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MS Dissatisfaction High, Users Consider Switching
chriscooper1470 writes "Almost two-thirds of respondents to a recent
InternetWeek Reader Question said they are dissatisfied with Microsoft software, and 41 percent of respondents are at least thinking about switching away from Microsoft software. Only 28 percent of users responding to the poll described themselves as satisfied Microsoft customers. There are some great comments at the bottom of the article discussing why people voted the way they did. My favorite quote: 'At the end of the day, I still wish we had a viable alternative. There isn't one -- yet. We'll keep looking.' - Sure."
"I read that Linux has issued 25 patches so far this year, so what is to be gained by switching?"
Yes 'Linux'. No distro, no particular installed apps/services, no particular kernel, just 'linux'. Linux, the company, you know..
Well done Chris Schlehein... I think you really deserve your title of "Enterprise Network Administrator". Your obviously SO clued up in the world of computing.
I think it is a people problem, and people are finally starting to wise up and recognize that there are alternatives. Linux is popular enough now where a friend of mine, who, while computer literate, is not a technophile by any stretch, saw my Gnome desktop for the first time since my computer had been switched to Windows. His reaction? "Oh, is that Linux?" I didn't think Joe User had heard of Linux. I was mistaken.
He was quite impressed with Gentoo's speed and the ease of use of my system (Gnome, Gaim, Totem, AbiWord, Evolution, etc.). He uses his computer for gaming mostly, so I don't see him switching from Windows anytime soon, but he seemed fairly impressed at my framerates in Enemy Territory, and even more so at the fact that I hadn't paid a dime for a damned piece of software running on my computer.
Lots of people who do know of Linux don't realize how far Linux has come. Back in the summer of 2002, when Gnome 1.4 and KDE 2 were the norm as far as desktop environments went, I thought to myself, "Linux is pretty cool, but I don't think it will be ready for the desktop for another three or four years." Now, using Gnome 2.4 and GTK2 apps, I am astonished at how much the open-source community has been able to accomplish.
I think Linux is ready for the desktop right now. I think if computers were sold with Linux, for hundreds cheaper than comparable Windows PCs, people would start using it. And if not, maybe it would put some pressure on Microsoft to drop prices and stop making shitty products.
Keyword: unscientific poll.
Whenever you post a survey like this, you mainly get responses from people with strong opinions. What we really need to see is the responses from the other 80% of the people who don't care enough to respond to a survey like this.
-a