Logic Level Translator

[Chuck Harris]

JeffM wrote:

Level the playing field Bob, give potential linux users the same slack you give 'doze users... a preconfigured
machine. Chuck Harris


Here's one problem with that: Which distro? http://www.google.com/search?q=Wal-Mart+Linspire (Bottom-of-the-line
hardware)

The distribution doesn't much matter if it is preinstalled. The
big differences are in the installation, and setup scripts. Most
everything else works across all distributions.

. . Another problem: Non-M$-fanboyz don't like to feel like they're getting schnookered.

You can't even get a computer WITH NO OS that's not more expensive than one with Windoze.

That's not linux's fault, that is the fault of the hardware suppliers
that are in bed with microsloth. They buy their diskdrives preinstalled
with the latest version of 'doze.

There was a time when if a hardware manufacturer offered *anything* other
than 'doze on their hardware, they would lose their preferential licensing
agreements with microsloth.

**Dell Offering "Open" PC**
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:t8_ekeO320YJ:hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/05/1240206%26from=rss+*-machines-that-do-not-come-with-Windows-*-*-priced-*-*-*-more-then-*-*-system-with-Windows+windows-*-worthless+*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-all-*-free-offers-*-*-*-*-*-*+*-*-same-system-with-*-hard-disk-twice-the-size-*-*-17-LCD-monitor-*-*-*-*-*-for-*-same-price


Can you say "Penfield"? http://www.google.com/search?q=Penfield+Microsoft

Yep, talk to microsloth about that one.

As I said, level the playing field with pre configured
linux machines (that don't have to pay the microsloth tax),
and the user would find linux just as easy to use.

Ever try to install doze in a complicated environment (networking,
networked printers, ...) and have the result be a safely locked
down machine? It isn't easy. That's why there are so many MSCE's
around the job market.

-Chuck

 

[Bob Monsen]

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 17:22:15 -0500, Chuck Harris wrote:

Bob Monsen wrote:
On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 07:47:04 -0500, Chuck Harris wrote:

Hey chuck.


Seems to me, that the "rich folk" are the ones using the microslop
products. The whole rest of the world is using linux.

But not to worry, someday soon, the "rich folk" will be using linux
too!



Unfortunately, it isn't the 'rich/poor' dichotomy; it is the 'no time to
waste/lots of time to waste' dichotomy. Linux requires far more time
fiddling with things than windows. Downloading drivers, upgrading kernels,
getting samba and wireless to work properly, etc, etc, is time-free on
windows (if it works at all), whereas Linux demands an investment in
learning and time that many would consider prohibitive.

Except that it doesn't. Most people couldn't run windoze if it didn't
come preconfigured on their new computer. There is absolutely no reason
that linux couldn't come that way too. I preconfigure linux systems for
family and friends, and they don't have any problems.

I got my mother running linux amd she doesn't know a damn thing about
computers. She has the OpenOffice.org suite for typing letters, XMMS to
play her CD's, Mozilla to handle the internet, and the card game suite
that comes on KDE. It does everything she used to do on windoze, ...
well almost everything: I haven't had to fix a thing on her machine
since I changed her off of 'doze. No more late night calls about the
machine not responding, or not being willing to shut off, or ...

The only time she goes back to 'doze is to run taxcut to do her taxes.
And then the complaints about the crashing come back!

Level the playing field Bob, give potential linux users the same
slack you give 'doze users... a preconfigured machine.

-Chuck

I'd like to agree, but don't see it. I have a friend who wants to use his
old PC as a print server. So, he installed Fedora Core 4, and tried to set
up samba. This is a guy who started using linux in the early 90s, before
I had heard about it, but hasn't used it a few years.

He is still slogging away, nearly a week later.

If it was windows, he would have installed XP using the CD, done an
'add printer', and turned on printer sharing. All the printer drivers are
available from the manufacturers, the sharing setup is built into the OS,
everything works without a hassle.

Just recently getting wireless to work under FC4 was a pain for me. I have
a slightly old 802.11b card, and had to dig around, find the driver in
source form, compile it, install it as a module, and teach the OS to
configure it. I have an NVidia Ge4 card, and need to download the frigging
driver, compile it, and install it every time I upgrade my kernel.
Thankfully, my standard crappy sound card just got kernel support (I had
to compile and install the drivers before that to get it working, under
RH9).

New hardware almost always has no support by linux, or it is spotty, an
afterthought. Manufacturers can't sell stuff until they get the windows
driver out, but have no real need to deal with linux. Generally, somebody
gets fed up and writes it themselves, after prying the interface
information out of the manufacturer, and it eventually gets included in
the kernel.

Please, don't get me wrong, I like linux, and have been a daily unix user
since 1982. It is more secure, faster, has a better file system, a better
scheduler, and a lot of standard services. Open software is a great
thing. Firefox on linux has been a real boon. However, building
pre-configured systems only gets you so far. When your users buy a TV
card, or a cute USB disk dongle, or a new printer, or a new CDROM, or they
buy a wireless card to set up a wireless connection to their laptop, they
are going to open the package and find a windows driver. At that point,
they will be calling you for help. Set up your hotline now...

---
Regards,
Bob Monsen

It is mathematics that offers the exact mathematical sciences a certain
measure of security which, without mathematics, they could not obtain.
- Albert Einstein