On 01/10/2007 Tony Alfrey wrote:
1. If Macs were cheap, people would use Macs, not PCs (possibly a false premise, otherwise the Mac Mini would be more successful).
You can't go down to the corner store and have your choice of eight or nine mother boards, five or six video cards, processors, sound cards, etc [ ad infinitum, et nauseum ]. The simple reason Mac's are expensive is that they ARE proprietary. If you want one you pay THEIR price.
2. Linux/SuSE or some other distro has the potential to be like a cheap Mac. It needs a. the GUI and apps to be ready for prime time, nearly Mac-like. Getting there.
AFAIAC, the GUI is very good. Some of the apps......well.....while they are good [ as good as any out there ] installation could be better.
b. the hassle factor to be at the level of that for a Mac. A list of absolutely compatible systems would help *on the hardware side*.
IMHO, it is a matter of demand, then supply. If more people were using Linux, in any of it's permutations, then hardware makers would work a little more diligently on the compatability issues. If you sell three widgets a year to Linux users and three million widgets a year to Windows users, where you gonna put your focus. RIGHT. If Windows is paying the bills, then your gonna focus on Windows. If the demand goes up, then supply will go up as well. Another issue that I feel goes along these same lines is the issue of "information". When I went to download 10.0 to give SuSE another try I didn't read every page on the site. I went straight to the download page, downloaded and installed [ Just the same as 99% of all "newbies" are going to do. ]. I was totally clueless about things that I NEEDED to know up front. Like adding repositories [ H___ I didn't even know what a "repository" was. Isn't that one of them things that a doctor tells you to shove up your alimentary canal? ], what I needed to add to watch a DVD or play a CD, all sorts of little things that most on here know without thinking about it. This stuff needs to be shoved down their throat from the get go. I wish it had been mine. Thankfully 10.0 installed and ran just great. Made me the "convert-in-training" that I am. -- (o:]>*HUGGLES*<[:o) Billie Walsh The three best words in the English Language: "I LOVE YOU" Pass them on! -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org