last thing we need is a dumbing down of Linux to this level!!!
...which is exactly what will happen if linux is marketed as a desktop OS for first-time Internet users.
linux succeeds because it is a stable, efficient, free unix-based OS that usually comes packaged with lots of stable, efficient, free unix-based software... great for developers and sysadmins who are comfortable with unix commands, config files, compiling software, etc. adding bloatware to make linux friendly to users will undermine the reasons linux became a success. unix was never meant to be warm and fuzzy. it was designed by and for software developers.
as Charles Connell pointed out, there are already OSs out there with nice, friendly GUIs and autoconfiguration tools for users who prefer not to research, configure, or know how their OSs function. these folks are free to purchase macs or windows PCs, leaving linux and other unixes to perform as the development and server platforms they were intended to be.
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...which is exactly what will happen if linux is marketed as a desktop OS for first-time Internet users.
linux succeeds because it is a stable, efficient, free unix-based OS that usually comes packaged with lots of stable, efficient, free unix-based software... great for developers and sysadmins who are comfortable with unix commands, config files, compiling software, etc. adding bloatware to make linux friendly to users will undermine the reasons linux became a success. unix was never meant to be warm and fuzzy. it was designed by and for software developers.
as Charles Connell pointed out, there are already OSs out there with nice, friendly GUIs and autoconfiguration tools for users who prefer not to research, configure, or know how their OSs function. these folks are free to purchase macs or windows PCs, leaving linux and other unixes to perform as the development and server platforms they were intended to be.