Out the Window (WSJ)
Out the Window (WSJ)
Posted May 16, 2006 20:34 UTC (Tue) by arcticwolf (guest, #8341)In reply to: Out the Window (WSJ) by mattdm
Parent article: Out the Window (WSJ)
I don't know. I have one problem with this article - namely, that it's not really about "how suitable is Linux for the desktop" but rather about "how suitable is Linux for the desktop when you want to migrate from windows or introduce it into a windows environment". That's an important question, too, of course, but a different one.
To illustrate the difference, observe that the author complains about problems with importing Office files into OpenOffice. If that was a strike against Linux on the desktop in general, you could just as well argue that windows is not ready for the desktop because Office does not properly import OpenOffice documents.
So, yes, it does seem to be a balanced and fair evaluation, but not an evalution of whether Linux is ready for the desktop - it's an evaluation of whether Linux can act as a drop-in replacement for windows without the user really noticing anything.
Posted May 16, 2006 20:40 UTC (Tue)
by mattdm (subscriber, #18)
[Link]
Posted May 16, 2006 22:30 UTC (Tue)
by tomsi (subscriber, #2306)
[Link]
To illustrate the difference, observe that the author complains about problems with importing Office files into OpenOffice. If that was a strike against Linux on the desktop in general, you could just as well argue that windows is not ready for the desktop because Office does not properly import OpenOffice documents.
This is really an OpenOffice/MS Office problem.
The big difference between Windows and the Linux Distributions are all the applications that comes with your typical distrbution.
Posted May 17, 2006 2:53 UTC (Wed)
by drag (guest, #31333)
[Link] (2 responses)
No it's not.
The reason is is because EVERYBODY uses Windows on the desktop and nobody uses Linux on the desktop. And when I say 'everybody' and 'nobody' I mean 99% of everybody out there that would possibly have any interest what-so-ever in using any operating system on any desktop. And if they do decide to use Linux your going to be dealing with Linux in a Windows world.
It's the user that defines the criteria of a good desktop, not a third party observer...
The guy's requirements were that it works with his computer. That it plays his media files and works with his peripherals. That he would be able to use it to send, receive, read, create and edit information to/from work and associates.
The result is that the Linux desktop almost worked. It almost did everything he wanted to do on it, but that it fell short on all counts.
This is a fairly decent real-world account of a guy with no substantial computer or operating system knowledge making a serious go at using Linux. This is the problems that he delt with.
It's obvious that he liked it otherwise. It's just that it was unusable for him. He said that he would keep his eye on new developments and possibly give a try later on. Also he said that it would be perfectly suitable for a rather large class of end users. (ones that deal with mostly just using the web and email and home office stuff) Which ironicly are generally the ultra-novices. (assuming of course they have somebody that knows how to install the operating system)
Posted May 17, 2006 9:06 UTC (Wed)
by ekj (guest, #1524)
[Link]
Migrating to Linux is different from simply starting out with Linux, I agree. And I also agree that for many people in the "western" world, migrating to linux will be the fact. The exception being kids. There's on the order of 50 schools using Skulelinux in Norway now, those kids won't have to "migrate" to Linux or Windows, they'll know both and probably be able to make a more "fair" choise.
Posted May 27, 2006 17:25 UTC (Sat)
by colobikeguy (guest, #38027)
[Link]
I work as a hack admin in between drafting patents at a small law firm. I consider myself a linux newbie although I have been tinkering with suse (9.2-10.1) for about two years now.
I would not recommend to my law firm to switch over to linux because of the issues the article noted. The end use profile at my firm is paid over 200 dollars an hour to type up applications and are usually under time crunch to get an application out THAT DAY. So, they get very irritated at small things like section breaks in documents, and would blow up at things like formatting changes between when going from MS Office to OpenOffice.
Personally, I prefer linux at home. I can't wait until I get the wireless on my laptop working. It is a very liberating and lovely operating system. My wife doesn't like linux. However, I am weaning her off of windows and getting her using suse 10.1 with gnome. Her and the kids did not like kde.
Any case, it is great that the linux community has now focused on desktop usability.
I would ABSOLUTELY love to be able to walk into the law firm and say without hesitation: if we upgrade to distro xxx on our server and distro xxx on our clients then we would save xxx dollars in IT costs, and be able to view the videos of inventions our clients send us, and work with our docketing system, and etc.
That hasnt happened yet.
Very truly yours,
colobikeguy
PS. We don't do software patents by the way. :) So PLEASE dont flame me.
That's not really a problem, though, because it doesn't ever say otherwise. In fact, the title is "Out the Window". :)Out the Window (WSJ)
Out the Window (WSJ)
""I don't know. I have one problem with this article - namely, that it's not really about "how suitable is Linux for the desktop" but rather about "how suitable is Linux for the desktop when you want to migrate from windows or introduce it into a windows environment". That's an important question, too, of course, but a different one.""Out the Window (WSJ)
Depends on the context. I'd say 90% or so of the population of earth has not yet used any operating-system on their desktop. (because they ain't got one)Out the Window (WSJ)
I agree with drag.Out the Window (WSJ)