Mail Archives: djgpp/1999/04/11/07:07:52
On Sat, 10 Apr 1999, Arron Shutt wrote:
> I've lost count the number of people saying that Linux is hard to use,
No offense, but IMHO this is a baloney. Linux *installation* might
need some improvements, especially if you happen to own some obscure
hardware in your box, but that's about all. After Linux is installed,
it is as user-friendly (or user-unfriendly) as Windows. The GUI is
there for those who need it. So where's the problem?
Some say that solving problems is hard. But it is also hard with
Windows: Linux is about as complex as Windows is, so solving problems
is also about as hard.
The difference is that while with Linux you can dig deep enough to
find out everything (since the sources are there to look and hack),
with Windows you are stuck, unless you have some friendly guru around
(I know: people from the entire department run to me when they have
any problems ;-).
Some say that Linux comes without tech support, so if you have an
unsolvable problem, you have nobody to turn to. Now, *that's* a joke!
I would really like to know what people do when they have unsolvable
problems with Windows. Do they sue Microsoft?
The truth is that with Linux, you will probably have a work-around by
the end of the day, and a bugfix by the end of the week. This forum
is an apt example of the *true* tech support in the free software
world.
So I really am at a loss why people keep saying that Linux is
user-unfriendly. I guess somebody will have to explain this to me.
> Since DJ was interesting
> in selling a package to schools, then making Linux easier to use will
> obviously do nothing but make that task easier.
Would you please explain why do you think schools need Linux? Why
isn't it enough to have DJGPP on DOS or Windows? I don't think
schools go as far as writing GUI programs, so it shouldn't matter
which interface they have.
> An on-line tutorial.
If this is a part of the ``Linux is not user-friendly'' argument, I
would ask where's the tutorial for Windows? There aren't any.
> Disk tools similar to PC-Tools or such.
Linux already has several of these, like the Midnight Commander
(available in DJGPP port as well, btw). And Emacs includes a built-in
file manager.
> The only problem I can see is that some companies tend to go for a
> 'Total Microsoft Solution' (as has my own office)
The real problem with the Microsoft influence is that people are
required to produce files that are compatible with Microsoft
products. For example, Word file format is quickly becoming the
de-facto standard for exchanging documents, at least in large
corporations.
Since applications is the key to success, any solution that wants to
replace Microsoft's bug-ware needs to address this issue. For
example, if you come up with a better word processor, you must to be
able to import Word documents and export files in format that Word can
import (not necessarily the Word .doc format). *This* is (IMHO) the
real challenge for those who want to promote free software.
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