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08/14/01 08:47 PM: A response
I guess that Dave has pretty much forced me into responding to his comments. There are basically three general types of computer users: (1) people who have no idea how a computer works but are able to do certain tasks on it; (2) people understand how computers work and use whatever works best for a certain task; (3) and people who use some operating system or device simply for the ability to say that they use it.
Many Linux users fall into the third category simply because they do not like Microsoft and would rather use an alternative. Admittedly, I could be considered part of that group. However, If I were to categorize myself i would place myself in group two. I know what’s going on and I use whatever works for a certain task.
My Aunt several months ago got her first computer. Now, I basically had control over what hardware/software she was going to get. I chose that she go with Windows 98 SE. I would not have ever recommended Linux because supporting it for a desktop is a nightmare. Windows is a good operating system. It works most of the time and it has good hardware support. Linux would not work for her purposes.
Having said that, Linux is an excellent operating system. It is stable and quite functional and lets you have a great deal of control over your system. It is also far more secure than Windows due to its multi-user nature. It is an excellent choice for a server operating system. Linux servers are used by many companies including the Google search engine and Weather.com.
So, does Linux make a good desktop solution? In a word, No. I have been trying to use Linux as my desktop operating system and I have been mostly successful. I have a nice graphical interface with KDE. My printer is supported. I am typing this document in OpenOffice. My mouse wheel scrolls. My keyboard types. My computer, for all intents and purposes, works fine in Linux.
I did not mention that I have at least 2 years of Linux experience. I am not afraid to edit a configuration file or dig deep to make something work properly. I have experience in tweaking Linux to perform on high load servers running many processes (programs). I am not the typical user of computers. The typical users are type one from above. Chances are you are reading this site and are one of those type one users. There is absoloutely nothing wrong with that! Computers are there to make our life easier and you should not need to know how the internals of a computer work to be able to use it. Most people do not understand the principles behind an internal combustion engine, but they can drive a car just fine.
Bottom line, Linux is not ready for the general use desktop. Windows (and to a much lesser extent MacOS) have a secure position in the desktop market. Linux does just fine for what it’s good at. It works well for a server and also has a good place in the embedded devices market.
Linux is attractive because of its price ($0). I can go buy a boxed set of RedHat Linux 7.1 for roughly $40 and save downloading time or download it from Redhat. Compared to the hefty Windows 2000 Professional pricetag of roughly $300. They say XP will be in line with $90 pricetag. There are also hidden costs of supporting the system and with Windows you have further licencing costs. Linux has it’s advantages, but it has a ways to go to be accepted as a desktop operating system.
Bottom line: Both Windows and Linux are powerful operating systems. When it comes down to it, they are tools to accomplish a goal. You should use what you are comfortable with and what works for you. If that is Windows, then there is no good reason to change.
Please note, my discussion above omits some important issues regarding the benefits of actually having the source code to the programs. I’ve left that out because it simply doesnt matter when it comes to usability. If the type one user cannot get his or her task accomplished then having the source code to the program is totally useless.
If you got this far, thanks for reading and I appologize for the length. It was also more technical than I wanted.
