Re: Why the Linux Desktop Just Won't Work! and why Linux depresses me.
From: genomega (genomega_at_earthlink.net)
Date: 05/30/05
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Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 22:14:39 GMT
Charles LeGrand wrote:
>
> Why having Linux on the desktop of Aunt Tille is a myth.
>
> I've had a few trials running over last year, set up at family members.
> New computer? Let's install Morphix on them (I had used both Gnome and
> Light installs) and see how far you get. The users weren't very
> technical, on the contrary even. I regularly went around to their
> places, updated their boxes and sometimes switched applications
> (Mozilla for Firebird/Firefox for example). They all gave it their best
> shot, however at the end they prefered to have Windows back. I didn't
> drag them into this, and they gave Debian a fair shot. In the end, it
> just didn't work out.
>
> - the pro's
> They were thrilled at the start of the trials that they didn't have to
> worry about virusses. Mostly being threats that they were only
> half-aware about, it gave them a peace of mind. Spam still was an
> issue, however this was just a minor annoyance that everyone deals
> with.
>
> My users were able to quickly get used to their new interface. Gnome or
> XFCE, it didn't really matter. I did set up the systems that they only
> had to click a single icon for the most-used programs, but they quickly
> were able to navigate the menus and enjoyed trying out various other
> applications (especially the Gnome games).
>
> Email and instant messaging was a no-brainer. My users easily got used
> to Gaim (although setting up new accounts was rather complicated for
> them), and Evolution and Thunderbird proved to be good substitutes for
> Outlook Express.
>
> Both OpenOffice and Abiword were useful enough. Although there were
> problems importing and exporting Word documents, all in all word
> processing wasn't a hurdle for them.
>
> - the con's
> What was the main issue haunting my users? It came from an unexpected
> direction: incompatible websites. All users noted this as the main
> reason why they wanted to switch back. Even though Firefox usage has
> been increasing quite a lot lately, there are zillions of websites that
> are still being made strictly IE-only.
>
> Why was I surprised? Well, because I don't use these sites. Being a
> geek, you traverse only the websites that work for you. You don't
> depend on IE-only websites. Other people do, however. Banking, Dating,
> community and chat sites, MSN. Sites that geeks like me don't depend
> on, however for my users this was totally different. They were part of
> their social lives, and even the slightest annoyances are still
> annoying, and can become unacceptable.
>
> Banking websites are even more critical. In this case the Rabobank's
> site has been the biggest a turn-off. Thanks to a collection of weird
> Javascript and ActiveX, my users were continuously annoyed at not being
> able to depend on their internet banking service. It did work...
> sometimes. When it comes to finances, 'sometimes' is not good enough.
> I've personally contacted the Rabobank a number of times to ask them
> about their support for Firefox and Opera, and ask (no, beg!) them to
> adhere to web standards, however this hasn't lead anywhere.
> VerizonWireless is yet another site that will not work with Linux and
> firefox or konqueror. You can browse the site but you can't pay your
> bills online. It lets you in but when you submit it you are bounced
> back to the original screen and you don't even know if your payment has
> been accepted (it hasn't).
>
> Where there more con's? Sure, there have been issues with photo
> cameras, burning CD's and even a filesystem corruption. But these were
> all fixable. I came around every 3/4 weeks, fixed a few small issues,
> and they were content again but only until the next problem which
> didn't take long to surface.
>
> Yet, in an age were everything is done via the web, people depend on
> web services. People depend on being able to book their holiday via the
> net. People depend on being able to upload their photos or read web
> mail. And people depend on IE-only websites. This is reality, and
> there's not much to be done about it.
>
> For this reason, and for this reason only, is it important for Firefox
> to gain marketshare. Only after webdevelopers take their Firefox- and
> Opera-using visitors seriously can Linux really take over the desktop.
> Everything else is fixable locally, except for the dependancy on ye ol'
> Internet Explorer. For this reason, and for this reason only, does
> Microsoft want to remain in control of the web browser. And for this
> reason only will John Doe not accept Linux on his desktop at home.
> Depressing, but true.
>
This whole post is nonsense.
- Next message: Arthur Dent: "Re: Linux Fails The Family Test BADLY!"
- Previous message: Michael Heiming: "Stats comp.os.linux.misc (last 7 days)"
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