Re: Making linux more user friendly

From: David Lloyd Geering (dreamlax_at_phreaker.net)
Date: 07/04/05 

Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 21:21:56 +1200

Brian white wrote:
> Before anybody blows a fuse and writes something truly stupid and offensive
> in reply, please read to the end.
> We all know that linux does not always work with all the hardware on a home
> computer so why not probe it from the net first? (Just like the antivirus
> companys do in windows). knoppix does something like that from the cd.
> If there are going to be hardware issues, recommend a change of graphics or
> sound card or webcam or whatever.
> Then a distro just for that computer and its user requirements can be made
> and shipped to that user with almost 100% certainty that it will work well
> and as fast as possible on that particular computer.
> Linux is advanced enough that this could be automatic.
> Microsoft could not compete with that especially for slightly older
> computers.
> Now, about webcams and instant messaging,
> I started a thread looking for normal IM functionality on linux (inclucing
> webcam support of course).
> And a rude yob gave the reply below.
> It is not acceptable. PERIOD
> I wish to speak to his employer about his attitude, so, if any of you know
> more, please contact me. And if you know him, in the linux community,
> please tell him what a disservice he does to his cause.
> I have read through some of the comments in threads here and some
> contribitors have a lot of growing up to do. I am not a programmer, i am an
> end user. I expect a usable desktop system. That means webcam support for
> IM.
> I sent my relatives halfway across the world a webcam and i cannot
> communicate with them through it because i use linux. That is a stupid
> situation. As long as linux has this glaring hole in its armour, it will
> never be accepted by young people as a real operating system.
> I worked with young guys half my age and they laughed at my unix yahoo
> messanger (no webcam support) and my kopete (no webcam support) typing to
> their msn (until msn changed protocols)
> Thats just the way it is. Build IM with webcam for linux of forget the
> desktop.
> Brian
>
>
> Re: Is there a messenger service out there?
> From:
> Ivan Marsh <annoyed@you.now>
> Date:
> Friday 01 Jul 2005 08:03:32
> Groups:
> alt.linux
> References: 1 2 3
>
> Sorry, but you are a fucking moron.
>
> I'm, right this very moment, sitting in front of five million dollars in
> telecommunications equipment that runs Linux... perfectly, stably and
> with little or no maintenance... that supports over a thousand end-users.
>
> Linux wasn't written for people to have inane conversations with their
> friends... it was written to do business and science.
>
> To use your analogy a car isn't a car if it doesn't have a radio. That's
> pure idiocy.
>
>
>
> If you can't make Linux work for you then do the sensible thing and don't
> use it.
>
>

Mr. Brian White,

You can always go back to Microsoft Windows. You can browse the Internet
and wait for someone to develop a worm that infects just about every
Windows PC connected to the Internet (MSBLAST.EXE, SASSER), or you can
switch to Linux, that, when correctly set up, offers far better security
than Windows ever could.

You can play games, do your video IM conversations through MSN
Messenger. You can do whatever you like and wait for your computer to
unexplainably crash simply from memory leaks and the likes, or you can
switch to Linux, which offers far better stability than Windows ever could.

You can pay large amounts to own a liscense to Windows, Office, and
other Microsoft products. You can pay for whatever you would like to.
Linux, on the other hand, has thousands of primarily free by GPL or
other liscenced but free software that have similar features to
Microsoft Products. The operating system itself is free and has more
features that Windows.

Microsoft do not release the source code to any of their products. They
want you to use their products and nobody elses. When it comes to
developing software which interacts with their service, it will be hard
to develop without any sort of documentation. Getting GAIM and Kopete to
work with the existing MSN Messenger service was probably quite a
challenge, given the fact all they had was a binary executable and a
packet logger.

Go back to Windows if you miss video IM in MSN Messenger. Linux is for
people who understand how computers work, not for those who take
computers for granted. Most people are a "move the mouse, moves the
cursor" kind of person. There is nothing wrong with this, but until they
understand what actually happens when they move the mouse, they should
stick with an operating system that does all the work for them.

Did you know that when the BLASTER worm was let loose, one of
Microsoft's update servers was so badly affected that they installed
Linux on it temporarily until they were able to set it back up? Linux
servers are used worldwide, and more and more people are switching to it
because of its cost, stability and security. Who cares if it doesn't
have any webcam-capable IM programs available? At least you won't have
to continually head to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and patch your
operating system every week when new holes are discovered.

Regards,
     Dave.