Re: [PLUG] Interesting Article from eWeek

[Dave Harding <harda@gnuisance.net>]

Howard Bloom wrote:
 
> When I work on my PC - selling on eBay - using proprietary programs that
> only exist in windows, Linux just won't fly for me.  Not yet.  When the day
> comes I'll tell Microsoft to go f*&#$*#$*& themselves and boot every
> Microsoft program from my platters but until I can exist in the Linux world
> only, that isn't going to happen.  I have to live in Windows and make the
> best of it.  

	Do you really "have to live in Windows" or is it merely more
convient for you to do so?  I personally don't have any problems selling
on eBay using an entirely free operating system and userspace.  It can
be inconvient to run free software, but I find it even more inconvient
to run proprietary software.

> I am hoping for a time when I can do EVERYTHING within Linux. I would pay
> for Linux versions of the software I use but the software companies don't
> ever plan on making Linux versions of their software.

	Perhaps this is a chicken/egg paradox.  As long as you continue to
pay them full price for the software under Windows, what incentive do
they have to port their software?

> The article I posted talked about some areas of Linux where a novice user
> isn't going to be able to use it especially if they find themselves in
> situations where configuration changes become necessary.

        The longer you run any operating system the more likely you will
be faced with a situtation where you will need to learn something,
regardless of the default settings.  What do you think the probability
is that you are judging the difficulty of maintaining a GNU/Linux
distribution erroneously because you, and possibly the author of that
article, are familar with maintance of Windows?

	To perhaps make that point more clear; how many people do you
know who have been able to follow fairly sophisticated instructions to
fix or enchance their Windows computers? In these days where multitudes
of viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, etc... all abound for Windows I
can't imagine that many people are incapable of self-maintance.

	I'm sure you're proud of all that you have learned about
Unix-like systems since you were a novice, but please don't let that
hubris cause you to assume that GNU/Linux will be too difficult for
current novices to learn.

> What part of this don't you all understand?

	I can't and won't speak for others but I can never understand it
when people "hope" for change and yet don't even attempt to take it upon
themselves to accomplish that change.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

         - Ghandi

Humbly yours,

-Dave
-- 
I had a terrible dream last night: There was a note tacked to the server
room door that read, "There is No Escape". When I told my therapist
about the dream he said I was, "Out of Control". I decided he must be an
EMACS user.

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