> Or, I see that using proprietary, controlled communication protocols is a > bad idea (Gaim). A new user shouldn't see any problems with OpenOffice.org > (AFAIK the problem you mention only happens on upgrade).
Only one problem with this - a new Linux user doesn't know or care about open source vs proprietary politics, or that using Yahoo and MSN is bad while Jabber is good, or whatever. We can TEACH them about this later, once we HAVE them as users. Problem is if they can't do the simple things they do every day with windows - and as much as I hate to admit it, online chat is a big one, they won't stay to learn why they can't - they'll just leave.
Absolutely.
Policies, ethics, and manifestos are all good and nice, and should never be forgotten. That doesn't mean they should never be broken, and it doesn't mean that they should always be put ahead of success.
I think this whole argument is geeting silly. The simple points are...
1. many people use IM's
2. jabber is not an option for most people since their friends don't use it
3. potential Windows converts are always looking for a reason that Linux can't perform as well as Windows
4. people often rate a distro based on one trial installation, and often never try it again
5. reviewers are very likely to say: "Hey this is cool... Mandrake has made sure their IM clients work by providing an online, last-minute update, that involves and automated 2.1 MB download of gaim, if (and only if) gaim was installed by the user."
6. reviewers are equally likely to say something stupid like: "We installed Mandrake 9.2, and we couln't access AOL or MSN instant messaging. If you require instant messaging, we suggest gentoo."
At the end of the day, ten experts are mad because we broke the updates policy, and a thousand users are happy that instant messaging works out of the box.
Austin
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Austin Acton
Synthetic Organic Chemist, Teaching Assistant, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto
MandrakeLinux Volunteer Developer, homepage: www.groundstate.ca