Article on Linux in Popular Science, from the viewpoint of a "Joe Windows" user (it's mildly critical of Linux): http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2008-11/desktop-linux-%E2%80%93-will-it-ever-stick and many comments responding how great Linux is even for non-geeks.
Do --you-- all feel that Linux has progressed to the level of "point and click" to get any task done? Many people seem to be allergic to the command line interface. We all know that there's a free equivalent to almost any bit of Windows software out there, but is it easy for people to find and install it? How about proprietary shrinkwrapped software that can't be downloaded (should you need some for one reason or another)? How about marketing and promotion of Linux in general? The article mentions that pre-loaded Linux laptops are returned at a far higher rate than Windows laptops, because people have been led to believe that using Linux is "just like using Windows". Are naive users being sold a bill of goods? When will Linux systems stop being a toy for tech geeks and start being a useful TOOL (or do you feel we're already there)? You want the OS to recede into the background and be unnoticed most of the time. Ideally, your average user wouldn't even be aware of which OS their computer is running under. I couldn't make it to the monthly meeting (car was in the shop), but if it's a major problem to supply ready-to-run executables (as in Windows) for a wide range of architectures and Linux flavors/levels, and most non-geeks don't want to touch a CLI, is there a solution? Can source tarballs, etc. be distributed in a single universal package, and automatically compiled and linked (after bringing in any prereqs, including compilers)? No getting hands dirty running 'make' and related commands -- it just takes a bit longer to install than a ready-to-run binary. Do such capabilities already exist? Just a thought. I suppose that an alternative would be to distribute Java bytecode or scripts such as Perl -- would they be totally platform- independent? Sorry if this was covered at the meeting! _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Sep 3 - Porkchop - The Areas of My Expertise Oct 1 - Ubikeys Oct 4 - Linux Fest Nov 5 - Releasing Open Source Software Dec 3 - TBD
