Re: Can Linux beat XP in homes yet or NOT?

[GaryCarr <gcarr@xxxxxxxx>]

Gordon Keehn wrote:
> Mustafa Qasim wrote:
> > Salam!
> >            I want to ask all you folks there that we can see the 
> > current advancements in Fedora and Ubunto distros. They've came onto 
> > screen as an OS not only for server's operated by GEEKS but also a 
> > much secure and user friendly OS for home users but still a large 
> > amount of our home user's are still stick with XP(especially here in 
> > Pakistan) . Do we need to create awareness at root grass level? Is it 
> > due to the Installation,configuring softwares and migrating data or 
> > other smiler issues that are the giant hurdle for home users? A XP 
> > user is still satisfied with Spyware,Trojan,dialer,virus an many 
> > other attacks but he didn't dare or didn't have enough guidance to 
> > get rid of it by using Linux.
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > "What" and more importantly "How" we individuals can serve to make 
> > our people at root grass level aware about the weakness and black 
> > holes of their existing platform and the advantages of Linux over M$ XP?
>    It comes down to utility.  I'm sort of a semi-geek;  I've been 
> running Linux on my n-1 box since RH 6.  I will never be free of 
> Windows, though, because I have two critical apps which I cannot run 
> under wine, and for which suitable replacements (according to MY 
> requirements) do not exist.  As long as that situation exists Windows 
> will be the dominant desktop OS.  Will either of those apps be ported 
> to Linux?  Probably not.  One is semi-orphaned, and the other is from 
> a vendor who sees no advantage in committing resources to what they 
> view as a marginal platform.  Add to that the fact that separate 
> versions must be packaged for every supported distro and release, and 
> the chances of a vendor who is, after all, in the business of making 
> money, making a major commitment to Linux  approaches zero.
>     I don't see this changing as long as each Linux vendor has its own 
> architecture and packaging model.  It's great for providing geeks with 
> a topic of conversation at Users Group meetings, but not so good for 
> convincing the non-geeks among us that Linux is good for them, too.
>    Cheers,
> Gordon Keehn
Consumers are not interested in the OS wars. They don't care about 
fighting the "Evil empire in Redmond".  For most consumers, a computer 
is a tool, a means to an end. They want to turn it on, log into it, and 
use it to do the things they want to do. They expect their computer to 
automatically connect to the internet without hours of time spent trying 
to get their wireless to work, and frequently never succeeding. They 
expect to hook up their printers, scanners, digital cameras, etc. and 
have them immediately work, not spend hours trying to find drivers, etc. 
They expect to view a video sent by a friend by clicking on the 
attachment, and have it work, not spend hours trying to get the right 
codecs, and frequently never being able to play everything they can 
effortlessly play on windows. They expect application programs to play 
music, etc. to be user friendly, not "Wizard" friendly.