First, GNU+Linux distributions - as they currently exist - don't have any major specific flaws that are preventing uptake other than the fact that they aren't Microsoft Windows You are correct that they do not have any specific flaws, but in order to convince someone to switch to Linux from Windows it must be better than windows. Equal is not good enough. Why would you take the time to move into a new house/apartment if the new house/apartment was not better than the one you are currently in? The answer is that you would not because it is easier to stick with what you already have. It might be good, but there is no advantage. In order for you to make the move, the advantage of the new place needs to out way the effort and cost of moving. The same applies to OS's; unless the new OS has some compeling advantage over the current OS, it is simply not worth the effort to switch because it will require you to become re-aquainted with the new system. It will also require you to transfer and translate all of your files to new formats. Also the OS being free is not a compeling reason, becasue the average Joe (incorrectly)thinks the OS comes free when they purchase the machine. There are a few people who do switch and switch because they like the challenge of the new OS. But for the average Joe they have enough challenges in life and do not want another one from their OS.
But don't expect that you're going to change the behavior of thousands of developers (most of which aren't even interested in your use case at all) That is exactly the problem, Linux will never become a significant OS player until most of the developers are interested in the customer (or my) needs. So long as the developers continue to develop for themselves without thinking about how the app is percieved by a non-linux user; users will never have a compeling reason to switch.
It was pre-installed, By me. That is exactly the problem the parent is trying address. You were required to use your knowledge to setup the system properly. Linux needs to be straight forward enough that your 10year old daughter can set it up by herself, without daddy there walking here through the steps. See, if your daughter can do it, then I know that my mom will be able to do it and if my mom can do then at least 50% of the world population will be able to setup at Linux system. Think about all of those soccer mom's that don't have time to figure out the syntax for apt-get becuase they simply want to email the soccer pictures to their freinds.
On Ubuntu, I can shell in, run apt-get, and they're patched. This is exactly the point that the parent is trying to make. This is too much effort and an oppertunity to be better than microsoft. On a windows machine it is not necessary to download all of the patch's, antivirus, spybot, and browser inorder to get the system to work. It will continue to work, it simply won't be secure. And if you don't know what a virus is, those apps won't matter until their ID is stolen, or the system stops functioning. In which cas the lazy Joe goes out and buys a new machine..... The difference with linux is that IT IS NECESSARY to get a patch in order to get it to work at all. To be better than MS, the Linux user should NEVER need to call you to fix their machine, it should be simple enough that they can do it themselves, without your help or a forum or the internet. And they should not need to know the syntax for apt-get. (Could you see your mother using apt-get? You have to design your software so that your mother does not need you to fix it or get it working the way she (note I said she not you) wants. )
a hell of a lot of resistance to change. You simply don't get it. You are the one being resistant to changing your mentality to having a focus on what the end user wants. The user is not the one who should change. I dare you to spend a few minutes playing "devils advocate" and come up with arguments that support the parent post. It just might change your mind, but then I doubt it because, as you imply, it is easier to resist change and stick with what you already know.
When people load their new OS and find that their MP3s don't play, they aren't going to say 'Wow, it was so easy adding MP3 support myself". They are going to say "What type of cheap piece of shit doesn't play MP3s?"
You are exactly correct. We need to start looking at this from a consumer/customer perspective.
Whilst reviews are great, it would have been nice if he could've asked a simple question about this on the ubuntu forum - I guess Windows users aren't used to the option of doing that.
That's because the majority of users have better things to do with their life than fiddle with the OS. If they can't figure it out in ten seconds or less they simply leave as is, go do something that is more important to them.
The real problem is that the linux community does not include the customer / end-user in their development. For some reason they tend to develop apps and GUI's for developers, not users. If linux community would perform a voice of the customer analysis, and incorporate the information into their apps, then the techy news articles will be thumbs up. Which will lead to more articles (if you have not noticed the techy authors tend to copy each other) and more market share (which is what you want).
Your calculation of 24,000 days is when the drive reaches total failure. Your logic does apply to camcorder applications in which data is always written sequentially. But, in PC applications you do not write the information as a bit stream, you write things fairly randomly. When you change the contents of a file without changing the file size, you update the same physical memory locations. So after you update your file a 1,000 times, it becomes corrupted and you loose your data. Once a single byte becomes corrupted the entire sector can longer be used. So in the worse case scenario, this fancy drive would not even last you a day, before you started to loose information.
To prevent data loss, these drives will require a good CRC algorithm or a RAID configuration that can repair damaged files when they are moved to new sectors. Also, it might be possible to convert the random access to sequential access, by moving the file the end of a circular stream buffer every time it is written too. But this would lead to fragmentation problems, that might be impossible to solve.
So, what you really need is system that can automatically synchronize an applications data file to the web sever. This way the application can be run locally with the local benefits, and the web server can provide the automatic backup/synchronization of the data files with all the other users.
I think GetDropBox is trying to achieve this, but the draw back is that this functionality should not be a thrid party app, but instead it should be embedded in the OS or within each application for seamless and idiot proof integration. It must be automatic and brainless in order to be useful. It can't be more difficult that clicking the "save"/"save to web"/"save for everyone" button.
Don't waste your time with rsync.
ViceVersa and Allway Sync are two applications that I have been using for the last two months for exactly this application. You can download trial versions form thier web sites. VicaVersa provides a little bit more detail on the data transfer rates but can only sync one "profile" at a time. Allway can sync multiple "profiles" but does not show give you the geeky bandwidth stats. Both applications can run in the background and sync on a schedule or when changes are made to the files system. Also both apps allow you to filter the files that get sync'd, so you don't end up sync temp files or system files; such as thumbs.db. Both applications allow you to control conflicts. Eg. when there are changes to both server side and laptop side.
For my setup I am using a desktop as the server and a laptop as a runner. I have a direct hardwire connection between the two machines and a wireless connection to the internet. I can perform a sync of 15GB of files with ~500MB of changes between the files in ~3mins. (It take ~2.5 mins to scan the laptop for file changes, and ~30s to transfer the data. The 1Gbit connection is great!) I perform most of my work on the desktop, and simply unplug the laptop when I hit the road. When I return, I plug the laptop back in and the desktop will automatically sync things with in about 30 mins (which is simply dependant on how I setup my scheduler). If I am in a hurry to transfer the files I can manully initiate the sync, and 3mins later I have everything.
The only improvement that I would like is to have the apps run in the background on both machines and keep track of the file changes in real time; so, that the app does not need to spend 2.5mins figuring out what needs to be transferred when it is time to sync. Let me know if you know of an app that can do this.
I cannot believe this post has a mod score of 1. The moderator must be a die-hard linux fanboy that is un-aware of the world around them.
" I don't think a single one is capable, or, perhaps more importantly, has any desire to switch." "In some ways, Linux strikes me as being 95% of the way there. The problem is, that last 5% may well be the most difficult part." "That means when you go to YouTube, the movie plays and the sound works."
I think the points you make are right on. I have used linux off and on for the last 7 years, and still have not found a distro that I would recommend to my family. Every distro that I have used, has required me to spend weeks browsing forums and scouring the web until I find "the" magic driver/codec/script that gets everything working. And once everything is working, the system has never been as stable as windows XP. My machine with XP currently has an uptime of 403 days 12 hours and 34 minutes. With linux on the same machine, I can't use it for more than a week with out something crashing, and forcing me to browse/scour the web to find yet another driver/codec/script that gets everything working again. Granted I have not used linux in a year and a half, and so the reliability may have improved since then, but the point is that I am still required to understand the OS inorder to get it working and keep it working. I personally have the skill to write code and to keep linux running, but I have better things to do with my weekends (like making out with the girlfriend).
I still think the biggest advantage to linux is also its biggest nemesis. Because linux is OpenSource and freely available, there are no checks and balances to ensure the opinions of the end user/customer are considered. There is no cash incentive (from a pay check) for the developers to think about John Q Public's needs. They develop it for themselves and you are welcome to use it. If it does not work then you are also welcome to fix it. There is no marketing department to perform studies to figure out what works and what does not work for the customer. Until linux gains a customer focus, it will be an OS for hobbyist only.
Slashdot Mirror
Execellant point and good idea, I can't wait to see what you come up with.
You are exactly correct. We need to start looking at this from a consumer/customer perspective.
That's because the majority of users have better things to do with their life than fiddle with the OS. If they can't figure it out in ten seconds or less they simply leave as is, go do something that is more important to them.
The real problem is that the linux community does not include the customer / end-user in their development. For some reason they tend to develop apps and GUI's for developers, not users. If linux community would perform a voice of the customer analysis, and incorporate the information into their apps, then the techy news articles will be thumbs up. Which will lead to more articles (if you have not noticed the techy authors tend to copy each other) and more market share (which is what you want).
Introducing the healthy alternative to drugs! You no longer need to smoke something to achieve psychedelic affects!
Your calculation of 24,000 days is when the drive reaches total failure. Your logic does apply to camcorder applications in which data is always written sequentially. But, in PC applications you do not write the information as a bit stream, you write things fairly randomly. When you change the contents of a file without changing the file size, you update the same physical memory locations. So after you update your file a 1,000 times, it becomes corrupted and you loose your data. Once a single byte becomes corrupted the entire sector can longer be used. So in the worse case scenario, this fancy drive would not even last you a day, before you started to loose information.
To prevent data loss, these drives will require a good CRC algorithm or a RAID configuration that can repair damaged files when they are moved to new sectors. Also, it might be possible to convert the random access to sequential access, by moving the file the end of a circular stream buffer every time it is written too. But this would lead to fragmentation problems, that might be impossible to solve.
I think GetDropBox is trying to achieve this, but the draw back is that this functionality should not be a thrid party app, but instead it should be embedded in the OS or within each application for seamless and idiot proof integration. It must be automatic and brainless in order to be useful. It can't be more difficult that clicking the "save"/"save to web"/"save for everyone" button.
For my setup I am using a desktop as the server and a laptop as a runner. I have a direct hardwire connection between the two machines and a wireless connection to the internet. I can perform a sync of 15GB of files with ~500MB of changes between the files in ~3mins. (It take ~2.5 mins to scan the laptop for file changes, and ~30s to transfer the data. The 1Gbit connection is great!) I perform most of my work on the desktop, and simply unplug the laptop when I hit the road. When I return, I plug the laptop back in and the desktop will automatically sync things with in about 30 mins (which is simply dependant on how I setup my scheduler). If I am in a hurry to transfer the files I can manully initiate the sync, and 3mins later I have everything.
The only improvement that I would like is to have the apps run in the background on both machines and keep track of the file changes in real time; so, that the app does not need to spend 2.5mins figuring out what needs to be transferred when it is time to sync. Let me know if you know of an app that can do this.
I cannot believe this post has a mod score of 1. The moderator must be a die-hard linux fanboy that is un-aware of the world around them.
" I don't think a single one is capable, or, perhaps more importantly, has any desire to switch."
"In some ways, Linux strikes me as being 95% of the way there. The problem is, that last 5% may well be the most difficult part."
"That means when you go to YouTube, the movie plays and the sound works."
I think the points you make are right on. I have used linux off and on for the last 7 years, and still have not found a distro that I would recommend to my family. Every distro that I have used, has required me to spend weeks browsing forums and scouring the web until I find "the" magic driver/codec/script that gets everything working. And once everything is working, the system has never been as stable as windows XP. My machine with XP currently has an uptime of 403 days 12 hours and 34 minutes. With linux on the same machine, I can't use it for more than a week with out something crashing, and forcing me to browse/scour the web to find yet another driver/codec/script that gets everything working again. Granted I have not used linux in a year and a half, and so the reliability may have improved since then, but the point is that I am still required to understand the OS inorder to get it working and keep it working. I personally have the skill to write code and to keep linux running, but I have better things to do with my weekends (like making out with the girlfriend).
I still think the biggest advantage to linux is also its biggest nemesis. Because linux is OpenSource and freely available, there are no checks and balances to ensure the opinions of the end user/customer are considered. There is no cash incentive (from a pay check) for the developers to think about John Q Public's needs. They develop it for themselves and you are welcome to use it. If it does not work then you are also welcome to fix it. There is no marketing department to perform studies to figure out what works and what does not work for the customer. Until linux gains a customer focus, it will be an OS for hobbyist only.