First Off, Bravo Brian,
Glad too see some people who do not take such things personally..
On Sat, 08 Jan 2000, you wrote:
> Your question doesn't really answer my quesion, so let me make my
> question more clear: are we trying to capture a percentage of the
> Windows user base or not? If no, we can drop this thread now. If yes,
> then what percentage? Small, medium, large, or as many as we can?
Me, i dont think it should be a case of "just" trying to pull people
away from MS in itself, with a "junk" distro, just too get them to buy
it, because it may or may not work on a large percentage of older
comps, as per Corel, but they dont have to get there hands wet...
but rather, i believe, it should be build right from the beginning,
which it will setup nicely at the start, with some config in the
install, for what ever u would like installed ( my one and only
ache with Mandrake now, is it's default base instal , reguardless of
what u select ) and if need to get your hands a wee bit wet to
configure some hardware, then so be it.
One big difference between MS and Linux, is the fact, that , if you do
need some help, there will always be an answer on a mailing list, and
i think that point goes alot further with people switching to Linux,
than the fact, that they may need to get in and type some abscure
letters in a term. I think this point alone, when people realize it,
after seeing how nicely it does setup now, is more than enough to
switch people...
Case in point my roommate, hell, she does not even know windows that
well, let alone shutting it down, but she is all hyped about learning
how to function in Mnadrake here now, even though i have her do the
typing for config files.......she just likes the idea of not having to
worry about a blue screen coming up when she wants to save her
work..... :) especially knowing if she does " delete" something by
mistake, she will not have to reinstall Linux again, or even call a
support line for help....
> Nothing if they want to learn. Most don't. Most want to turn on the
> computer get their business done and be done with it. We (hackers) are
> not the majority of users. We (hackers) are not the critical mass that
> Linux (companies) is(are) striving to reach.
I think, as stated above, most will not mind learning something new, to
config there system right, especially, when knowing someone on some
mailing list will hold their hand , in some of the more abscure editing
requirements..... and sorry, me myself, i'm not a "hacker" per se, i
just Love having the control of the comp. :)
I still kick myself for not continuing with programming way back in
high school ( 17 yrs ago ), but hey, the Joy that Linux has giving me,
while i get back into comps, is quickly overiding that.... ( just a
wanabe here :) )
> I agree with you 100%. That is a great joy for me. It is not for Joe
> Average User though.
This as you know, i disagree with, if it works more efficiently than
MS, i believe they will switch over, especially with more Linux showing
up on desktops at work
> We are hopefully after something better than MS, but from a user point
> of view, yes they want to open the box install it and have it go. If it
> does not, it will not be seen as an attractive alternative to the
> "break-and-go-and-break-and-go..." OS that they already have.
Yes, this is very true, but i think, as long as there are as many
different standards on hardware now a days, not very likely in the near
future, unless we get too a point of 1 standard, and we know 1 standard
does not make to many people much money.....So far, i believe the
Mandrake team, and other Linux' , have done a super job of getting it
operating on such a variety of hardware to date, with the biggest
stumbling block being the install, but as we have seen with iso3, it
is, to me at least, the biggest turn around for home comp users to
date, and thats only going to get better...
> > Just some thoughts Brian, not a flame,
>
> I didn't take it as a flame. Just try to keep in mind that Mandrake is
> a company with a payroll and expenses and all that, just like MS, and
> they do need to (continue) to make a profit to succeed. To make that
> profit all while selling a relatively inexpensive OS, they need to have
> a critical mass. Hackers are not that critical mass, Joe Average User
> is.
>
> > When you buy a new car, you always have to read the manual to see how
> > everything functions in it.
>
> Indeed, but you are not asked to lift the hood and put spark plugs in to
> get it off the lot. The car manual would be (roughly) the equivillent of
> (say) the Gnome user's manual.
Yes, true, but i dont think alot of people would mind changing them,
especially if someone will hold their hand for free to show them
how.... :)
Ok, so i'm long winded again, and i appologize once again..... i just
believe it's better to hold someone's hand and show them, rather than
treating them like they are clueless to start with. ( i think this
beautiful planet of ours, has to much of that now adays )...i have not
met many people, considering the prize, who are not willing to put a
little effort into learning a little bit of info to have a very nice
comp to work on.....
Cheers All
David
