rbw([EMAIL PROTECTED])@Sat, Jul 28, 2007 at 11:30:00AM -0700 wrote: > Lan Barnes wrote: > >>From Wired. Nothing very new, except Ubuntu's success. > > > >http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2007/07/linux_desktop > > > > > "Because of the hackability of free software, he explains, those who > package Linux are in a unique position to improve their users' > experience out of the box." > > I like the way this point makes what is a major flaw in the other OS a > "feature" in Linux. If this kind of thinking can be made to fly (along > with web apps) we may live to see... > > Naaaaahhh... I won't say it ;^) >
Ohh.. THANK YOU for NOT saying it! :-D I'm actually serious. The more people that start to use it on their desktop, the more the distros cater to what the "average user" wants from their "computing experience". I don't want or trust mono. I don't want or trust MS-Compatible office apps. I don't want or trust closed protocols, fileformats, or source code. My wife, my kids, and I have been using Linux exclusively for years now. I made this move to find some freedom from all that. Unfortunately I'm now watching as these things are becoming more central to various Linux distros. I'm now quite convinced that the problems users have with Windows are quite largely their own doing. If presented with an opportunity to make e-mail or web-browsing more safe, the average user of just about any popular OS will avoid it if it requires learning new software... and will avoid it like the *plague* if it requires learning new behavior. If it requires building a new frame of reference for the topic, they may well become down-right angry at the very suggestion. I'm becoming more aware of the cultural pressures that define computer usage. As more people flood into the "Linux Camp", it seems to me that we don't have so much more innovation, but we have a lot more users and developers who don't understand the values that shaped Unix in general. There are more people than ever before who want their Windows-based software to run on Linux, or at least as close a clone as they can get. And there are more people than ever who want to write that software. I have no desire to stifle their efforts, but I would still be immensely happier if they would do this in a different arena. There is an OSS project that provides a more Windows-like OS called ReactOS. http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html There is also a project called OSSWin/ http://osswin.sourceforge.net/ I don't completely discount the efforts to create compatibility. If we Linux users couldn't participate equally in network data sharing, then the project would be every bit as vibrant as the HURD. Still, I'd rather that people who don't want to change their thinking would use some other OS. It seems that these users think that the main reason for compatibility is to prevent them from having to change too much when they are really only interested in saving money. In contrast, I think many of the programmers are totally in love with the liberty that comes with OSS.. so close, and yet still so far away. I nominate Miguel deIcaza to be their representative. Wade Curry syntaxman -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
