Can Linux beat XP in homes yet or NOT?

[William Case]

Hi Mustafa;

2¢

On Fri, 2007-07-13 at 19:57 +0600, Mustafa Qasim wrote:
> Yes! I agree with you Mr. Erich but can you or anyone else tell me the
> key factors that are involved when convincing or guiding a person how
> much it is easy to move to Linux or how we can make it easy for them
> to take a test drive of Linux and then make them realize that it's
> really better their one. 
> 
> I thinks the "Satisfaction factor" comes here. What we need is to
> build their satisfaction factor in Linux greater then Windows then
> they'll naturally realize it instead of forcing them to make a blind
> jump. No one here will make a blind jump and if we force them to do it
> and after that we couldn't help them too much to keep them in ... then
> they will never ever come back... :P ... 
> 
> so, what r the points to build the satisfaction factor of a person on
> Linux?
> 
I believe two things about Linux:
1) that Linux does not have to be one or the other:

Linux ('nix) should never give up the lead it has in sophisticated,
programmer, administrative, IT tools that it has developed and continues
to develop.  Linux can also offer an environment that 'just works' for
secretaries, salesmen, local club Vice-Presidents, household
bookkeeping, small business analysis, teenage angst and/or play  and on
and on.

2) The FOSS mentality so far has appealed to technical people (Geeks)
who have put most of their creativity and development work into building
the programmer, administrative, IT tools that they want.  The end user
has thus got short shift.

Linux has the opportunity to challenge and improve all the 'givens' that
have been introduced into the ordinary user world by Microsoft.  It can
be a 'just works' system that meets the needs of users in fresh
innovative and truly intuitive ways.

Distributions like Ubantu are trying to do that -- they haven't been
completely successful yet.  Gnome and KDE are trying as well but seem to
be still tied to a mock or psuedo MS$ way of doing things.  The "One
Laptop per Child" project has some innovative ideas but is in early
stages yet.

Fedora's job is (as I see it) to use their large supporter base to test
and refine new and/or improved applications at all levels of use.  They
are not the necessarily the originators of new ideas or the final
arbitrators.  Improvements and suggested new features do get passed up
the line to the appropriate developers.


> On 7/13/07, Erich Zigler <ezigler at superhero.org> wrote:
>         On Fri, July 13, 2007 8:16 am, Mustafa Qasim wrote: 
>         
>         > I've tried to talk with my some friends about these issues
>         but at the end
>         > i
>         > came to know that they didn't need to listen the philosophy
>         of FOSS they
>         > just want me to practically prove that Linux is much easier
>         and secure 
>         > then
>         > Windows. For them installing software from source or concept
>         of mounting a
>         > block device is much difficult because they didn't have to
>         do this in M$
>         > XP
>         > :p.
>         
>         I really do enjoy this subject. The bottom line is that most
>         desktop users 
>         out there do not care about licensing, holy wars, FOSS, etc.
>         They only
>         care about one thing... does it work.
>         
>         Can they as a user sit down and get what they need to done or
>         will they be
>         spending more time working on their workstation so they can
>         then work on 
>         their workstation.
>         
>         Linux has gotten much more "common man" user friendly then it
>         used to be.
>         (Does any one else remember installing Slackware from 26
>         floppies?) At
>         this point in time I feel Linux has gotten to be user friendly
>         enough for 
>         the non-geeks out there to operate. People do not like change.
>         Individuals
>         who were raised on Windows will stick with Windows because it
>         is what they
>         know. Unless there is some stimulus for change it is difficult
>         to convince 
>         people to give it a shot.
>         
>         - Erich

If I may comment, Erich.  Like you, I have introduced Linux to several
friends (usually of a "certain age") and found three basic types of
users.  

1) people who don't care about the OS, FOSS and aren't really angry with
M$.  They just want to get the job done.  I was one of those for about
20 years.  I used computers, but it was always non-IT -- word
processing, spreadsheets, mockup an occasional logo, and a bit of
accounting. People like that need mainly simple stable (KISS)
applications that are as integrated as possible; excepting perhaps the
one feature rich program they use that is directly applicable to their
main endeavour.

2) people who are like I am today; who want to fuss and tweak with their
OS and apps; are fascinated by what is going on under the hood.  They
are the kind of people who are not in a technical area of expertise but
who love taking clocks apart. Those are the people I find are usually
willing to try Linux for the first time.

3) techie or geeky people who already know the benefits of Linux ('nix)
and are either using Linux at work or are in a Windows mandated
environment and use Linux at home as a release.

I believe that all three types can and should be accommodated.

Two final points.

As an example of what could be done -- take a look at the TuxPaint
graphics program for kids. I use it as a quick drawing utility.  Because
its for kids the main developer, Bill Kendrick, has created something
extremely stable and entirely intuitive.  It is still a work-in-progress
as far as features are concerned, but he sure has the look and feel for
kids (and adults) down pat.

I belong to several mailing lists for various applications.  I can't
help noticing that a large number of help requests are not for some
technical problem or code correction. Most are from beginners who repeat
the same confusions, misunderstandings, faulty assumptions and deadline
pressures over and over again.  I am always amazed that none of the
developers seems to say "we have a problem here".  They just seem to
assume that the only explanation can be -- users are stupid.

Well, I got that off my chest.  I will change my offer from 2¢ to $2.

-- 
Regards Bill