Hi Sridhar & folks,
On Thu, 19 Jul 2001 14:39, you manipulated electrons to produce:
> On Thu, 19 Jul 2001 13:01, John Rigby wrote:
> > Hi Sridhar & folks,
> >
> > Well put, Sidhar, but missing the key point:
> > "Use" as distinct from "support."
>
> I would argue that GNU/Linux has _better_ support than does
> Windows. There are far more fora for GNU/Linux such as this list
> and web sites like MandrakeForum.com. With Windows, the main way to
> get support is to pay for it (and you pay through the nose). In
> GNU/Linux, you can either pay someone like MandrakeSoft or
> LinuxCare for support or get free support as I have just mentioned.
******** I meant at the "interface". What the user wants/needs is my
old Menu.- or today's equivalent.
The support capability of the *ux command line is phenomenally better
than M$ product.
But there is confusion out there in *directions* in Linuxland.
It is extremely hard to write a training manual for someone totally
alien. I went knutz doing it in places where the locals used to
steal lightbulbs and nail them to rafters and wait for them to light
up and the next day we had to teach them how to maintain Caterpillar
Dozers ( the other Dozers!)
The user of today - the target market has not changed:
1.He/she wants to get on the internet. ( Why comes later)
2. He wants to write a letter
3. She wants a *simple* accounts pack
4. He wants some games
5. Most of all he wants to send emails.
He does not want to be told:
"Oh you want a printer now do you?"
"Oh you want a cable for it, now?"
Remember, the vast mass of prospects out there do not even realise
that you need a separate Printer.
I spent years running a regional internet help group and was never
dismayed when people would ring me up and say they "bought a computer
and the guy came and plugged it in, but now tells me I need a printer
and a modem and a phone line for it all!!"
Some people think it works like a tv/phone - you just start it up
and talk into it and see pictures.
Most common complaint? "You mean I gotta learn to type, too?"
********** Adam Osborne sent me a Hard Disk for all the help I gave
them with my Menu. It was the talk of the town! Worth about $10,000
in todays dollars.
> Osborne! Now there's a company that brings back memories! I almost
> bought a machine from them back in 1994. After numerous delivery
> delays, I cancelled my order and got my money back -- only about a
> month before they went bust for good (and were later bought by
> Gateway). I think the most innovative thing they came up with was
> their portable computer -- AFAIK the first production portable
> computer ever built.
********** Actually the BIG thing was that it was the first machine
to come with bundled Software. It could actually work straight out of
the box!
He went broke from honesty! He announced that the new model was
going to come out in 3 months with an amazing number of extras.
So........... everyone cancelled their orders and waited.
It was manufacturing problems and lack of marketing knowhow that did
him in. But it was not understanding marketing that finished him
off.
>> Internet years) for momentum to build. Despite this, look at all
> the progress we've made. in general) has taken great strides on
> the desktop in recent years, and has continued to outpace its
> closed-source competition. It is only a matter of time before it
> becomes useable by all (if it isn't already).
******************* Oh, it is already!!
The thing people keep missing is that Doze comes PRE-INSTALLED.
It invariably used to come with Microsoft Works.
All the hassles happened with the suckers that were selling the
things!
My aim is to help make it easier. My advice to Linux world is simple:
Stop selling the software! Start selling INEXPENSIVE solutions that
ACTUALLY WORK.
Unless the box is sold directly with a standardised package running
on it, Big Bill *will* win.
BUT for the upgraders from Doze - and this is the main market for now
- what is needed is a SIMPLE standardised Distro without millions of
options. There should be ONE suite coming from Mandrake as an ENTRY
LEVEL PAK
1 Browser
1. Office Suite
1. Set of known Utilities
NO SERVER STUFF AT ALL.
Easy! Easy for everyone concerned.
John
