[TriLUG] Use Windows not Linux

[Ilan Volow]

On Tuesday, November 4, 2003, at 09:11  PM, Mike Mueller wrote:

> I can hear the Microsoft PR machine winding up over this one  (ZD for
> instance).
>
> "Red Hat's chief executive has said that Linux needs to mature further 
> before
> home users will get a positive experience from the operating system, 
> saying
> they should choose Windows instead."
>
> This will become, "Red Hat's chief executive says, 'choose Windows'"
>
> I don't understand recommending Windows over another distro that 
> serves the
> individual like Mandrake?  Did I miss the announcement that Redmond's 
> got a
> new branch office in Centennial Campus?
>

Some person on the list (who shall go nameless) recently posted an 
answer to these questions above:

 >OSS requires more effort than MS to use and its worthwhile to expend 
the
 >effort.  We are the world's most technical society so learning how to 
control
 >Mozilla should be a no-brainer.


I have seen in the linux community mindsets and statements like the 
above do more damage to the formation of a viable alternative to the 
Windows desktop than anything Matt Szulik (or Bill Gates) could ever do 
or say. As long as linux folks continue to deny that usability problems 
and bad UI designs exist in linux, as long as they continue to assume 
that end-users are stupid (I've heard the jokes in parking lot folks) 
and blame this 'stupidity' for the problems caused by some dumb 
programmer's bad GUI, and as long as they blame Microsoft for the 
problems on the linux desktop that they themselves created, the linux 
desktop ain't going anywhere. There's no amount of money Bill Gates 
could spend that would do a better job of derailing linux for 
non-technical users than the job done by linux's technical users for 
the last 10 years.

Enough. I've got an Interface War to prepare for, I've got to rid KDE 
of all instances of the word "Directory", I've got a pile of Kernighan 
and Ritchie books to burn, and Guilder to frame for it. Frankly, I'm 
swamped.

--Ilan


--
Ilan Volow
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!