On Thu, 2010-05-13 at 11:58 -0400, David Boles wrote: > I just have to ask. Why would running Openoffice on Linux impress a > Windows user enough to convince them to switch to Linux? Openoffice is > available for Windows. And at the same price too! :-) I don't think it would, by itself. But it shows a long time Windows user that there is this alternative called Linux, and that it could do the main things that they were already doing (1), and none of the other things that they were sick of having to deal with - the usual Windows problems (2). 1. e-mail, web browsing, instant messaging, word processing, playing their stash of music, playing games... 2. Crashing, rebooting, viruses, trojans, spyware, unfair contracts, and huge costs (if they're being legal and buying lots of software)... I don't think Fedora's really the best choice for showcasing Linux against Windows, though. Apart from the rapid churn, there are legal issues with one of the main things Windows users are going to want to do (play their MP3 collection), and they want their flashy graphics games like World of Warcraft, and its ilk. While the MP3 legal issues are easy enough to dodge, doing something that Linux can't, isn't. And I don't see playing with virtual machines as the solution, either. Why run Windows apps through one of them, when you can run it normally? And without the slowdown or complication. To me, the live discs show that you probably could run Linux on a box. They show a user how they could run their computer alternatively, what it would look like, and how it will be easy to figure out (it has familiar enough menus, etc.). And allows you to temporarily run an alternative OS on someone else's Windows box (whether that be repairs, or just to use something less painful when you're away from your own PC). But considering a few problems, such as slowness, and only being able to temporarily install Linux updates or additional software, what would be more useful to me is having a Linux boot disc that could start up a computer but run it from a plugged in external ordinary hard drive. None of the slowness of a DVD/CD, none of the short life span of flash memory drives (or lack of space issues). -- [tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r 2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686 Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists. -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
