[TriLUG] RE: This is what happens when a OS company shoots its self in the foot (MS Vista)

[Greg Brown]

My opinion differs somewhat.  I think that more people do not use Linux as a
desktop as Linux is not ready to be used as a desktop system.  Linux in the
data center and on the back-end makes sense.  As Jim pointed out you don't
have to buy any CALs to put up any kind of server and that is a huge benefit
for any business, large or small.

On the other hand a Linux desktop system just feels like a big kludge.
Desktops have improved over the years but they are not to the level of
functionality or ease of use that windows or even os x is at today.  I do
agree that Matt's opinion that lack of leadership is one reason that people
haven't moved to Linux but it wasn't because someone dragged them down the
Linux path kicking and screaming and force-fed them a desktop that wasn't
going to work for them.  Leadership needs to resolve a lot of these "GNOME
is the rulz while KDE is the big sux" BS.  Why do you think that OS X looks,
feels, and runs as well as it does?  I suggest it was the iron fist of Steve
Jobs DEMANDING that his developers produced a usable system.

Anyhoo, that is just my opinion.  If I were to start a company today I'd
most likely have Mac desktops and Linux servers on the back-end (depending
on what my company was doing of course).

On 12/27/06, Matt Frye <mattfrye at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 12/26/06, Cristobal Palmer <cristobalpalmer at gmail.com> wrote:
> > It honestly isn't about lack of common sense. It's about sensemaking
> > of your options.
>
> With specific respect to Linux, a few more reasons why many more
> people haven't dumped Windows are:
>
> 1) Lack of leadership - People are sheep.  Without a leader,
> rebellions don't get off the ground.  The open source MO doesn't
> support clear leadership and when leaders could emerge, they are
> either making deals with M$ to save their own ass (Novell) or exude so
> much ambivalence (Red Hat) that it's a real turn off.  Much fewer
> people feel empowered as a result.
>
> 2) Design goals are backward - This is a point I made on the Open
> Source Now list
> (
> https://www.redhat.com/archives/open-source-now-list/2004-August/msg00015.html
> )
> about 2 1/2 years ago.  The open source typically produces two kinds
> of software:
>      a) software written for developers or their friends
>      b) knockoffs of proprietary software
>
> With a few notable exceptions, the open source community fails to
> produce truly awesome products.  Part of the problem is the "scratch
> an itch" basis upon which open source projects often come into being
> and the Unixy "do one thing well" approach.  It's fine that the sort
> command doesn't read my mail or tell me what time it is, but that's
> just why it's no fertile garden for innovation.
>
> Lack of innovation perpetuates itself right down to the activist
> level.  We find ourselves selling Grandma on Linux because "it's just
> like windows."  In the end, people who would use Linux aren't
> interested in your dissertation on freedom, and they interpret "lack
> of innovation" as "apathy."
>
> Ultimately, what you do inside an OS is *way* more important than what
> OS you do it on.  Web 2.0 is proof of this.  This is why M$ now fears
> Google more than Linux.  Tools will eclipse OS as an important
> battleground and that's where real innovation starts.
>
> So, if Windows puts bread on your table, fine.  Entrepreneurs often
> can't turn away business because customer wants Windows.  And why
> would they?
>
> When it comes to being tech support for friends and family, I teach a
> man to fish.  I don't have time to fish for them and I already
> volunteer with Linux.  OS has nothing to do with it.
>
>
> --
> Matt Frye
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattfrye
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