Quoting Derek Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> On 31 Jan 2000, Derek Atkins wrote:
> > I'd like to see Linux be a real condender to replace Windows. In
> > order to do that, I think linux has a long way to go in the usability
> > area. Ease of installation, maintenence, and everyday use are key
> > to making Linux as easy to use as Windows. Without that usability,
> > I couldn't even conceive of giving Linux to my mom.
> What would your mom use it for? Probably e-mail and office type stuff,
> right? So you install Netscape and Koffice or Wordperfect or whatever for
> her (or StarOffice if she REALLY needs MS compatibility), and my questions
> are:
> 1) ease of installation: Did she install Windows?
Good point. But I HAVE seen situations where the answer would be 'Yes', but
normally becouse someone from Microsoft or some other vendor told her to.. ;-P
> 2) ease of maintenance: What maintanence? Once she's got an account,
> and you've set up her printer (did she set up her own printer on
> Windows?), what does she need to maintain to run e-mail and WP?
She buys new hardware. She buys a new monitor. Heck, she buys a new
printer. And yes, contrary to popular demand, even idiots can setup a printer
using that 'add printer' icon. And as screwy as Win32 is sometimes at
installing new hardware, it usually will work 'good enough', i.e., it sees
something new, and asks you to insert the Winxx install disk, and it makes a
best guess as to what drivers to use. Or in the case of many new PC's, it just
grabs it from the copy of the install sitting on the HD, no asking needed.
> 3) everyday use: The user interface for KDE/Gnome is almost identical to
> Windows, from an every-day use perspective. Once the apps are
> installed (which also really isn't that hard), what's the hard part there?
You win here. Once it's setup, anyone can use it.. Even my wife..
> I'm not just trying to be argumentative here, I'm really looking for
> answers. I keep hearing these statements being made, but no one has
> presented a plausible argument to back them up, so far. If you have one,
> I want to hear it, so that maybe I can help work on a fix.
That's why this is a Linux list.. ;-P I definatly welcome the conversation,
it's good for everyone to read where everyone else is coming from..
---
Thomas Charron
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