> I think that you have hit on the crux of the problem for Linux...it still
> requires a fairly high degree of technical proficiency to install and run
> it. As long as this is the case, MS and MAC will have an advantage in the
I think your comments make sense. More often than not, though, actually
installing Windows isn't something the average computer buyer (or user
in the workplace) is prepared to do either. Most of the time, the OS comes
preinstalled, and the user doesn't have to do anything but turn the box on
and click on Solitaire :).
There is no doubt that Linux is a more complicated system than is Windows
or Mac. Or at least, it *can* be a much more complicated system. One reason
is simple -- Linux has a lot more stuff that comes with it than does a Windows
system. There are a lot more packages, with several more choices in areas where
Windows only has one way of doing things. The average Windows user doesn't
usually encounter issues like what window manager to run, which filesystem
to use, even whether to partition his disks -- because all those choices
(or lack of them) have been decided in advance.
The average Windows user -- especially in a work environment -- isn't going to
be responsible for anywhere near the administrative responsibilities that
an average linux user is going to need to figure out sometime during the
life of his OS, at least on his system. That's why there are help desks, and
system administrators. I'm not a help desk person, nor a system administrator,
(if I sent my resume in for a sysadmin position it would probably get
laughed at) and I would simply not be allowed to do the types of things I
routinely do at home in a work environment. Hell, I've been in some work
environments where you just don't install software.
> consumer market. Granted, this platform has come a very long way with the
> improvements in KDE and Gnome just in the last year, but it is still full of
Surely. But I think the glitches (for the most part) would (if they
don't already exist) not impede Windows installations in the slightest.
People might grumble a bit, but they'd assume that it was "The Right Way"
and continue on.
> For example, I have had a number of problems getting printing to work
> correctly since I installed LM8. It turns out that I had to go in and
> change some settings in a cup.conf file to get it even half way reliable. I
Sure there have been problems (for me, cups worked just fine out of the
box) but these problems might arise in Windows. The difference is that you'd
have a few choices for printer drivers (or maybe only one) and you'd fight
with the printer driver and the printers dialog box and maybe call over to
the help desk for assistance, if you have one available to you. You might
not have to edit a configure file directly (a lot of that happens behind
the scenes in Windows, and is starting to with the newer Linux distributions.)
> also have had problems upgrading as the RPM manager does not seem to have a
> list of update sites except in the security tab. This can be confusing (and
That does seem to be the wrong place to put it.
> Wendell Gragg
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David E. Fox Thanks for letting me
[EMAIL PROTECTED] change magnetic patterns
[EMAIL PROTECTED] on your hard disk.
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