Hi, Avi, Avi Schwartz wrote:
I don't understand what the noise is all about. Roland Dyroff is right about every point he brought up. I love Linux and I use it as my main platform both at home and at work but I have to agree that Linux is not quite ready for the desktop. It is coming close, but it is not there yet.
That depends on whose desktop you are referring to. Most corporations have an IT department to configure software and hardware for the users. If a company deploys Linux, they should hire Linux administrators. Likewise, if they deploy NT on the desktop, they usually hire MCP's or MCSE's. What Linux is not ready for is the so-called "power user" who downloads some gee-whiz GUITweeker from download.com, changes to look of his screen and thinks he's a Guru. This individual will try to install Linux and destroy everything (because he knows all about computers and therefore does not need to read anything), and blames Linux for corrupting his data when the readme clearly said to run scandisk and defrag first. My wife doesn't give two hoots about the OS. She can use Linux like a pro because the GUI is similar to Windows and StarOffice works just like MS Office. It prints when she clicks on the printer icon. (The virtual desktops still confuses her, though.)
For example, to be ready for the desktop it must have, among other things, the ability to handle MS Office documents (Word, Excel, etc.) with 100% accuracy. Whether we like it or not, that is what 95% of
With this criteria, Microsoft Word is not ready for the desktop. Have you ever taken a Word 6 file and loaded it into Word 97? Only if it is a simple one-page memo do I get 100% accuracy. I have fewer problems with a StarOffice generated document saved as Word - here I only have to replace the smiley-face bullets with real bullets and it's good to go.
businesses are using today, and that it what people use at home, since they need to ability to exchange documents between work and home. I am yet to find a program that can handle Office documents with 100% accuracy, or even 75% accuracy. I have tried them all, WP, StarOffice, Applix, Abi Word.
I write Linux articles for two technical newspapers in Hawaii using StarOffice on Linux. I save them in Word 6 format, and my editors have NEVER once mentioned any problems with the format or the text. I've collaborated with others who used Word 97, and I've been fully functional with StarOffice. Accuracy was not a problem, and this was 18 months ago.
Linux installation: I believe that today, with some distributions, the installation of Linux is almost as easy as a Windows installation. The difference is, that when you buy a computer today, %99.99 of them come pre installed with Windows, not Linux. The users don't have to install anything, which makes Linux by definition harder to install.
Installing Linux is much easier than Windows. I've installed each several dozen times. Installing Linux is about as difficult as installing NT. But you compare apples to oranges. Sit a user in front of a Linux box and a Windows box and ask them which is harder to install? Will they know? No. Give a person a computer with a blank hard drive and a CD-ROM, the Windows 95 disks and a Linux CD, and I'll put money on Linux. Why? Because Windows 95 CD is not bootable, and Microsoft forgot to put the CD-ROM drivers on the floppy. Most Linux CD's are bootable.
Instead of crying for Mr. Dyroff's head, we should all thank him for being sincere. We are getting enough lies from Microsoft, we don't need to hear them from the makers of our favorite distribution. By opening our eyes to the weaknesses in Linux, the truth allows us to improve the operating system.
There is a way of being sincere without demoralizing your loyal clientelle and your employees, and this was not it. The leader of any group should show full support for the group and what the group is doing. How many wars were won when the Generals said "We shouldn't be here." Not too many, because like snow, bad morale avalanches as it falls, and these type of comments can seriously demoralize a company, which adversely affects product value and performance. Enough. George -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/