I applaud your initiative.
So all of you know, I'm good enough with computer to use Office, download patches, change a password and reinstall Windows on my own. I have no idea of what a kernel is, and from reading posts on Slashdot I know it's something I shouldn't try touching with a ten foot pole. Like MOST computer users, all I ask of a OS and programs is that they do what they're supposed to do without making me curse every then seconds.
I recently switched to Firefox and Thunderbird, as well as started using Joomla! and OSCommerce for my website, and OpenOffice for my work. For all that I have to thank my computer repairman. After upgrading my machine, he took the time to show me these options I didn't even knew existed. He showed me the advantages of theses programs over the ones I used, the ideas behind the Open Source movement and he took the time to go over the most common uses of theses programs so I knew how to use them properly. I wasn't ready at the time to switch to Linux because I felt there was too many things I didn't understood.
Now, not only do I like the sheer diversity of the available options and plug-ins for these programs, but I learned a lot more on computers (and save a lot of money on technical help): when I have a program problem, I can usually get help on forums in minutes and correct the problem myself. That repairman has saved me a lot of money and introduced me to a whole new world of possibilities. Maybe I don't call him as often, but be sure he has all my busines from now on (and since I own a small business with half a dozen computer, I'm still a good customer).
So my point is that many computer users (business or personal) don't care about what we're using both because we just want our machines to work and because no one ever took the time to show us the possibilities. Remember that for most of us, talking with a IT guy is like talking with a martian. You see, I'm not dumb, but everything that seems labelled in martian to me need a little explaining.
So I applaud the article writer's effort, and the time he takes to teach his custommers.
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I applaud your initiative. So all of you know, I'm good enough with computer to use Office, download patches, change a password and reinstall Windows on my own. I have no idea of what a kernel is, and from reading posts on Slashdot I know it's something I shouldn't try touching with a ten foot pole. Like MOST computer users, all I ask of a OS and programs is that they do what they're supposed to do without making me curse every then seconds. I recently switched to Firefox and Thunderbird, as well as started using Joomla! and OSCommerce for my website, and OpenOffice for my work. For all that I have to thank my computer repairman. After upgrading my machine, he took the time to show me these options I didn't even knew existed. He showed me the advantages of theses programs over the ones I used, the ideas behind the Open Source movement and he took the time to go over the most common uses of theses programs so I knew how to use them properly. I wasn't ready at the time to switch to Linux because I felt there was too many things I didn't understood. Now, not only do I like the sheer diversity of the available options and plug-ins for these programs, but I learned a lot more on computers (and save a lot of money on technical help): when I have a program problem, I can usually get help on forums in minutes and correct the problem myself. That repairman has saved me a lot of money and introduced me to a whole new world of possibilities. Maybe I don't call him as often, but be sure he has all my busines from now on (and since I own a small business with half a dozen computer, I'm still a good customer). So my point is that many computer users (business or personal) don't care about what we're using both because we just want our machines to work and because no one ever took the time to show us the possibilities. Remember that for most of us, talking with a IT guy is like talking with a martian. You see, I'm not dumb, but everything that seems labelled in martian to me need a little explaining. So I applaud the article writer's effort, and the time he takes to teach his custommers.