On Mon, Oct 03, 2005 at 03:54:41PM +0300, Uri Even-Chen wrote: > Amos Shapira wrote: > >My mom just got her first computer a year ago and until today she has no > >clue as to what she sees on the screen, even though she somehow manages > >to achieve some very basic goals with it. I bet I could have helped her a > >lot > >more remotely if she had a Linux on her desktop but everyone else in the > >family who were in the business of helping her veto'ed against it (and even > >against Firefox and Thunderbird). > > > >A properly setup Linux desktop from, let's say, last 18 months or so, > >shouldn't > >be harder to computer users to use than the equivalent Windows XP system.
Are you the only one providing support? What about the rest of the family? > > > >My feeling is that the main reason people "prefer" Windows is first and > >foremost because this is what they get with their computer and 99.999% > >of the time it's also the only system they ever heard of, let alone saw or > >(gasp) used. The original poster's situation falls under that explenation > >because his father saw Windows (and ONLY windows) in his office and > >wanted the same thing. > > You don't get Windows automatically with your computer. You buy it. You buy it automatically with your computer. And I repeat my earlier question: is there anywhere I can buy a desktop computer in Israel with Linux pre-installed? Is there a simple (does not ask questions) for open-office, firefox, thunderbird, 7-zip, gimp and other good free programs for windows? > But the default operating system is Windows (the latest version, depends > when you buy). I mean, most people just don't think about any > alternative. Your mother, my father, my brothers, any office - they > just don't know anything else. Windows is not perfect, but it's the > best thing they know. Most people never used anything else. And not > only Windows, but the whole MS suite - Office, Outlook, IE, Media Player > - you name it. People just use whatever default software which comes > with their computer. /me reminds everybody of an enlightened decision of some people in Massachusses. > > I have been to Australia and Thailand and used Internet at public places > (such as Cafes). They all use Windows! All with IE. It seems like > EVERYBODY is using Windows. It's much easier to be like everybody, use > whatever they use. It's like with communication - how many people you > know that don't have a regular phone number, but instead use something > like Skype? I'm referring to the main phone, not alternative. It's much > easier to do what everyone else does. And everyone use Windows. Except > some computer geeks... > > The same problem is with FireFox - it doesn't come with Windows, you > have to install it. It doesn't support Flash (not the default > installation as far as I know). Many websites will not work with it > properly. Then most people prefer not to use it. Most people use IE. > I used Netscape once, moved to IE a few years ago when I had problems > with Netscape. I tried FireFox but I couldn't see Flash, so I'm not > using it (I only use it occasionally as an alternative browser). Firefox on windows? Do you honestly say that you have problems installing flash on it? What version do you use? Mind providing more details? Though you should really install add-blocker first ;-) . > I'm > using IE. It's not easy to change habits - but I'm a computer geek. > It's much more difficult for ordinary people... (but there is another > reason - as a webmaster I want to use whatever my users are using, at > least most of them. You have to keep up with your customers). > > I also tried Open Office and went back to MS Office. It's just not as > easy to use, and not compatible with the rest of the world... /me reminds everybody of an enlightened decision of some people in Massachusses. > Compatibility is a big issue. At the end of the day we're communicating > with people, not with computers. And don't tell me Open Office is > compatible with MS Office - it isn't. At least not 100% compatible. I > checked. Right. And MS is about to move to a different format once again soon. -- Tzafrir Cohen | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | VIM is http://tzafrir.org.il | | a Mutt's [EMAIL PROTECTED] | | best ICQ# 16849755 | | friend ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
