"Dean Michael C. Berris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Actually... > > If you strictly speak about the Linux community, you wouldn't really be > dealing too much with a certain kind or group of people -- that's why > it's so hard to actually develop Linux and other applications running on > Linux that have to please/cater to a certain group of people.
That's a fact. But in this case, there are communities of people who *can* do something about it, which you don't have so much in other communities working around other (proprietary) environments. > What I'm saying here is that while say someone who has no computer > experience whatsoever (like a 10 year old using the computer for the > first time) would start learning Linux and the CLI, then he would also > have a hard time more or less adjusting to a fully GUI based environment > like Windows. Conversely, a veteran Windows developer would be very > uncomfortable dealing with tools like vi and emacs (CLI) which have very > different bindings, beahviours and features. True, and unless there's a real motivation, a real incentive, it's an uphill battle. However, the 10 year olds of then are *way* different than of now. I know of someone who had a 7 (or was it 8) year-old daughter who was already into FOSS, and she's very comfortable in both GUI and CLI environments. She uses Windows too without much difficulty. And where was the motivation for that? Curiosity. > Like I have said before, strictly speaking when you talk about Linux, > you talk about the kernel. So far the kernel has been outperforming the > popular operating systems out there in terms of stability and > reliability -- both subjective terms. Now if you're talking about all > the other applications that run on top of Linux the kernel, then it's a > very different discussion. Unfortunately when people talk of Linux they mean the Linux-GNU system, not Linux the kernel, which most only consider as a subsystem, however important it is. If there is any advocacy to do, this would it. > To clear things up, when you're trying out something new, and you have > preconceived notions about how something similar works, you'd have a > very hard time comparing. It's like apples and oranges -- if you're > trying out an orange for the first time and have been eating apples > forever, you'd be more less tempted to say that "Hey, this tastes so > different from an apple!". Not really. If I've been eating apples forever, it would be a great relief to try something else. There are preconceived notions, yes, but its really the human inertia that prevents us from stepping over the threshold. > To add my $0.02 more, I've started learning the computer during the days > of the "286" where the only operating system I knew was DOS. Now, I > still do not feel comforatble with a GUI in front of me, and am as > "productive" as a developer/administrator in CLI mode as in GUI mode > (sometimes I prefer working in CLI mode than in GUI mode). Now in terms > of document publishing, and graphics editing (which I seldom do), then > it would be hard if not impossible to prepare a powerpoint presentation > in CLI mode. Hard, yes, but not impossible. See magicpoint[1]. As for the comfort of GUI/CLI stability, try ion[2] or ratpoison[3] with Emacs and screen. > It's just like tackling a problem with different approaches, and it all > boils down to preference. > > Now, it's nobody's mandate to "make the Linux operating environment > better than Windows/UNIX/Mac -- it's all just by choice". So as I see > it, since the kernel has already been working fine for me and most of > what I want to do, I don't feel compelled to improve it. As for the > applications, if I feel that I can contribute to the > development/improvement of this feature for MY personal satisfaction, > then I just might contribute. Otherwise, there's no pressure for me to > do so. Incorrect. As you may remember, the impetus for the Linux kernel was to make it better than Minix. It wasn't just because of choice. It was because of a need (for Linus to finish his studies) and a want (to improve Minix so it could support more paradigms.) The same motivation happens all over again, in the development of software, whether of free or proprietary pedigree; but in the case of FOSS, there's more leeway. Only when there's a constant trickling of water drops (or one big fall of a hammer) can a rock be broken. > Maybe that's the reason why it would be hard for something like a Linux > distribution merely maintained by volunteers to get to a place where > commercial solutions like Windows has already dominated. I didn't say > it's impossible, but I did say it would be hard. When people keep working on it, that can happen. [1] http://freshmeat.net/projects/magicpoint/ [2] http://iki.fi/~tuomov/ion/ [3] http://ratpoison.sourceforge.net -- ZAK B. ELEP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- <http://zakame.spunge.org> 1024D/FA53851D 1486 7957 454D E529 E4F1 F75E 5787 B1FD FA53 851D -- Running Debian GNU+Linux testing/unstable. GnuPG signed mail preferred.
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