Re: Screen cont. (from the "Peanut Gallery")

[Kevin Colby <kevinc grainsystems com>]

Paul Newman pgen com wrote:
> 
> Some commercial companies have rolled out Linux onto end user
> machines.  If the end user is a real end user with no tweaking
> permissions, just wants word processing, internet browsing,
> saving files on a file server, printing and internal and
> external email, then what's the impracticality?  Migration may
> be difficult but if the machines came ready-built that would
> get around that one.

"Linux-ready" machines would alleviate a lot of hardware problems.
That much is true, but Linux distros do not currently have the
level of ease of configurability for basic setups that is required
to really "break into the market".

Your chances of using Linux end-user machines are much better
in the enterprise client market.  Large corporations that have
extremely security-conscious, standardized user machines will
be controlling the configuration angle from the network, and
they can staff the right people to get it done.  In the smaller
business (non-Point-of-Sale, that is), Linux is much more likely
to play a server role than be anyone's personal machine.

Linux distros are no more ready for the PC market than NT is
ready for the server market.  I believe that it will be easier
though for Linux to trickle down than it will be for NT to
wade upstream.  Of course, that's just my opinion.

	- Kevin Colby
	  kevinc grainsystems com