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. 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. This is just a ridiculous comment. Must? If 100% accuracy is the necessary absolute, then Linux in your view will never be desktop ready. MS is not going to be this helpful to Linux. If a company has 1,000 computers, I think it is going to be tempting to go Linux, and install Star Office on each computer, free. Especially, if the computers are located in distant locations like hotels and chains such as WalMart, etc. Simply keep Windows on one of the computers in the network,for documents and excell files
Whether we like it or not, that is what 95% of businesses are using today, and that it what people use at home, since they need to ability to exchange documents between work and home. You base your premise on the people first, companies second in changing to Linux. Yes this would be a hindrance, as a secretay would have to think twice about using a system at home, which her company does not use. Not to mention, being able to borrow programs for her own
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. From what I read, you deal with very complicated documents such as
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. True. When I walk into MicroCenter for instance, I like to ask if they have a computer with Linux preinstalled, even though I know the answer is no. I think this day will come, but I'm wondering how stores will handle distro problems. I would want to walk into the store and purchase SuSE preinstalled, not RedHat or Debian, etc. Dell is selling computers with RedHat preinstalled, only to companies at this point I think, not to individuals. Well I would want SuSE
Hello, Sun, 05 Mar 2000, ÷Ù ÎÁÐÉÓÁÌÉ: that just won't open in Star Office. personal install. But companies are converting to Linux, albeit slowly. Once the company converts, the employee is free to follow if he/she so chooses. So this is what blows your premise. Companies go first, employees are free to go second. form documents. These types of companies would have to include in their feasibility studies the cost of recreating form documents all over again in another processor. The nice thing is that this cost can be calculated and understood. And perhaps one day for companies such as yours, the pluses of changing systems willl become to much to ignore. As for me, haven't had a problem yet opening a Word document. But if I do, it can be sent to me in RTF. I can see the point with excell files. If an excel file doesn't open, then what? Solution, keep a computer around with Windows installed. Not a solution for every company, but for some this would work. preinstalled.
Instead of crying for Mr. Dyroff's head, we should all thank him for being sincere. To say it's not ready for the desktop is too general. There are companies who need simple word processing and spreadsheet abilities, and can get this with Star Office. And if they have a problem with a Word or Excel file, they can keep Windows on one of their computers for conversion use. Sure this won't work for many companies such as yours and the ones with which you do business, but for some it will work. And some is how Linux keeps moving forward, some after some if you will.
We are getting enough lies from Microsoft, we don't need to hear them from the makers of our favorite distribution. First, get this guy out of public relations. He is an idiot for the words he chose in expressing his thoughts. Second, it's not a lie. It is ready for the desktop, just not for every company and individual. But for "some more" it is, and "some more" is more than the year before.
By opening our eyes to the weaknesses in Linux, the truth allows us to improve the operating system. You give an all or nothing arguement. To cut and dried.
George
Avi
SJ Black wrote:
Hello, all -
OK, I've gone over the CNN article. About a 1/2 dozen times.
Dyroff's sanity needs be called into question.
Anyone - ANYONE - releasing a top-of-the-line product, and then claiming it's not able to compete in a given market is shooting themselves in the foot... to say nothing of their employees, who create - often painstakingly - that product.
As a businessperson, programmer, and consultant, i have to think twice about tossing support behind SuSE. Until now, i've been a staunch supporter. I like the product. It's the most comprehensive distro on the market. It'll do for damned near any purpose conceivable. But CEO's like Dyroff have a tendency to sabotage such good efforts. Who the hell is he working for - M$??? Or Caldera??
Articles like this are a slap in the face to people who are actively promoting SuSE Linux. I'm sure the companies who are investing huge sums of cash to support the Linux effort don't like it much either.
I dare Dyroff to tell IBM, Intel and a few other major league players that Linux isn't ready for the desktop market. He'll have a great many people to answer to if he does.
Right now, he's not much credit to the company that pays him.
Alpha
-- Avi Schwartz Get a Life avi@CFFtechnologies.com Get Linux
-- 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/
-- My personal website http://www.firstnethou.com/gz/welcome.ht -- 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/