Here's a couple. A. Development tools and workplaces: Low adaptation gives MS power to dictate *bad* (non)standards. MS-Word is not the real problem here; MFC, DirectX, Visual Basic, C#, etc are! As developers we are forced to use non standard closed tools and libraries that can be changed without notice by Microsoft. While for now most of us can avoid the problem, how much time do we have till we are forced to write MFC under C#? (Instead of C under Linux/posix?) You seem to forget the MS is not only targeting Linux... it is targeting the Open Source concept.
B. Non standard shared Web-sites: At least half of the sites in Israel don't work right under Mozilla. (ynet, walla, etc) Why? cause they are using non-standard IE-only extensions. Christ, even the Linux forum in ynet cannot be read using Mozilla... I talked to the forum admin and nada... zilch. C. Windows only access to ISPs: Anyone who've were part of the cable modem tests will know what I mean. Some ISPs used l2tp instead of the "normal" pptp during the test. Small problem: there was no l2tp package back then. I talked to the ISP and there was no-one there that even knew what I the hell I was talking about! Luckily I found a l2tp source that I could adapt to my needs. Anyone here sees any sane ISP doing the same to Windows users? And a personal one: D. Games!!! God dangit! I want to play HL2 under Linux! Gilboa On Tue, 2003-06-24 at 14:40, Eli Billauer wrote: > Since the Linux for masses issue is up again, here's my little food for > thought: > > What's wrong with the situation as it is? > > What's wrong with Linux not being in every home? Why do we care if our > grandmother pays for her operating system? > > There are, of course, a few things that I would like to have changed. > For example: > > * M$ Word documents being a common way to distribute papers. But that's > wrong even in itself, since Word isn't even self-compatible across versions. > * Young computer fans not knowing about Linux, thus missing their > opportunity to get a good environment to learn from. > * Lack of drivers for some hardware. > > More, anyone? Can we be focused on the things we want changed, rather > than making other people miserable by convincing them to install an OS > that they can't handle? > > As for the moral wrongdoing of software not being free: Please spend a > day watching BBC World, and convince yourselves that there are more > acute problems to be solved. Let's take our own issues in proportion. > > And if you don't agree with the "can't handle" thing, please pick any > random family member, and let him or her try using Linux *without* your > assistance. Connect to the internet (kppp, wasn't that obvious?), > manipulate some images (gimp, everyone would have guessed) or whatever. > > Keep in mind: If Linux, or to be more precise, the main distros of > Linux, will be aimed for "everyone", they will also be adapted to that > level. Which means that we'll all find a paperclip helper in Openoffice > very soon. > > Eli > > > ================================================================= > To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command > echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
