On Tue, Nov 04, 2003 at 12:24:22PM +0100, Michael Schwendt wrote:
> > Well. I *can* see his point, at least a little bit - but it still
> > feels strange, this coming from Red Hat.
> > Anybody else who shares this view?
>
> Do *you* disagree?
Yes. I don't think it was very smart. Seing the recent wave of worms
and viruses, I regard it as downright dangerous to recommend Windows
to any home user. I also think it was dangerous to Linux, as it will give
MS more leverage to complete the lock-in they're after. "Linux will be
ready in a few years" - great, but it might be too late then. The third
issue I have is the possible impact of this statement on what PHBs think
in business ("Gee, if I can't even use it at home..."). That shouldn't
happen, but I think we all know it will happen, unfortunately.
Having said that, I can see the point in toning down the expectations
of potential migrants, as a scared off newbie would be bad for Linux'
future as well. Nonetheless, I still think we should get as many home
users to move as possible, 'cause many of them already can. I mean,
what *is* the average home user? When I think of "the average home
user", I think of people like my dad or my wife - e-mail, web, office
apps, maybe the odd dabbling with photos (either digital camera or
scanner) - that's all possible right now. Installation is an issue,
but on the other hand, the people I have in mind never install
anything themselves, anyway - they either buy pre-installed or ask
their son/neighbour/etc.pp. - and that's not in any way specific to
Windows. Another thing that comes up is ease of use. Well, Windows
isn't easy to use - I learned that lesson rather quickly when my
father bought his first PC, with no previous experience.
I've seen the other version as well: My wife is using Linux at home
as well since a couple of years and although her only experience was
Windows, she's very happy with the system. She really surprised me,
when she asked to dump KDE and replace it with the GUI I use: Window
Maker. Just proves that ease of use isn't that easy to pinpoint.
Nonetheless, I wouldn't necessary recommend Linux to that type of user
- I'd rather point in the general direction of Apple's MacIntosh, as
I've seen complete newbies getting the hang of MacOS rather quickly,
when compared to Windows.
That leaves the "spoil sports" :-) : Gamers. It appears that Windows
is a reasonable gaming platform (I wouldn't know). Hence, to that type
of user, Windows might be the only alternative, short of a console.
There isn't much point in denying that.
Further on, I fail to see the point of the statement from a Red Hat
point of view: They're not even offering any product for the typical
home user anymore - they said themselves that they're after the
businesses. Hence, why this statement? It just doesn't feel right.
Cheerio,
Thomas
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Thomas Ribbrock http://www.ribbrock.org
"You have to live on the edge of reality - to make your dreams come true!"
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