On 02/11/10 18:48, Bryn Jones wrote: > On Tue, 2010-11-02 at 18:20 +0000, Sean Gibbins wrote: > >> Leading on from that, one more (hopefully pertinent) question: why does >> Linux need to change beyond the continuous improvement we already see? >> I'll qualify that further by asking anyone answering it to step back >> from this release or that particular release and ponder it over, say, >> the last five years and several distributions. >> >> Sean >> > OK I'll bite.... > > Linux has quietly been becoming more 'user' friendly over the past few > years, but it's not there yet as a 'normal user desktop'. Let me clarify > this - it is for 'me', and I actively promote it amongst my social group > and when I was working would slip the odd Linux server in where I could > (bearing in mind that for the past x years I worked for windoze software > houses).... > > When I say it's not there 'yet' a huge part of this is users not being > exposed to Linux. An image issue... I had one guy who whinged constantly > about pidgin but shut up when I installed aMSN, the issue? well from > what I could tell it was just that it looked different to the MSN > Messenger interface he knew.... > > These days I can install various distro's on most hardware without > having to scratch my head over drivers. But for example Meego which is > run by the Linux Foundation, Nokia and others and designed for Netbooks > and mobile devices does not ship with the drivers for 'my' netbook's > WiFi.... Yeah 'I' could sort that out... But it would have stumped a > 'new' user. > > If say for example in *buntu I want to change the default application > for another I need to know where that new application is in the file > system.... It does not intuitively provide the application as an option > or for example, when I fire that application up it does not ask an > appropriate question 'Do you want to associate this application to X'. > Again not an issue for me but it's been a niggle for a user... > > I am evangelical about Linux, because it's Open Source, It's community > based, because I dislike M$'s licensing, because I'm bloody minded and I > love convincing people to use Asterisk rather than spending £££'s on a > new PBX, and I really enjoyed the state of confusion that one of my > 'clients' had when I explained he didn't have to pay for the bit of > 'Dark Magic' software that saved him a day a week's work....
All good stuff, but referring back to my original point, five years ago all of the above would have been a bloody sight harder to accomplish than it is now, and in five years time much of it will be a lot easier or even trivial. We have continuous improvement that is moving steadily in the right direction, and the thing about steady change is that it is often more sustainable than the sudden, reactive variety. There's undoubtedly some way to go, but it's also fair to say that massive gains have been made with regard to drivers and hardware compatibility in Linux. The reason for the gap between Linux and the other big two is predominantly that hardware manufacturers perceive that Linux does not provide the same revenue as coding drivers for MS and Apple compatible hardware, and as such they are tempted into aiding and abetting the monopolistic business practices of these companies by a bigger pay cheque. I don't think we can blame that on any failings of Linux as such, but rather on human nature. I actively promote Linux where it is appropriate, but when I encounter folks whose expectations are too high or whose investment of time and effort is likely to be too low, I quietly step aside and let them pay for instant gratification or hassle-free* computing. > Whoah I just kinda ranted and made limited sense and wandered way off > what I planned to say!!!... Oh well.... Nah, rant away Bryn! Sean * yeah, right! -- music, film, comics, books, rants and drivel: www.funkygibbins.me.uk -- Next meeting: Crown Hotel, Blandford Forum, Tuesday 2010-11-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
