Congratulations on an excellent reply to a pathetic article. I couldn't have
done it better myself.
On Fri, 12 Jan 2001 07:54, Dan LaBine wrote:
> Just for the record, here's the response I sent to Mr. Volz ;
>
> Dear Todd; Interesting article . Was this picaresque novella written to
> judge the reaction of the general public? Were you attempting to take a
> survey of Linux enthusiasts, and some bonehead in your marketing department
> said "Hey let's write something demeaning and shallow, and see what the
> readers do"? Or, ARE YOU NUTS ???!!!
>
> I can't beleive (although you're making it mighty easy) that someone of
> your apparent stature wouldn't see the benefits and necessity of providing
> an abundance of applications. First, let's consider the current situation
> in regards to available software. Typically, it's very expensive, and
> doesn't always provide what the customer is looking for. If it manages to
> accomplish this particular feat, chances are that it will be difficult to
> learn. How many people are totally satisfied with a particular piece of
> software. If they master it, they usually ending up jumping at the next
> version hoping it has the improvements that they feel it needs. And so the
> vicious circle begins. Upgrade after expensive upgrade. But how many more
> buy it, try it, and fry it? They get fed up and give up. Wouldn't it be
> great if they could try several and make their own decision.
>
> Perhaps they would appreciate certain features of one application, and
> other features of another. Your article seems to suggest that these choices
> should be made for the public by someone else, and that the consumer should
> simply accept what is offered. In other words, having been caught up in the
> insidious trap deployed by Microsoft, we should now allow history to repeat
> itself with Linux? How Orwellian of you. Haven't you clued in yet? Linux is
> all about choice ! It's about having an opportunity to not only personalize
> the way your desktop looks, it's about choosing the software you want to
> use without having to pay through the nose for it.
>
> I also noticed that you have taken it upon yourself to decide what
> people do and don't want on their computers. My firm ships out hundreds of
> computer per week, and my tech support department handles large quantities
> of phone calls regarding a larger range of questions. The funny thing is,
> they're almost all about how to select software, and how to personalize
> their computers. Having been in this business for almost 14 years, I've
> seen software companies come and go. Remember Delrina ? Global Village? I
> do. I remember that they expected consumers to pay high price tags for
> software, and I remember that they didn't give a rat's ass about
> discontinuing support or revisions to existing software. I remember may
> others doing the same, and I'm sure that you do as well. Wouldn't it be
> great if you already had a large selection of software you could pick from?
>
> One of the most repetitive accolades we receive from our clients is
> that we take the time to "Demystify" how computers and software work. The
> majority of our clients (Corporate and Individual by the way) are surprised
> and pleased to learn about their IT investments, especially when it's
> explained in Plain Old English. The terminology is what scares most people,
> not the necessity to choose from too many programs. They certainly don't
> have a problem learning, they have a problem understanding "Techno-Babble"
> It can be as painful as listening to a politician who's trying to tell the
> truth !
>
> No Sir ! You're way off the mark ! In this day and age, consumers are
> being treated like idiots. They don't like it one bit, and I don't either.
> Ever had surgery done? I'll bet you appreciated having the surgeon explain
> WHY they were going to remove that part of your brain that gives you a
> conscience, and what was involved, right? Well consumers are exactly the
> same. They want to know, but they don't want to be treated like morons in
> the process. Your article strongly suggests that these decisions and
> choices should be made by the companies who make the products. I find the
> implication insulting. So would my clients.
>
> In the future, please pay more attention to the ramifications of what
> you say in your articles. What's next Terry? Left handed mice for everyone,
> and we'll let Henry Ford pick the color of every car ? ( any Color you
> want,...as long as it's black!)
>
> Have a nice day !
>
> Dan LaBine
> MCSE, MCP.
>
> General Manager,
> Atlantis Computers Ltd.
>
> President
> Maximum L.A.N.'s Ltd.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Adrian Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2001 11:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [newbie] Mandrakesoft CEO defends Linux
>
>
> quote from the artical:
> The week before Christmas, CNET News.com editor Todd Volz blasted most of
> the major commercial distributions, including Mandrakesoft, for shipping
> bloated product. While most of the bloat comes in the area of
> developer-oriented features, i.e. mulitple compilers, screen setting
> controls etc., Voltz viewed the business community's reluctance to slim
> things down for the regular user a distressing sign.
>
> quote from adrian:
> where is my shotgun?
>
> mandrake comes on 2 CDs with:
> 1 OS
> 10 window managers
> 100+ programs
>
> winsux comes on 1 CD with
> 1 OS
>
> bloat? where's the bloat.... i think someone missed the bloat.....
>
>
> Adrian Smith
> 'de telepone dude
> Telecom Dept.
> x 7042
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> >>> Tom Brinkman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 10:54:26 AM 1/10/01 >>>
>
> http://www.upside.com/Open_Season/3a5b574d60.html
> --
> Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Galveston Bay
--
Sridhar Dhanapalan.
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