> This is my opinion..... > > I sit on both edges of the OS fence (I use M$ aat work and Linux at home.) > Unfortunately, I can not see giving most of the users I work with any linux > packages at all. They would never get past the installations. Does this > mean they are ignorant. Yep! But, you would not want me doing brain > surgery either. > > I think LM should be working towards an "ignorant user" install option as > well (I like the ideas in the previous message!). If you really want to > convince the companies of "proprietary products" that the platform is one > they need to pay attention to, then we have to convince the general public > of the value of Linux as well. That is never going to happen when they can > not do the first 5% (installation) in relative ease and lack of thought. M$ > has the right idea when it comes to that 95% of the market that is computer > tech illiterate. They take away the choices. It keeps them (the user) from > being overwhelmed. > > To me, an "ignorant user" pacakge would come with a desktop or two to choose > from at install time, but only one gets installed. Yeah - this flies in the > face of what most of us want on our systems. But, before we are going to > get the "masses" to use Linux/Un*x of any type, the confusion of > installation (read too many choices) has to vanish. The installation > package would also contain the mainstream "products" that are being used and > agressively developed in the Linux/Un*x world. But, only one or two choices > from each type, and GUI based. Embrace what has worked for M$ (ease of use > up front, limited choices to the end user, ...) and extend it beyond their > ability (Read stability, powere, etc in addition). I hate being forced to > make money on M$ products, and would love to see M$ replaced with a sane > platform. Believe it or not, it starts at the installation for most of my > users. > > Outside of the use of FUD, these are the time proven tactics that M$ has > used to squash competition and large scale innovation, and win support of > the masses. > What does everyone else think? I agree. We need a 'newbie' install option that makes all the technical decisions for you, as well as the other install options for those with more knowledge. Also, we could use a more 'user-friendly' way for the 'newbie' to install additional packages at a later date. An option to automagically install/download dependencies would be useful too - apologies if this is already in the newer releases; I am still on 7.0 until the weekend. Some Windoze applications have a 'basic' and 'expert' interface. The basic interface hides the complicated stuff from the user, but the expert interface still allows all functionality for the more experienced user. Another member of the group recommended taking out the repeated packages with similar functionality - I don't think that would work. There would be far too many holy wars re-started as to what is taken out. A better approach would be to more clearly indicate the pros and cons of the applications included, so that the user is better placed to make an informed decision as to what he wants. Just my $0.02 (Florida residents add 7% sales tax) Regards, Ozz.
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