It's only selfishness [LWN.net]

It's only selfishness

Posted Jun 30, 2003 14:30 UTC (Mon) by mwilck (subscriber, #1966)
In reply to: Lindows.com - Friend or Foe? by TimCunningham
Parent article: Lindows.com - Friend or Foe?

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.

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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.