Hallo, The problem I have seen on the posts here is the same one can read in Linux magazines. An oversell of Linux. IMHO Linux is not easy to install. I recently tried upgrading my Suse laptop to the latest version and failed. No Gnome apps like GIMP which I need worked and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I switched to Ubuntu which now I think is better, but this too required a lot of manual intervention to get working fully. For example, WLAN didn't work and I had to install something called NetworkManager Applet myself. I don't know why many apps needed for a fully functional Ubuntu installation are not installed as a default, but that's the way it is. The biggest value added of pre-installed Linux is that everything has been installed and works.
The other oversell is to claim that Linux apps are just as good and fully compatible with M$ ones. This isn't my experience at all. None of my fancy Excell spredsheets work in Gnumeric or Calc, and chart compatibility is even worse. I use Crossover Office for M$ Office apps and it works well (at least for Excel which is the only one I'm still using). I think a pre-installed Linux should include Crossover or other solution which would allow the user to install his own M$ Office and have it running immi. I also find media support problematic. The ability to watch the realplayer videos on the BBC news site for example is not consistent on my laptop, and I guess that watching WMV files is even more difficult. Mr Average User doesn't want to see messages about missing codecs when he wants to view a web video. Actually I don't either. The fact is that the bulk of users want their computer for specific tasks, but the Linux distis are more focused on arcane discussions about licence conditions. This helps convince Mr A User that buying a Linux computer will not give him a computer with the functionality he needs. The key to commercial success is providing a Linux computer at a lower cost with the functionality users want and being precise about what will not work. Graham Petley _______________________________________________ MLUG-list mailing list [email protected] http://mailserv.megabyte.net/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
