Ronald J. Hall said:
Read the excerpt, follow the link for the complete story:
"Red Hat's chief executive has said that Linux needs to mature further
before home users will get a positive experience from the operating system,
saying they should choose Windows instead...
"Matthew Szulik, chief executive of Linux vendor Red Hat, said on Monday
that although Linux is capable of exceeding expectations for corporate users,
home users should stick with Windows: 'I would say that for the consumer
market place, Windows probably continues to be the right product line,' he
said..."
http://linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2003110401326NWDTRH
--
I think that some statements made in the article are right on. Now, don't shoot me
for saying that. In the time since I started hearing about Linux (summer, '95) until
I
really took the plunge and started working with it (about a month or so ago), I have
heard and read frequently about how Linux was sooo much better than any MS
alternative. This, I won't dispute. However, there are some Linux advocates that
will,
without fail, push Linux as an all-purpose solution in every situation. Not
necessarily
true.
Corporate/enterprise users generally have an established IT and support structure
in place. Computers are often standardized to a common specification or set of
specifications, so it is easier to create, deploy and support a standard desktop image.
Home users do not have this luxury. Many want the computer to simply work. Most
don't want to have to work to get the system to do what they want it to do. The 80s
mentality of a computer user that it's OK to have to know something about the system
is now the minority among computer users. The Macintosh and Windows are largely
responsible for this situation. I am, and most on this list are, part of that
minority. My
wife is an example of the majority. I let her work on a laptop that only had Mandrake
on
it, and she was not happy. It didn't look like Windows, it didn't behave like Windows
(similar, but not exactly...and she didn't get to the stability and all that, didn't
give it
sufficient chance), and I didn't (and still don't) know quite enough to get things to
do
just what she wants (give me time, and she will see a Linux system set just as she
wants it, behaving as she should expect). Add to this mentality the often discussed
and disparaged tendency of hardware makers targeting home consumers with budget
hardware designed to defer to Windows and you have a configuration and driver
headache.
If the average home user had the mentality that it's good to know a little bit about
how to
configure their computer (beyond adding a theme, setting a screen saver, or arranging
icons), and if the home user would not settle for the consumer grade computers they
can pick up at Costco, Sears, Circuit City, or from Gateway and Dell for cheap, then
the reality of Linux as a viable option on every desktop will be a reality.
No, the guy from Red Hat is not a traitor. He's just being honest with expectations.
Of
course, I think most of us here would take less exception if he'd had said "many home
users" or had similarly qualified his statement about Windows still being a more
appropriate option for some.
Just my two cents.
Mark
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
