[wplug] WIRED

[David Gerard Matthews Jr.]

I personally could not disagree more.  I have been very happily running
Linux as a desktop OS for a year, and quite honestly find it superior to
Winblows in just about every respect.  Note that I am not some hardcore
techie who writes all his own software, nor I am a "Slashdot elitist"
who lambasts anyone incapable of speaking fluent bash.  I'm just a
normal, everyday user, who was sick of large corporations dictating to
me the best way to use my computer.  
Besides, commercial Unix vendors have already more or less levied behind
Linux (especially IBM, SGI, and HP) and even Sun has taken steps towards
making Solaris more Linux-like (adopting Gnome, open-sourcing Star
Office).
WRT elitism, I can't imagine a more elitist and arrogant attitude than
insisting that Linux is only meant for servers.  The overwhelming
majority of computer users will never administer a server (I certainly
never have) and most will never even write a program (okay, I've done
that), but that doesn't mean that they can't benefit from a robust,
secure, free (as in speech) operating system.  Hardcore techies may look
down on distros like Mandrake and SuSE, but to a newbie who may be
interested in Linux it's important to have an interface which rivals
Windows in user-friendliness.
As far as apps go, it's true that we are missing some key apps.  I have
been unable to completely trash Windows (much as I'd like to) because I
still need access to a single application.  However, that situation is
changing rapidly.  I find StarOffice 5.2 at least functional (for my
needs at least) as M$ Office.  I never liked IE even when I used Windows
and MacOS.  Really, most off the street computer users I know need a
word processor, web browser, email client, MP3 player, and maybe
photo-editing or CD-burning software, all of which are readily available
for Linux.  Give them Mandrake with a current version of KDE or Gnome,
and they'd be as set as if they were on a windows box.
Lastly, while Linux is not often thought of as a multimedia platform,
its strengths in that area have frequently gone unnoticed among many
Linux users.  In my own field of computer music I have come to rely on
GPL'd apps which duplicate or surpass the functionality of commercial
products for Windows or MacOS costing in some cases $500-$1000.  I have
no doubt that there are other small fields where Linux has been making
inroads, perhaps among small communities within small communities, and
enabling people to do work which might not have been possible with
commercial software.
My $0.02.  Flame away....
-dgm    

Patrick Weber wrote:
> 
> If you haven't yet seen it, pick up a copy of October's issue of WIRED
> Magazine.  There is an excellent analysis of the state of Linux
> there.  Essentially they ask the questions:
>         1. What is Linux really good at?
>         2. What is holding Linux back?
> Really the one area that Linux surpasses nearly any other OS out there is
> in the server market.  That is one market that remains unconquered and
> highly competetive.  There is the real shot at Linux making it into the
> mainstream business community.  As the article points out, the desktop war
> is lost.  FACE IT!!! Microsoft has really won on the desktop, that cannot
> be avoided.  So why not then focus attention on an area that Linux can
> really dominate?  If concentrated efforts were made at improving and
> perfecting Linux as a server alternative, then it could dominate Sun's
> UNIX, IBM's AIX, and Microsoft's NT. Hands Down.  Too much time has been
> devoted to creating half baked software concoctions for the desktop user
> that simply don't work.  Look at the dozen's of office suites that are
> unusable.  Name one solid graphical development environment.  These efforts
> are essentially useless and only prove the point that Linux is not ready
> for the desktop and never will be, in the universal sense.
> 
> The other point that the article makes is how the attitudes of the Linux
> community impact the impressions of Linux in the "outside world".  First
> let me say that I have only had positive experiences with this particular
> group.  However, I think we can all admit that there are those very elitist
> and arrogant Linux zealots out there.  Unfortunately they seem to be highly
> visible to many businesses and can severely impede those businesses
> willingness to accept Linux.  Many times I have experience extremely rude
> behavior from Linux users.  You see this on many sites such as Slashdot
> etc.  Many of these people are driven more by a hatred for Microsoft than
> for an honest appreciation for what is a very solid and reliable operating
> system.  You and I know that these zealots are not the majority of Linux
> users.  Most of us are sincerely interested in either using the OS or
> developing for and expanding it.  Yet, as long as Linux is perceived to lay
> within the realm of ultrageekdom and arrogant exclusive rebels, it will
> never gain the respect it deserves.
> 
> The WIRED article is one of the most sincere, unbiased, honest evaluations
> of the current state of Linux.  It is well worth a read.
> 
> --patrick
> 
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