>>This concept of having a choice is definitely bad.<< >>Too many choices! Stop! Make them stop! Just tell me what to do. I don't want >>to have to decide!!!!!!
<gd&rfRS><< I am not saying choice is bad and you know that. What I am saying is it is confusing the marketplace. I don't want to return to the days of TI99/4a vs. Atari vs. Commadore vs. TRS80 vs. every other mom and pop computer manufacturer. You had to make a choice on the OS and the machine. You always had to compromise and not get all the software you wanted to run because certain software only ran on certain platforms. This is what is so good with the two standards (WinTel and Apple) that emerged. I have no problem with Linux existing and competing. I have problem with too many Linuxes to pick from. I just visited the Detroit Auto Show a couple of weeks ago. I am in the market to replace my car when my lease expires in July. I have simple requirements, but the same manufacturer (GM) has the same vehicle under Chevy, Buick, Saturn, and GMC. Confusion in the marketplace, which means I have to hunt down a solution that should be simple. The prices for these vehicles are nearly the same so this is not an economic benefit to the consumer. The vehicles are identical except for a little difference in the grills and nameplate. Not that choosing a car is anything like choosing an operating system, but I am sure you recognize the similarities of the situation. Users should not have to hunt down the an OS from literally dozens of choices. Most are not qualified to make this choice. It costs money and is simply a mine field waiting for you to make the wrong choice. The issue is compatibility. I need software to run my business. Lets look at your case and Ted's case as it has been documented on this list. You literally need two operating systems and two machines to run your businesses. In my opinion, that is nuts. I know *why* you are doing it, and I know you would like to be down to one. It is not costly in your case because you are one person. Even in Ted's case where there are two people it is not so bad. But most (95% is a safe guess) businesses are not going to do this for all their employees. Not cost effective. So now the company firmly chooses Linux over the Windows platform. Great. Which one do they choose? I can ask a dozen different consultants and get 20 different answers. Software package A runs great on Fedora and not on others. Package B needs Ubuntu or any other distro, but is not supported by Fedora. Or worse, GUI 1 vs. GUI 2 from a compatibility point of view breaks different vertical market apps. Are users going to deal with this? No. Do I want to deal with this? Not in a million years. Worse yet, I try to deploy my Linux solution at a large company and I find out because the source is open and their IT department decided to "tweak" it, my app is broken. Slim possibility, but it can happen. The same thing can be said with Windows 2000/XP/Vista - I know, I am living it. PITA - period. Billions of dollars will be wasted. This is why I predict we will literally see a freeze in the marketplace. IT departments will choose to stay exactly where they are. This could be both good and bad. Good because today's software works on today's OS and I have the tools to solve the pain they are feeling. Bad because it will stifle innovation in their business, and is a short term fix to a long term problem because hardware will breakdown and OS patches will be cut off at some point (another problem I think is out of control). Worse yet, vertical market product creators have to start to decide who they will abandon and this is just not good for any business who counts on their software. I prefer a solid standard I can recommend to my clients so everyone wins. With Windows I have fewer choices with decent compatibility, and documented differences so the mine field is easier to navigate. I believe the world of Linux can benefit from fewer choices if it is hoping for greater mindshare in the business world and home markets. I am not saying choice is bad. Rick White Light Computing, Inc. www.whitelightcomputing.com www.rickschummer.com 586.254.2530 - office 586.254.2539 - fax _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
