On Mon, 2007-07-30 at 11:52 -0700, Mike DeMarco wrote: > > To Ian Murdoch and the Open Solaris Community, > > > > As a long-time follower of the open source community, > > I stumbled across this forum a week ago and was > > intrigued by the activity taking place on Open > > Solaris. I spent some time reading posts, and over > > the day some concerns became clear to me; concerns > > that I felt compelled to write about. I have written > > a letter that I hope will encourage discussion and > > bring about positive results. I thank you for your > > interest. > > > > [b]Gaining a significant market share will attract > > developers. [/b] > > > > Imagine with me that Solaris was the OS on 40% of all > > computers. Do you believe that it would have a large > > and vibrant developer community? Most certainly. > > Developers would miss out on 40% of the market if > > they ignored Solaris. Getting Solaris installed on > > as many computers as possible should be the first > > and main concern. > > > > It is true that users alone will not make Open > > Solaris into a great product, but they are the final > > judge of its success. The Open Solaris community > > must remember who will use their software when the > > development is done: the user. > > > > If a large number of desktop users should be the > > first priority, targeting the Linux developerâs > > community is a poor strategy. These developers are > > already a small subset of all developers, and > > hundreds of Linux distros compete for their limited > > time. In targeting them, Solaris has chosen the > > hardest possible target when much easier targets > > exist. > > > > Where, then, will this imaginary 40% of users come > > from? From Windows, of course. Windows is where it > > must come from. Solaris [i]must [/i]take a large > > share from Windows, not Linux, to be successful. > > > > Fortunately⦠> > > > [b]There is a large group of Windows users who would > > use a FOSS alternative if it existed.[/b] > > > > Wait. What about Linux? We already have an open > > source alternative. Not really. There are two kinds > > of people who currently use Linux. There are those > > who are good at programming, who understand computers > > and software at a deep level. These people enjoy the > > command prompt, know what âViâ is and usually work in > > network administrator or other IT positions. I shall > > refer to these people as the Technical Elite. The > > Technical Elite use Linux. > > > > The second group is the friends and relatives of this > > Technical Elite. Their moms and dads and roommates. > > These people rely upon the Technical Elite to help > > them get Beryl working, to figure out Grub, to > > re-compile the kernel to make their wireless card > > work. They are not power users, and use their > > computers to simply surf the web and write email. > > > > The only reason this second group can even consider > > Linux is because it has become much easier to use. A > > lot of work has been done to hide the power, so that > > an average Joe can do most average things. But > > should something go wrong, should something advanced > > need to be done, anyone not a Technical Elite must > > seek the aid of one. There is no middle ground. The > > arcane syntax of the command prompt ensures this. In > > fact, I predict that Linux will continue to grow > > until the Technical Elite can âsupportâ no more. > > Linux is too hard for the average user to fix or > > update on their own. There are too many gotchas, > > too many places where special knowledge is required. > > If any one doubts this, a simple visit to the > > Ubuntu support forum will confirm it. Post after > > post documents the trials and tribulations of > > average users wrestling with even the (seemingly) > > simplest of tasks. > > > > Most people use Linux for a single reason. They use > > it because, at some level, they agree with the > > principles of Open Source. They take the time and > > energy required to learn Linux because of the > > strength of that belief. They are like people who > > have a dream of climbing Mt. Everest. They train and > > practice and spend a lot of money to fly to Asia and > > risk their lives to realize this dream. It is an > > expensive and dangerous process, but the view from > > the top makes it all worthwhile. > > > > However, for every person who has the time and money > > to spend making their dream come true, there are > > hundreds of others who share the same dream, but lack > > the time and money. Climbing Mt. Everest will always > > remain a dream for millions. > > > > It is the same with Linux and Solaris. It is a > > wonderful dream that thousands like myself have, but > > we lack the time and money to invest in the learning > > required to make it happen. I want the freedom that > > climbing Mt. Solaris offers, but I have a job and a > > wife and debts and not enough free time to spend > > years figuring out sudo or XFS or D-Trace. A truly > > Free operating system will always remain just a dream > > for me. I, and thousands like me, use Windows > > because we want more power than a neutered Linux, but > > we lack the knowledge of the Technical Elite to make > > Linux work. > > > > It is unfortunate, because it doesnât need to be this > > way. The⦠> > [b] > > Technical constraints that shaped the way we use > > computers no longer exist and must be rethought.[/b] > > > > Some here remember a time when programs were punched > > in to cards. We have come a long way since then. > > There are still some relics of that era that > > continue in computing, particularly in open source > > communities. Developers have spent many years > > acquiring these skills. They have grown used to the > > command prompt, to Perl scripts. They are > > comfortable. Their knowledge gives them status. > > However, these relics are the chief hurdle that > > prohibits the mass acceptance of FOSS platforms. > > Until the command prompt (and all functions that > > rely on it) is replaced by a graphical, intuitive, > > easy-to-use interface, open source operating systems > > will never gain wide acceptance. The barrier of > > entry is simply too high. > > > > The frustrating part is that it doesnât need to be > > this way. We now have the technology to make the > > command line obsolete. Combo boxes and check marks > > and tool tips could open up a world of features to > > the general user. Simple, intuitive interfaces would > > also allow the best tool for the job to be chosen, > > instead of the most familiar. Making it simple > > enough for the non-Technical Elite makes it simple > > enough for all. Outdated and arcane software ideas > > that have been kept on life support for 30 years > > could be retired in favor of ideas that are the > > product of 30 years of learning. > > > > An operating system, based on excellent technology, > > wrapped up in intuitive interfaces that allow the > > average user to utilize the full power of their > > computer would be extremely attractive to not only > > the current Linux community, but the much larger > > community of users who are attracted to the ideas of > > Open Source. For the thousands of us who will never > > climb Mt. Everest, it would be a dream come true. > > > > [b]Open Solaris has a once in a lifetime > > opportunity.[/b] > > > > Solaris is uniquely situated to make this dream a > > reality. With the support of Sun Microsystems, > > resources (no matter how insignificant) could be > > directed towards making fundamental aspects of > > Solaris âpowerful AND easyâ for all users: to > > replacing the command line with an interface that > > would allow many more users to enjoy and maintain > > their own computers, to rethinking the way people > > interact with their computers, to lowering the > > barrier to entry without resorting to baby-sitting. > > Should Solaris use sudo or RBAC? Users donât care > > about which is better. They want the one they can > > use (Windowsâ dominance demonstrates this), and > > neither of these technologies currently meet this > > criteria. > > > > An operating system founded on Open Source ideals > > that allowed users to easily master their computers > > would be extremely attractive to a large group of > > people now laboring in Microsoftâs camp. The much > > desired developers would come of their own accord, > > should Solaris gain a significant majority of users. > > > > Worry about the technology being used, but more > > importantly, worry about making the technology easily > > usable. In your debates and meetings and focus > > groups ask the question, âCould a complete newbie use > > this in less than 5 minutes?â Keep forefront in your > > mind that every time the answer is âNoâ, the barrier > > to entry just got raised a little higher, Solarisâ > > market share just got a little smaller, and a few > > more developers just picked a rival operating system > > to develop for. > > > > Picture a future where Free Solaris is the worldâs > > most popular operating system. Looks good, doesnât > > it? The only way this can be is by appealing to > > users. Remove the barriers that keep this from > > becoming reality. > > I enjoy Solaris, Always have. Do I want it to become another Windows? NO. > Leave the point and clickers behind. We in the Open source community need to > be able to > give all people the choice and flexibility to be independent. To have the > freedom to develop > the next evolutionary step in computers. Command line is where we live! It is > not dead and > never will be. This is where the future brain trust is and this is where we > gather into our > communities. I like solving the difficult problems and don't want someone > giving me the > "EASY BUTTON". Solaris should stay ahead of the crowd. Not in the 40% But > more in the > 10%.
I think the "40%" was a rectum pluck rather than it being a fixed number on which OpenSolaris should aim. I mean, if you look at Mac, their marketshare is below 10% and yet has a bigger selection of software than Solaris. One could argue that not only does Solaris need more users, but its quality rather than quantity. If the vast majority of the 40% are penny pinching, proprietary software hating, thick-rim-glasses wearing, hunch back coding geeks - it certainly won't attract vendors such as Adobe or MYOB who don't target that crowd. Matthew
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