What really makes Linux, Linux? Open source? Sure, but the Linux community is unlike anything else. You can't really say that there is a windows community(well there is but it's not like you see home users creating user groups en masse), and the Mac and other *nix communities(And I'm lumping BSD in there) TEND to be more insular than the freeman compound quarantened because of the andromeda strain. So when you get right down to it, the community is a big part of what makes Linux, Linux. A community based on the prinicples of the open source movement has the ability to over come nearly anything(just don't take away our computers!) Well anyway, just think about the fact that the community's attitude helps to define Linux just as surely as any peice of code. And no matter wether Linux goes commercial or not there will still be people makeing Linux because they love it, and they will continue to release it in an open source manner.
While this debate is facinateing, a way to deal with the issue at hand would be nice. Linux/Windows/MacOS all have their up sides as well as their problems. Windows and MacOs have tried very hard(maybe not hard enough though)to make things easy on the end user. Linux is trying very hard to catch up. I think everyone can agree that Linux is aiming for the desktop, and a large part of wether Linux can conquer the desktop is if "aunt millie" can set it up quickly and effiectly, and then use it to do basic tasks easily. Now that should by no means exclude the power user(read geek). So the point of my wrap-up here is that maybe a forum for guidelines on makeing Linux easier is in order. There are as many ways to go about that as there are Linux Distro's(in all reality, probably more). But maybe, just maybe getting some ideas together and setting forth guidelines that_everyone_can use will make things better. KDE/Gnome are makeing things easier(slowly but surely)for the straight interface, but again as mentioned many times before individual programs need to have some sembelence of ease(while retaining function). This is where the guidelines come in. I think we can mostly all agree that if guidelines are setup and a default install is created that makes it easy on new(inexperienced)users but still leaves that I-can-tweak-it-like-theres-no-tommorow feel that OSS seems famous for that we can all get along(at least in theory)and that Linux can make it's first steps towards edgeing into Windows/MacOS's niche. I'll probably regret this but if anyone out there thinks that an open forum to create guidelines is a good idea let me know and lets see what we can't set up, if we can pull together the total novice's idea's and the "hardcore geek"'s ideas maybe we can synthesize something worthwhile.
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What really makes Linux, Linux? Open source? Sure, but the Linux community is unlike anything else. You can't really say that there is a windows community(well there is but it's not like you see home users creating user groups en masse), and the Mac and other *nix communities(And I'm lumping BSD in there) TEND to be more insular than the freeman compound quarantened because of the andromeda strain. So when you get right down to it, the community is a big part of what makes Linux, Linux. A community based on the prinicples of the open source movement has the ability to over come nearly anything(just don't take away our computers!) Well anyway, just think about the fact that the community's attitude helps to define Linux just as surely as any peice of code. And no matter wether Linux goes commercial or not there will still be people makeing Linux because they love it, and they will continue to release it in an open source manner.
While this debate is facinateing, a way to deal with the issue at hand would be nice. Linux/Windows/MacOS all have their up sides as well as their problems. Windows and MacOs have tried very hard(maybe not hard enough though)to make things easy on the end user. Linux is trying very hard to catch up. I think everyone can agree that Linux is aiming for the desktop, and a large part of wether Linux can conquer the desktop is if "aunt millie" can set it up quickly and effiectly, and then use it to do basic tasks easily. Now that should by no means exclude the power user(read geek). So the point of my wrap-up here is that maybe a forum for guidelines on makeing Linux easier is in order. There are as many ways to go about that as there are Linux Distro's(in all reality, probably more). But maybe, just maybe getting some ideas together and setting forth guidelines that_everyone_can use will make things better. KDE/Gnome are makeing things easier(slowly but surely)for the straight interface, but again as mentioned many times before individual programs need to have some sembelence of ease(while retaining function). This is where the guidelines come in. I think we can mostly all agree that if guidelines are setup and a default install is created that makes it easy on new(inexperienced)users but still leaves that I-can-tweak-it-like-theres-no-tommorow feel that OSS seems famous for that we can all get along(at least in theory)and that Linux can make it's first steps towards edgeing into Windows/MacOS's niche. I'll probably regret this but if anyone out there thinks that an open forum to create guidelines is a good idea let me know and lets see what we can't set up, if we can pull together the total novice's idea's and the "hardcore geek"'s ideas maybe we can synthesize something worthwhile.