User: ugly_kid_joe

Re:Microsoft(usability) vs Linux (configurability)

On: What Should Microsoft's Open Source Strategy Be?

arsaspe wrote:

To install the nVidia drivers in Linux I had to extract two tarballs, type 'make' twice, and change one line in a config file. Not exactly rocket science.

No, not for a developer who has been frustrated about the-not-so-intuitive 'make' command. Listen up, I've helped a couple of my friends to become Linux lovers, helping out with all this make that, config this.. but, it turns out they were becoming developers at the same time.

Not your average user, hey?

I reckon that Linux will be the Server platform in a couple of years because of the configurability. Givven a bit of usability, it will reach out to the average users and Microsoft is still the # 1 in this field. My suggestion is that more Open Source projects have two branches, just like Apache, Linux Kernel etc.

• - 'stable-readyconfigured' branches for the non-techie/non-developer, with 2 steps tops (unzip, ./install.sh)
• - 'pure-source' branches for the techie/developer who loves configuring and tweaking. People who love doing a couple of steps (e.g.
  1. unzip,
  2. make make make
  3. configure
  4. make clean
  5. say a couple of prayers and
  6. ./install)

• • And for the lazy ones out there, you can find a shell script that does it all for you (including the X config!) on google.

    This is what I mean should be in a ready configured, fully stable, less configurable branch. I'm telling you, if you've just done one course in programming and you're getting make error output, you'll freak!

    /G