On 8/16/05, Rafael 'Dido' Sevilla <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: .. > Frankly, I find the expression "point-and-drool crowd" more than mildly > offensive. That kind of condescension and arrogance is the main problem > our software faces in its acceptance by the mainstream.
Exactly right. And I don't mean it to be offensive to the P.D.C. because I have to work with these people. But it totally illustrates the point: geeks often don't "get" it when it comes to the mainstream. And this is why just about everyone of consequence in the Linux development community has defaulted the Linux desktop to Microsoft. > These people > are in general not idiots. The only difference they generally have from > you and me, Mr. Berris, is that they aren't interested in the software > as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. They want the software > to simply work, and then get on with whatever it is they needed to do > with its help, and not worry about the details. Exactly right as well. It's an immense relief that SOMEONE here understands what the h*ck I'm talking about. > Most solutions cobbled > together from random Free Software don't have this degree of > invisibility, and that puts off most people who would use it, unless it > came really cheap and has *dependable* support. It's this last > requirement that causes the most trouble. Yes. Dido is either (1) reading my mind (2) has run across the same headaches I have and KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT .. > The scalability Orly's talking about is not the scalability of the > solution, but the scalability of the support that goes along with the > solution, namely you. Yes! So you see Dean, I am not crazy, or pissing on a wall, or bitter. What I describe is a legitimate concern of REAL businesses. > I've been doing the kind of duct-tape solutions > that Orly so derides for most of my professional life, and what I can > tell you is that it's boring, tedious, and thankless work. Dido, I don't "deride" duct-tape solutions. The vast majority of my work IS these duct-tape solutions. Just like you. And you're right, it's boring, tedious, and thankless. Which is why if a 4000-peso Linksys router can do 80% of what a dedicated Linux router can do, and it means NO MORE BORING TEDIOUS WORK FOR ME (and you..) then I would wholeheartedly embrace it. .. > After having to fix so many minor > issues for the umpteenth time you get sick of it. This is something you and I understand because we're up to *here* with it. I suspect Dean and my other detractors here don't understand, or are stuck in some geeky utopia, because they haven't "been there" and haven't "done it." _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
