http://www.expressresponse.com/cgi-bin/forbes/displayArticleWebForm.cgi
From: Curtis Sloan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: CLUG General <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: CLUG General <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [clug-talk] Inflammatory anti-Linux article Date: Sun, 04 Apr 2004 10:02:07 -0600
Right on, man! I don't see any problems with your rebuttal. (/me didn't RTFA ;-)
Do they have a reply forum? I would say if there's a place to provide feedback, these comments would do nicely.
Grrrr. Now I'm likewise steamed. Guess I must be a OS/2 zealot. Or something. ;-P
Curtis
On Sun April 4 2004 05:50, Brian Horncastle wrote:
> Heya,
>
> This isn't the first anti-linux article I�ve seen on Forbes, but this one
> seemed particularly harsh, in my opinion.
>
> http://www.forbes.com/2003/06/17/cx_ld_0617linux.html
>
> This article makes all kinds of inflammatory comments such as:
>
> QUOTE: "Judging from the holy war being waged by proponents of Linux PCs,
> it's clear that Linux is becoming the OS/2 of its time."
> RESPONSE: How is Linux anything like OS/2? I don't see similarities on any
> level. This comment is completely unsupported.
>
> QUOTE: "There is also a lack of mainstream applications for Linux PCs, and
> that's not going to change anytime soon. Sure, there are open-source
> software suites like StarOffice and OpenOffice, but beyond that it's slim
> pickings."
> RESPONSE: Hrmmm... I guess the 90084 applications on Sourceforge and the
> 51482 applications on Freshmeat don't count then? I guess all those Open
> Source applications used in industry today don�t count? This reporter so
> easily dismisses the whole Open Source model, implying that Open Source
> software is somehow inferior� just because she doesn�t see software in a
> box she assumes there is none.
>
> QUOTE: �To be sure, computer users have been tempted to smash their Windows
> PCs to bits. After all, freeze-ups, shutdowns and fatal errors are still an
> all-too-frequent part of the everyday computing experience. And because
> Microsoft tends to take a kitchen-sink approach to software development,
> most users pay for features they will never use or don't even know exist.
> But, for most, it's better than the Linux alternative.�
> RESPONSE: In this article she completely contradicts herself. On one hand
> she says how frustrated people are with Windows and then suddenly jumps to
> saying that it�s still better than Linux. Well why? Why is it better than
> Linux? She doesn�t explain or support this comment at all.
>
> QUOTE: �Mainstream computer users (those uncomfortable opening, programming
> or reconfiguring a computer) would not be satisfied with Linux PCs. Large
> and medium-sized corporate customers are probably not a good fit either.�
> RESPONSE: This statement makes me wonder if she has ever seen or done
> anything with Linux. If she had used Linux any time in the past 4-5 years
> she would be well aware of the advancements with desktop environments such
> as KDE and Gnome, which are easy to use for both �mainstream� and corporate
> users. Not to mention the constant improvements being made in Linux
> distributions. She just needs to look at Knoppix, Red Hat, Mandrake, and
> Suse to know that configuration is anything but difficult�. certainly no
> more so than on Windows. In most cases configuration is easier. Heck
> Knoppix auto-detects and auto-configures practically everything. Sure if
> someone wants to spend the time recompiling their kernel all the more power
> to them, but the fact is it�s not required.
>
> QUOTE: �That leaves technically savvy individuals and Microsoft haters to
> make a market for Linux PCs.�
> RESPONSE: Well considering her previous comment that �computer users have
> been tempted to smash their Windows PCs to bits� I guess that means that
> everyone is on our side.
>
>
> Overall this article seemed to be somewhat all over the place. Most of the
> points made were either contradicted or ill informed. Anyway, this article
> got me a bit steamed up so I thought I would share. Be interested to hear
> what others think.
>
> Regards,
>
> Brian
>
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