunting for information so I could figure out why it didn't work.
> Fortunately I've got a dual-boot setup with XP so I could do that. It
> turns out the version of sl-modem-daemon in the default repository is
> broken, and I needed to replace it with an older version.
>
> Example 2: The other day I wanted to do something I seldom do, which was
> to post a binary on Usenet. It turns out I can't do that with Pan,
> because that feature hasn't been developed yet. So I had to hunt down a
> solution and finally found a command-line program called Newspost.
>
> I don't mind these little challenges... they are educational. And the
> benefits of being willing to deal with them include a better interface
> and snappier performance than I get on this same machine when I boot to
> XP.
>
> But the kind of person who buys a computer at WalMart is not interested
> enough in technology, or well enough informed about how to troubleshoot
> computer problems, to deal with such things. They will be lucky to get
> it out of the box and set up properly. And if they know someone who can
> help them with technical problems, chances are that person knows a little
> about Windows and nothing about Linux.
>
> I am a Linux advocate in the sense that I use it, I like it, and I want
> to see it make progress in the marketplace. But at the same time,
> intellectual honesty is important. WalMart did not stop selling Linux
> machines in its stores as part of a FUD campaign. They are a public
> company, answerable to shareholders who want profits, not FUD. WalMart
> made a business decision about how to most profitably utilize their floor
> space. End of story.
>
> Charlie
for the record, I do not believe or suggest there is a management conspiracy
here, but I do suspect that the media's reaction was unnatural. I watch many
feeds and never before have I seen such a /flood/ of misleading headlines and
insults (yes, some headlines generalised and even insulted). The closest thing
to this which I can recall was in May last years when Microsoft issued patent
threats against FOSS. The media added _A LOT_ of unnecessary drama. I wasn't
alone in noticing this. Even scientists published some things about how it was
orchestrated.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Yes, I know, but does it run Linux?"
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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