What the World Needs Now is... Not Another Linux Distribution
"Ok, so after I install Linspire do I then need to install Fedora Core? But, wouldn't Linspire already have a 'core'? The web site says Fedora Core is for developers, but I'm in insurance, and what's a red hat? Is that when something goes wrong with the software like 'blue screen?' I went to download some software, and what I found was something for Suse. Who's she? Ok, so I think I got it. I need a Fedora 'package' of some kind. But wait, didn't buy the entire Fedora package? Oh, yeah, I just got the CD from you. So what is an apt? A place where Debian lives? Who's she? So, after I get all this installed, what is Unbutu going to do for me? Will I need to install Unbutu to get KDE? What does it mean to have a gnome in my computer? But, wait, well ----- looks like my movies and music won't play in Linux anyway. Ok, thanks, I just don't think I'm ready for Linux."-----
For all the Linux Distro Watch dudes, how many of them are looking for an operating system to absolutely critically rely on, with no thought of getting out of a jam by "booting back into Windows"?
Microsoft must be loving the fracture of Linux - which gets worse everyday. As long as the Linux user's community is approaching Linux as a hobby, the public will perceive it as a hobby. Rather than working on another Linux distribution, contributors should be working on making Linux just work. I did a search on the Suse web site for wireless support - how to configure a wireless card under Suse Linux, and I got links to how to make Suse Linux work with amateur shortwave radio but nothing about wireless cards. Duh, what the heck? Why do most Linux distribution websites make looking up technical details a nightmare of circular or broken links and empty references. Why is looking up something like "hardware compatibility" usually a maddening exercise with often half-answer redirects to "hobby interest" sites ("A guy that works for NASA got this working one time"), and undependable results?
What I want for potential Linux users and myself is software choice. Not choice as in whether I want to be one of 12,000 people running Unbutu Linux, or 17,000 people running Outofmyass Linux, but as in having two or three Linux distributions that can go head-to-head with Windows, that vendors perceive as being worth supporting with drivers and updates, that my Best Buy toys will work with, that I can expect will be around in a year or two, that costs a reasonable amount - but not a ridiculously high amount, that is supported with a clear and organized website that a viable company is standing behind, that the name doesn't change every year, that I can recommend to friends without expecting they will become lost in a sea of Linux distro contention, and in which everything just --- works.
Absolutely, the average guy is blown away by the Linux distro mess and that is a critical factor in the stall of getting Linux onto the average guy's desktop.
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What the World Needs Now is... Not Another Linux Distribution
"Ok, so after I install Linspire do I then need to install Fedora Core? But, wouldn't Linspire already have a 'core'? The web site says Fedora Core is for developers, but I'm in insurance, and what's a red hat? Is that when something goes wrong with the software like 'blue screen?' I went to download some software, and what I found was something for Suse. Who's she? Ok, so I think I got it. I need a Fedora 'package' of some kind. But wait, didn't buy the entire Fedora package? Oh, yeah, I just got the CD from you. So what is an apt? A place where Debian lives? Who's she? So, after I get all this installed, what is Unbutu going to do for me? Will I need to install Unbutu to get KDE? What does it mean to have a gnome in my computer? But, wait, well ----- looks like my movies and music won't play in Linux anyway. Ok, thanks, I just don't think I'm ready for Linux."-----
For all the Linux Distro Watch dudes, how many of them are looking for an operating system to absolutely critically rely on, with no thought of getting out of a jam by "booting back into Windows"?
Microsoft must be loving the fracture of Linux - which gets worse everyday. As long as the Linux user's community is approaching Linux as a hobby, the public will perceive it as a hobby. Rather than working on another Linux distribution, contributors should be working on making Linux just work. I did a search on the Suse web site for wireless support - how to configure a wireless card under Suse Linux, and I got links to how to make Suse Linux work with amateur shortwave radio but nothing about wireless cards. Duh, what the heck? Why do most Linux distribution websites make looking up technical details a nightmare of circular or broken links and empty references. Why is looking up something like "hardware compatibility" usually a maddening exercise with often half-answer redirects to "hobby interest" sites ("A guy that works for NASA got this working one time"), and undependable results?
What I want for potential Linux users and myself is software choice. Not choice as in whether I want to be one of 12,000 people running Unbutu Linux, or 17,000 people running Outofmyass Linux, but as in having two or three Linux distributions that can go head-to-head with Windows, that vendors perceive as being worth supporting with drivers and updates, that my Best Buy toys will work with, that I can expect will be around in a year or two, that costs a reasonable amount - but not a ridiculously high amount, that is supported with a clear and organized website that a viable company is standing behind, that the name doesn't change every year, that I can recommend to friends without expecting they will become lost in a sea of Linux distro contention, and in which everything just --- works.
Absolutely, the average guy is blown away by the Linux distro mess and that is a critical factor in the stall of getting Linux onto the average guy's desktop.