On Saturday 08 September 2001 14:45, you wrote:
> "You guys keep saying how great Linux is. When are you going to let the
> rest of us in on the secrets?"
Time. It takes time. I don't think that anyone on this list can argue
against the fact that using Linux takes time. One must fiddle with it,
explore, jump into the unknown, and after some time, one becomes more skilled
and then Linux seems much easier to use. To borrow from Joseph Smith,
Linux doesn't become easier to use, you become more skilled in using it.
However, Linux is becoming much easier to use.
I think the true argument against Microsoft is that Microsoft security simply
does not exist. Yeah, yeah, Unix can be compromised. But by a simple
email attachment? They still haven't fixed this silliness. They even
introduce worse problems in their add-on server software (code red anyone?).
I wonder how much time and money is spent reinstalling and/or fixing Windows
boxes because of a virus that came in through email? For my company, at
least each windows box is cleaned up 3-4 times a year. Compare that to the
linux boxes that are never cleaned up, and have been running, by the way, for
over four months at a time (stupid long-term power outages tarnish that
figure every once in a while).
Anyway, I think some cool things are going to happen. First off, I'd love to
teach seminars on anything linux. You name it, I would be happy to teach it
(almost anything).
We should have seminars focussing on getting CS students (or other
technically oreinted degree) up and running at home on Linux so they can do
their work at home or over the network. Then we should have a seminar on
document type-setting (one which I would like to attend) using TeX and LaTeX
(I know enough to write, but there is so much to learn). I think that very
specific and pertinent seminars would be useful, and I'd even tract (hee hee)
around campus planting fliers and such.
The problem is, students need to focus on academics, not figuring out a new
OS. So really the only audience we'd attract are those willing to sacrifice
a lot of time for Linux. Most students are too busy with 1) school, 2) work,
3) family (if married with kids). or 4) socializing during the semester to
really care about saving a few hundred bucks.
I still think that if you can't install you're own copy of Linux, you might
not want to use it. Get into it or don't use it (yet). Get into it means,
ask questions, learn, ask more questions, learn more. Change your model of
thinking, change your ways. Once you've done that, welcome. How do you
teach that in a seminar? Well, I think that's what this list is for. Time
time time. You need time to get into linux.
(But, if someone configures Linux for you and you don't mess with it and just
use it, well, you can have a cool box that rocks. Just don't touch any
config or just don't log in as root and you're fine).
I'm all for seminars, and I'd be happy to contribute. Let's do it. Who's in
charge?
Second:
Linux is still a few years from the home desktop. Linux is on the corporate
desktop (well ok, for programmers mostly). Gaming is still 1/8th a step
behind Windows, but almost there. Management and installation is still a wee
bit behind (except Mandrake Linux is very very very smooth, including support
for newer 3d video cards and other things at installation time).
Third:
Watch out for MacOS X. Its FreeBSD under the hood!! Its the best of both
worlds! All the apps you want on Windows, all the power you want on Linux!
As soon as I can afford it (and that's Mac's problem) I'll buy a Mac. And
MAC OS X does run on x86. I have an iso I downloaded from Mac (granted its
the open source version). Mac needs to support x86 hardware and figure out
that they'll make money just fine if they cling to the OS business model and
losen their grip on the hardware issues. Frankly, PPC has a better
instruction set than x86 (IMHO), but it's so darn expensive.
I think Mac is going to take the world by suprise in a year or two.
All of the above is, of course, my humble opinion. Bash it if you will.
I'll try to support myself, but I may just smile and not respond :)
Mark
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