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
|
|
