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City of Munich Struggling With Basic Linux Functionality
jones_supa writes: Just like the city planned a year ago, Munich is still calling for a switch back to Windows from LiMux, their Ubuntu derivative. The councilors from Munich's conservative CSU party have called the operating system installed on their laptops "cumbersome to use" and "of very limited use." The letter from the two senior members of the city's IT committee (PDF in German) asks the mayor to consider removing the Linux-based OS and to install Windows and Office. "There are no programs for text editing, Skype, Office etc. installed and that prevents normal use," the letter argues. Another complaint from councilors is that "the lack of user permissions makes them of limited use." These kind of arguments raise eyebrows, as all that functionality is certainly found on Linux.
Not as ridiculous as switching an entire government entity to a hobbyist OS that is so difficult to use its market share is a mere rounding error. That was a recipe for failure from the start. This kind of thing has been tried time and again, and it never works, just like almost nobody except computer nerds use the Linux at home. The reasons are the same - it's 10x more difficult to do even the simplest task, and most people just don't have that kind of time to spare.
ITs time to stop coddling these people. WE are neck deep into an Information Age. ITs time to let those that cant live in our new environment die out. Im DONE coddling users. Keep the pace or be left behind. Too much of computing is getting dumbed down and locked up because idiots wont take courses on how to actually operate a computer.
Good-bye
... that Linux is not user friendly.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.