Lindows.com - Friend or Foe? [LWN.net]

Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Posted Jun 26, 2003 4:33 UTC (Thu) by TimCunningham (guest, #10316)
Parent article: Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Maybe the only thing I'm not totally sold on is the reason we 'need' to reach the masses. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only one who couldn't really care less if the less technically-inclined use Linux on their desktops.

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Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Posted Jun 26, 2003 6:23 UTC (Thu) by ttonino (guest, #4073) [Link] (2 responses)

"Reaching masses" will not make Linux worse, but will give rise to many more applications, and thus many more developers. And more eyes finding bugs - which is good.

If you want to run something your neighbour doesn't, there's always something to be found I think. BSD - Plan9 - Hurd - ???

Thomas

Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Posted Jun 26, 2003 10:16 UTC (Thu) by beejaybee (guest, #1581) [Link]

'"Reaching masses" will not make Linux worse`

Well, actually, this _is_ a real concern. Installing unneccessary services is a security hazard, as is having more than is neccessary running with root privelege. In the interests of "convenience" Lindows has unfortunately run foul of both of these traps.

I for one do not want to see the legendary reliability & security benefits of linux over Windows undermined by insecure distributions, however large their user base.

Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Posted Jun 26, 2003 20:34 UTC (Thu) by TimCunningham (guest, #10316) [Link]

If you want to run something your neighbour doesn't, there's always something to be found I think. BSD - Plan9 - Hurd - ???

I never said that I wanted to run something specifically because other people don't; all I ment was that I don't care one way or the other. I suppose the argument can be made that that'll increase the software support for Linux, but I'm not dissatisfied as it stands, so I'm not overly concerned about that, either.

Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

Posted Jun 26, 2003 14:15 UTC (Thu) by bshowalter (guest, #538) [Link]

Keep in mind that the more masses we reach, the more pressure is exerted on hardware vendors to support their products on Linux, and at the very least, to provide Linux-compatible drivers for those products that offer *all* of the capabilities that their Windows drivers do, instead of just a small subset of the more important functions. Wireless networking is one particular area where vendors seem to be gravitating more and more towards chipsets that are simply not supported on Linux.

It's only selfishness

Posted Jun 30, 2003 14:30 UTC (Mon) by mwilck (subscriber, #1966) [Link] (1 responses)

The other answers to your excellent question show that the reason we want to attract the masses is actually selfishness - masses exert pressure on Hardware and Software vendors who will then deliver the drivers and applications we (the nerds) would like to have.

Ok, there are also some other reasons (political - we don't want Microsoft to rule the world, economical - we want more competition in the software market, philosophical - we think all software should be free, etc.). But I think the selfish motivation is the strongest one.

In weak moments, I wonder if providing the best solution for the mass user is also among our goals. In other words: if we really, honestly think that a Linux distro like Lindows serves them better than Windows.

What does Mom do after Lindows has passed the "Mom test"? What if she tries to install the latest Windows game or cool screen saver? I still fear (selfishness, of course) that, after the initial easy-to-use appeal, many users will face bad experiences with Lindows, and turn away from Linux for years to come. This may be worse than if they had never used Linux at all.

It's only selfishness

Posted Jul 3, 2003 20:34 UTC (Thu) by haraldt (guest, #961) [Link]

That's called "oversell". It's not a problem if the salespeople don't make it one.
Remember, these guys do like to sell an expensive system. MSwindows-based if it is so. It's just, happy customers makes long-term income.

The right customers for these systems like to stretch their budgets. They need their tasks done with a minimum of hassle, and don't like to make things more difficult than they see a need for. Plus, they see computers as work, not play. Computer games means something on the scale of Solitaire for their own needs, but kids would like something fun and educational.
There are quite a lot of them.
If sales force please that market, that's fine. It means customers they might not have had otherwise. But the rest will have to pay for their needs, and that's even better.

And, there are plenty of moms out there who'll find it entirely all right if their kids can't install Half Life at home. Freely available screensavers can be impressive compared to the standard MSwindows ones.