I know Netscape used to do geographic filtering based on the server you were coming from - to restrict downloading the 128bit browser. Hopefully the USPTO recognizes this is prior art and shoots this one down.
Since you mentioned immediate relatives...my mother works for a small town newspaper that still uses some text based TRS-80 terminals for their mailing system yet she still seems to struggle with the beautiful GUIs presented by Windows applications. I think, what the general user wants is a clean intuitive user interface that is easy to use. They have just been brainwashed into thinking it has to have tons of dropdown menus and fancy colors and flashing lights. I really think too much importance is placed on having a slick user interface than a useful one. MS Outlook, for example is a great tool, but has an extremely complex user interface. Many items are buried under levels and levels of menus and forms. And this compexity hasn't changed from 97 to 98 to 2000.
What I'm getting at is... GUIS are nice, but what I think users want is a clean interface not just nifty widgets - be it text or graphic. That doesn't mean the absence of the Window Manager because I couldn't live without having 50 xterms open at the same time. (But, how do I script together a bunch of GUI applications?)
Back to the original discussion though. I don't believe Linix is ready for the consumer market (I think this is the real argument - not the desktop). The general user doesn't want to have to read books upon books about how to use a computer system when they can have a system that attempts to do everything for you - sometimes with unexpected results. And if Linux doesn't become mainstream, I really don't care. As long as Microsoft doesn't buy the internet and force IE down my throat I'll continue to use Netscape 4.7 with Pine and Star Office to write my reports for school, and I won't have upgrade my machine every time I want to install new software either.
You are right that FREE is not Open Source. I think this effort by Be is more to create market share for their OS. But, the more people that try it out, the better for alternative OS's like Linux (it really isn't mainstream, yet). The timing is good too, since the Micro$oft's Win2k virus will soon be released and people are thinking about upgrading anyway. I think its a good thing though. I was curious about Be. Now, I'll be able to try it out (with minimal effort, since I'll be able to install it on my M$ PC at work.) If there are any features I really like, I could go back to my home PC and look into incorporating them into my Linux system. That's what open source is all about. I don't think Linux would be to the state it is today if it wasn't for dedicated developers incorporating and enhancing current stuff. As well as throwing in cool stuff of their own.
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I know Netscape used to do geographic filtering based on the server you were coming from - to restrict downloading the 128bit browser. Hopefully the USPTO recognizes this is prior art and shoots this one down.
Since you mentioned immediate relatives...my mother works for a small town newspaper that still uses some text based TRS-80 terminals for their mailing system yet she still seems to struggle with the beautiful GUIs presented by Windows applications.
I think, what the general user wants is a clean intuitive user interface that is easy to use. They have just been brainwashed into thinking it has to have tons of dropdown menus and fancy colors and flashing lights. I really think too much importance is placed on having a slick user interface than a useful one.
MS Outlook, for example is a great tool, but has an extremely complex user interface. Many items are buried under levels and levels of menus and forms. And this compexity hasn't changed from 97 to 98 to 2000.
What I'm getting at is... GUIS are nice, but what I think users want is a clean interface not just nifty widgets - be it text or graphic. That doesn't mean the absence of the Window Manager because I couldn't live without having 50 xterms open at the same time.
(But, how do I script together a bunch of GUI applications?)
Back to the original discussion though. I don't believe Linix is ready for the consumer market (I think this is the real argument - not the desktop). The general user doesn't want to have to read books upon books about how to use a computer system when they can have a system that attempts to do everything for you - sometimes with unexpected results. And if Linux doesn't become mainstream, I really don't care. As long as Microsoft doesn't buy the internet and force IE down my throat I'll continue to use Netscape 4.7 with Pine and Star Office to write my reports for school, and I won't have upgrade my machine every time I want to install new software either.
The computer is a tool, not a religion.
I tried to get creative, but it just didn't work.
You are right that FREE is not Open Source. I think this effort by Be is more to create market share for their OS. But, the more people that try it out, the better for alternative OS's like Linux (it really isn't mainstream, yet). The timing is good too, since the Micro$oft's Win2k virus will soon be released and people are thinking about upgrading anyway. I think its a good thing though. I was curious about Be. Now, I'll be able to try it out (with minimal effort, since I'll be able to install it on my M$ PC at work.) If there are any features I really like, I could go back to my home PC and look into incorporating them into my Linux system. That's what open source is all about. I don't think Linux would be to the state it is today if it wasn't for dedicated developers incorporating and enhancing current stuff. As well as throwing in cool stuff of their own.