Re: Killer apps/"selling" points of FC and GNU/Linux

["Michael A. Peters" <mpeters mac com>]

On 11/15/2004 12:08:08 PM, Kyrre Ness Sjobak wrote:
> All of us trying hard to convert friends etc to Linux - what are the
> arguments used?
>
> Mainly curious, but - why should people drop Windows (which they  
> know,
> most of their programs often only runns there etc) and swich to  
> Linux?

The biggest benefits imho are -

1) Not very many (if any) viruses for Linux - 'course there are worms,  
but that's an issue on Windows as well.

2) So far, that I know of, no spyware

Both of those aren't guaranteed for the future - especially with  
distributions like Lindows that (at least use to) default to root user  
eliminating filesystem security.

3) This is the big one for me - unified facility for updating not just  
the vendor installed software packages, but potentially all software,  
through a single interface.

In Windows, some apps gets updated through Windows Update, some through  
the application itself, some you have to hunt for updates.

But yum makes it both possible and stupidly trivial for a vendor to  
create a working update repository they can add to the clients yum  
configuration, allowing their software to be easily updated when the  
client updates the rest of the operating system.

It would be nice if yum supported (does it?) authentication at the  
server, so that private repos could exist (beyond the obvious server IP  
based authentication which doesn't work for non static IP's) for  
commercial vendors, but :shrug:

3 is really the big one for me - yum really kicks ascii.

Most people though don't seem to care about that kind of stuff. The  
fact that so many people with Windows have virus checkers so far out of  
date indicates most people don't care aboyt 1,2,3 :shrug:

To increase marketshare it needs to get to the OEM's.
There's a reason why MS spent so much effort keeping BeOS etc. out of  
OEM shops.

-=-
I will tell you why I have a Windows partition -

Going to the post office takes me two hours minimum (I don't drive)
Going to a local mail stop to send a package results in a hefty fee for  
them to stamp it - I kid you not, especially for packages. They  
surcharge bigtime.

Stamps.com lets me print pre-paid postage label with verified address  
and USPS tracking, and I only have to give it to my postal carrier when  
he comes by. Saves me time and money - windows only.

Buying music (I don't pirate) is also a job if I'm not near a music  
shop in my normal activities. Buying CD's online is fine, if you are  
buying enough to make the S+H worth it. iTMS on the other hand delivers  
instantly with no S+H, and I can ignore (and not pay for) tracks I  
don't want/like.

If solutions for those scenarios came to Linux (and no, I don't like  
wine) natively - I wouldn't need Windows.