People buy Windows because they are either (1) too ignorant and scared to use anything else (be it Mac or Linux), or (2) they are gamers and have no need for people to sell them a Windows box, they'd buy it anyway.
The Windows shopper can reasonably expect to see the broadest range of product in both hardware and software.
Walmart.com alone lists about 50 systems from the netbook to the media PC eligible for a free upgrade to Win 7.
The Windows shopper has an existing and substantial ten to fifteen year investment in Windows hardware and software - which isn't likely to be a problem so long as he stays within the Windows family.
The JAVA store, the FOSS app, is a non-issue. He has that already. He also has Netflix and iTunes and Quicken.
The price of migration is real. That isn't FUD - it's fact.
You don't win friends by calling them stupid - when they are not. You don't win friends by calling them cowardly - when they are not.
Heaven forbid Mickey fall into the public domain where anyone could use him to create fresh new stories. The horror. The horror.
The character design is trade-marked.
When Steamboat Willie comes into the public domain you get to write and publish derivatives based on the characters and story of Steamboat Willie and only Steamboat Willie.
You do not get the Mouse of the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
You do not get The Phantom Blot.
Heaven forbid that the geek should be encouraged to contribute new stories based on his own characters and settings. To throw away the crutch of fan fiction.
And the rest of that, which was muttered under their breath, was: "We've already bribed the appropriate politicians and judges, so we're certain of victory. It's good to be a megarich megacorporation. Money is power to run the government."
Bribery has become the geek's all-purpose excuse for his own political impotence and ignorance of the law.
The Disney studio has been around since 1923. You might think in that time it would have learned something about work-for-hire.
Linux needs a real commercial champion for the everyday consumer market.
It had one in WalMart.
I can't think of a consumer-oriented OEM Linux system that didn't make the run for the brass ring on the WalMart merry-go-round.
But by the time the Linux product threatened to reach critical mass, OEM Windows was running on better hardware and selling at a very competitive price.
With the extra added attraction of a bundled HP printer.
In the end it came down to a prominently placed black and yellow banner - warning the buyer that his Windows programs would not work.
The Window app is not irrelevant to the Windows user:
and in fifteen years or so he can accumulate quite a number of them that he likes - and won't walk away from on a whim.
The geek reminds me of the home mechanic who was last seen still tinkering under the hood - while the rest of world has gone out for a drive in the early autumn air.
You are an enthusiast, who chooses to spend your disposable income on a fancy computer. But most people want a machine that will let them email/browse. If it kept working for ten years, they'd be happy to continue using it. I think if you were honest about the amount you'd spent on your PC over the years, you'd understand why most Mom and Dad users (and corporate users for that matter) would be a lot better off with Linux.
I've never paid a dime for service or support.
The real cost has been in broadband Internet services and consumables - ink and paper.
When I first became interested in the PC I was told to focus on the programs I wanted to run. I happen to like polished, focused, apps that target the non technical end-user. Including the occasional PC game. I've found very good value in Windows.
I tend to buy refurbished electronics from sources like TigerDirect.
There is nothing fancy about this aging Dell or the HP that is likely to replace it. But it will be a significant upgrade - targeted more towards media play than high-performance PC gaming - I tend to more of a classic solo RPG and adventure gamer anyway - and adjusted for inflation the new system will likely cost less than what I paid the last time out.
The website would lists of applications sure to be popular with the general masses -- OpenOffice, Pidgin, Thunderbird, Firefox, Skype... Point out that many people are already using these programs on their Windows computers
That tells me Linux offers nothing more than what I already have.
But to be honest you need to include a disclaimer: that not all of my favorite Windows programs will run under Linux.
That is the deal-breaker.
It'd also have a list of organisations which have transitioned mostly or entirely to Linux -- governments, militaries, corporations, universities.
But I am not the Army, the Navy, or the Big State U. I live with my wife and kids in a four room apartment and we have very different needs.
If you say 'Linux', they jump on Google, search for 'Linux' and find out that there are hundreds of distros, find the one that works for them, and are happy.
You have got to be kidding.
The Windows user wants the security of the OEM system bundle.
The clearly defined and supported consumer product.
Factory tested.
Sold and serviced under a generous warranty.
They want to see a web site. They want to see a toll free number for technical support.
All hardware and software compatibility issues resolved before shipment.
Up-to-date drivers.
Software installed with sensible defaults.
Licensed media play out of the box.
Compatible printers and all other common hardware devices available in store.
If you promise them compatibility with their favorite Windows software you damn well better deliver the goods.
Your computer has problems? Wanna hear the "industry's" solution? That's right, your software isn't working - so what do they suggest? Use more software to solve the problem(!) Listen to what you're being told: they want you to purchase software so the software you already purchased will work!.. What!?
I haven't spent a dime on security software for Windows in the last ten years.
It's bundled with your cable service, a download from CNET - and soon to be a free from Microsoft itself.
Thousands of businesses, universities and even Wall Street have been using: Linux! For years. What do they know that you don't? Linux is free. It doesn't need any virus protection and 99.9% of the software you'll ever need comes free as well.
The enterprise Linux distribution comes with a service contract or a professional on-call - on-site - IT staff. Nothing of the sort is being offered in the consumer market.
"99.9%" is the language of the fraudster.
You might as well be hawking a bar of soap or a homeopathic cure for cancer for all the credibility it gives you.
The back list of home-use software for Windows is miles wide and deep. The barest hint of what is available in games alone can be seen on sites like gog.com.
It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.
"Nothing can go wrong."
With Linux, you don't have to reboot after installing new software.
Big whoop. It isn't needed that often. It won't hurt to stretch your legs. The learning curve. The configuration options. This is where you will be spending your time.
Linux runs on old hardware. No need to buy a new computer every time the industry decides to boost profits and release another buggy system.
In the consumer market, the Windows user upgrades hardware and software when he finds the attractive OEM system bundle - and, by god, there are lot of them out there.
Something like 50 with a a "Win 7" tech guarantee" available from WalMart.com alone.
Linux runs on old hardware - but who the hell cares?
Your aging Dell has the size and heft of a suitcase. It can't be economically upgraded in any significant way.
It's replacement will weigh 11 pounds.
It will ship with a 64 Bit OS. Quad Core CPU. 8 to 12 GB RAM. The 1 TB hard drive. Blu-Ray and HDMI home theater quality video and sound.
The gamer will want a heftier power supply and a more muscular video card, but that won't break the bank.
The reviews for Win 7 have been solidly supportive.
The RC has a 20% larger installed base than Linux, according to Net Applications. Half that of Linux according to the developer-oriented W3Schools.
Hardware drivers simply do not appear to be an issue.
Because he needs to be prepared for the unexpected. The toddler on his low-rider trike. The unplowed sidewalk that forces pedestrians out onto the road.
The bad-ass attitude is almost never a winner in court.
The speed limit probably wasn't 40 mph and 40 might not have been safe under existing conditions.
They jury will be looking at your lights, tires, windshield, and brakes.
Your blood alcohol count.
The jury will be asking if the pedestrian could have realistically judged the speed of your approach.
There are, after all, pedestrian crossings which are never free of traffic during normal working hours.
Wouldn't it be easier for the blind or deaf to carry s little 360 degree Doppler radar which would squeal or vibrate when something is approaching faster then their gate?
Not easier and certainly not cheaper.
The sounder produced in the tens of millions of units will cost next to nothing. It can serve multiple purposes - auto horn, anti-theft, door ajar, back-up alarm and so on.
Which suggests that the sounders are probably already in place and only need to be re-programmed.
You are going to want that electric car to be audible to your kid when back out of your driveway. "Blind and deaf" is a fair description of a Buffalo, NY, pedestrian bundled up for the full force gale off Lake Erie.
This is not a new problem.
You see it wherever batteries, compressed air or bottled gas are used to power vehicles in industrial settings.
The Doppler radar for the blind is durable medical hardware, available by prescription-only.
It needs to be licensed and maintained. It needs the backing of your HMO and Medicaid/Medicare.
Consider the Star Fleet Academy (or Hogwarts or the Isle of Roke). If ever there was a situation ripe for distance learning, that is it - and yet through several movies and TV series, book after book, the academy is depicted as a physical location shared by students from diverse planets
Hogwarts is a secure site for training kids with wild talents.
It is common ground.
It lies at the core of the secret society which is Rowling's magical world. In that sense, Hogwarts serves the same purpose as a cathedral, a theater, a library, a museum, or a stadium in the muggle world.
To borrow an idea from Isaac Asimov's The Naked Sun, the problem with distance learning is distance.
It becomes a substitute for real - social - engagement.
That makes it a dangerous temptation for someone who sees his role as simply a technician. The military has always understood this, which is why the service academy is so deeply rooted in their traditions.
If you check that video, you'll even see them throwing away 'OS X' boxes.
There isn't a "Windows 7" box to throw.
They love OS X because it's nice and shiny and 'just works' and hate Windows because it's far from shiny and is still fraught with problems left and right. Whether that is fact or popular opinion propagated by the masses (certainly partially) doesn't even matter.
But it isn't being propagated by the masses.
Win XP wiped the floor with OEM Linux in the netbook sector. You didn't need to do much more than slap the Windows logo on your product to make the sale.
Vista has about a 20% share of the client desktop. That has to be consumer based and it represents a significant investment in new and more powerful hardware.
The Win 7 RC 1%.
These numbers look very good when compared to OSX, which is also essentially a high-end consumer product - a discretionary purchase.
It's becoming difficult to find any home theater audio or video device that doesn't support streaming media out of the box.
It won't be long before you'll just key in the title from your remote and the movie will launch.
If you want the full experience - multichannel theater sound - the ultra high definition 2K x 4K video on the 50 or 250 or 1250 GB optical disk, it will be a one-click order that arrives by post in two or three days from Netflix or Amazon.
The sea going pirate retired from the trade not only because he was being ruthlessly hunted down by the world's navies - but because his markets were being flooded with easily affordable - instantly accessible - high quality product from the legitimate trader.
Insert Ubuntu CD, boot, click on Install, answer a few questions and that's it. Ok, now I just need to open my wedding invitation Word file from last year and-- ALL MY DOCUMENTS ARE GONE!!!! (Psst: you're missing a huge step here.)
Dual booting or virtualization are things no ordinary user will ever want to do.
Two operating systems to maintain. Two operating environments. Two software libraries. Multiple skill sets.
That can be agony for even the most dedicated enthusiast or IT pro.
If you are looking for FOSS the simplest - least painful - solution is to download and install the apps ported to Windows or the Mac.
Slashdot Mirror
Now a group...has come up with a way to break this approach, by making a single computer
I have often wondered if Freenet would be vulnerable to such an attack.
Freenet needs the super-user with generous amounts of storage and bandwidth.
Which its well-funded adversaries can provide in spades. Thousands of nodes. Tens of thousands of nodes. Hundreds...
It seems that sooner or later they would be capturing enough of the traffic to begin putting the pieces together - or sending them into the void.
People buy Windows because they are either (1) too ignorant and scared to use anything else (be it Mac or Linux), or (2) they are gamers and have no need for people to sell them a Windows box, they'd buy it anyway.
The Windows shopper can reasonably expect to see the broadest range of product in both hardware and software.
Walmart.com alone lists about 50 systems from the netbook to the media PC eligible for a free upgrade to Win 7.
The Windows shopper has an existing and substantial ten to fifteen year investment in Windows hardware and software - which isn't likely to be a problem so long as he stays within the Windows family.
The JAVA store, the FOSS app, is a non-issue. He has that already. He also has Netflix and iTunes and Quicken.
The price of migration is real. That isn't FUD - it's fact.
You don't win friends by calling them stupid - when they are not. You don't win friends by calling them cowardly - when they are not.
Heaven forbid Mickey fall into the public domain where anyone could use him to create fresh new stories. The horror. The horror.
The character design is trade-marked.
When Steamboat Willie comes into the public domain you get to write and publish derivatives based on the characters and story of Steamboat Willie
and only Steamboat Willie.
You do not get the Mouse of the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
You do not get The Phantom Blot.
Heaven forbid that the geek should be encouraged to contribute new stories based on his own characters and settings. To throw away the crutch of fan fiction.
And the rest of that, which was muttered under their breath, was: "We've already bribed the appropriate politicians and judges, so we're certain of victory. It's good to be a megarich megacorporation. Money is power to run the government."
Bribery has become the geek's all-purpose excuse for his own political impotence and ignorance of the law.
The Disney studio has been around since 1923. You might think in that time it would have learned something about work-for-hire.
You jest, but the RCA Corporation did *exactly* that in the 1930s with FM Radio. They were afraid it would kill their dominance in the AM market
Sarnoff thought FM was a distraction from its investment in television - which was being financed by NBC's AM radio networks.
I doubt he ever held any illusions about the implosion of network radio broadcasting once television went commercial.
That sort of strategic thinking - corporate planning - was not Armstrong's strength.
Nor was he a man much given to compromise.
This is really a stretch as far as Microsoft hatred goes on Slashdot.
Nothing is too big a stretch when it comes to MS hate on SLashdot. It is the rubber band that never breaks.
It had one in WalMart.
I can't think of a consumer-oriented OEM Linux system that didn't make the run for the brass ring on the WalMart merry-go-round.
But by the time the Linux product threatened to reach critical mass, OEM Windows was running on better hardware and selling at a very competitive price.
With the extra added attraction of a bundled HP printer.
In the end it came down to a prominently placed black and yellow banner - warning the buyer that his Windows programs would not work.
That he was on his own.
win32 apps are irrelevant.
The Window app is not irrelevant to the Windows user:
and in fifteen years or so he can accumulate quite a number of them that he likes - and won't walk away from on a whim.
The geek reminds me of the home mechanic who was last seen still tinkering under the hood - while the rest of world has gone out for a drive in the early autumn air.
Well it makes perfect sense. If you want normal people to trust something, you have to make it sound like a scam.
Cynical - and dangerous.
Reputations once broken, stay broken. It's mighty hard to claw your way back up.
Is this a made-up phrase, or something actually used in the advertising realm?
Call it "boilerplate," (ca 1897) if you like.
It's the vocal equivalent of public domain clip art - a serviceable template, nothing more.
It's a meaningless message for the target audience.
Of course the operating system is in charge of how you get to your data. That's its job.
Windows and the Mac own the consumer market because no one there wants any deeper engagement with the machine than is absolutely necessary.
You are an enthusiast, who chooses to spend your disposable income on a fancy computer. But most people want a machine that will let them email/browse. If it kept working for ten years, they'd be happy to continue using it. I think if you were honest about the amount you'd spent on your PC over the years, you'd understand why most Mom and Dad users (and corporate users for that matter) would be a lot better off with Linux.
I've never paid a dime for service or support.
The real cost has been in broadband Internet services and consumables - ink and paper.
When I first became interested in the PC I was told to focus on the programs I wanted to run. I happen to like polished, focused, apps that target the non technical end-user. Including the occasional PC game. I've found very good value in Windows.
I tend to buy refurbished electronics from sources like TigerDirect.
There is nothing fancy about this aging Dell or the HP that is likely to replace it. But it will be a significant upgrade - targeted more towards media play than high-performance PC gaming - I tend to more of a classic solo RPG and adventure gamer anyway - and adjusted for inflation the new system will likely cost less than what I paid the last time out.
The website would lists of applications sure to be popular with the general masses -- OpenOffice, Pidgin, Thunderbird, Firefox, Skype... Point out that many people are already using these programs on their Windows computers
That tells me Linux offers nothing more than what I already have.
But to be honest you need to include a disclaimer: that not all of my favorite Windows programs will run under Linux.
That is the deal-breaker.
It'd also have a list of organisations which have transitioned mostly or entirely to Linux -- governments, militaries, corporations, universities.
But I am not the Army, the Navy, or the Big State U. I live with my wife and kids in a four room apartment and we have very different needs.
What's the resolution of FM radio vs. the compressed audio clip?
Standard or HD broadcast quality? In any case, that's a post-production decision to make.
If you say 'Linux', they jump on Google, search for 'Linux' and find out that there are hundreds of distros, find the one that works for them, and are happy.
You have got to be kidding.
The Windows user wants the security of the OEM system bundle.
The clearly defined and supported consumer product.
Factory tested.
Sold and serviced under a generous warranty.
They want to see a web site. They want to see a toll free number for technical support.
All hardware and software compatibility issues resolved before shipment.
Up-to-date drivers.
Software installed with sensible defaults.
Licensed media play out of the box.
Compatible printers and all other common hardware devices available in store.
If you promise them compatibility with their favorite Windows software you damn well better deliver the goods.
I haven't spent a dime on security software for Windows in the last ten years.
It's bundled with your cable service, a download from CNET - and soon to be a free from Microsoft itself.
Thousands of businesses, universities and even Wall Street have been using: Linux! For years. What do they know that you don't? Linux is free. It doesn't need any virus protection and 99.9% of the software you'll ever need comes free as well.
The enterprise Linux distribution comes with a service contract or a professional on-call - on-site - IT staff. Nothing of the sort is being offered in the consumer market.
"99.9%" is the language of the fraudster.
You might as well be hawking a bar of soap or a homeopathic cure for cancer for all the credibility it gives you.
The back list of home-use software for Windows is miles wide and deep. The barest hint of what is available in games alone can be seen on sites like gog.com.
It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.
"Nothing can go wrong."
With Linux, you don't have to reboot after installing new software.
Big whoop. It isn't needed that often. It won't hurt to stretch your legs. The learning curve. The configuration options. This is where you will be spending your time.
Linux runs on old hardware. No need to buy a new computer every time the industry decides to boost profits and release another buggy system.
In the consumer market, the Windows user upgrades hardware and software when he finds the attractive OEM system bundle - and, by god, there are lot of them out there.
Something like 50 with a a "Win 7" tech guarantee" available from WalMart.com alone.
Linux runs on old hardware - but who the hell cares?
Your aging Dell has the size and heft of a suitcase. It can't be economically upgraded in any significant way.
It's replacement will weigh 11 pounds.
It will ship with a 64 Bit OS. Quad Core CPU. 8 to 12 GB RAM. The 1 TB hard drive. Blu-Ray and HDMI home theater quality video and sound.
The gamer will want a heftier power supply and a more muscular video card, but that won't break the bank.
The reviews for Win 7 have been solidly supportive.
The RC has a 20% larger installed base than Linux, according to Net Applications. Half that of Linux according to the developer-oriented W3Schools.
Hardware drivers simply do not appear to be an issue.
It's not my job as a driver to keep idiots safe.
That is how a good driver is trained to respond.
Because he needs to be prepared for the unexpected. The toddler on his low-rider trike. The unplowed sidewalk that forces pedestrians out onto the road.
The bad-ass attitude is almost never a winner in court.
The speed limit probably wasn't 40 mph and 40 might not have been safe under existing conditions.
They jury will be looking at your lights, tires, windshield, and brakes.
Your blood alcohol count.
The jury will be asking if the pedestrian could have realistically judged the speed of your approach.
There are, after all, pedestrian crossings which are never free of traffic during normal working hours.
Wouldn't it be easier for the blind or deaf to carry s little 360 degree Doppler radar which would squeal or vibrate when something is approaching faster then their gate?
Not easier and certainly not cheaper.
The sounder produced in the tens of millions of units will cost next to nothing. It can serve multiple purposes - auto horn, anti-theft, door ajar, back-up alarm and so on.
Which suggests that the sounders are probably already in place and only need to be re-programmed.
You are going to want that electric car to be audible to your kid when back out of your driveway. "Blind and deaf" is a fair description of a Buffalo, NY, pedestrian bundled up for the full force gale off Lake Erie.
This is not a new problem.
You see it wherever batteries, compressed air or bottled gas are used to power vehicles in industrial settings.
The Doppler radar for the blind is durable medical hardware, available by prescription-only.
It needs to be licensed and maintained. It needs the backing of your HMO and Medicaid/Medicare.
... about a telephone is that it has to work when you need it to work.
Your world won't come to end if your Soduku game makes a sudden departure.
It just might if you can't raise 911.
Consider the Star Fleet Academy (or Hogwarts or the Isle of Roke). If ever there was a situation ripe for distance learning, that is it - and yet through several movies and TV series, book after book, the academy is depicted as a physical location shared by students from diverse planets
Hogwarts is a secure site for training kids with wild talents.
It is common ground.
It lies at the core of the secret society which is Rowling's magical world. In that sense, Hogwarts serves the same purpose as a cathedral, a theater, a library, a museum, or a stadium in the muggle world.
To borrow an idea from Isaac Asimov's The Naked Sun, the problem with distance learning is distance.
It becomes a substitute for real - social - engagement.
That makes it a dangerous temptation for someone who sees his role as simply a technician.
The military has always understood this, which is why the service academy is so deeply rooted in their traditions.
You mean, it doesn't get any better than you picking the most popular from one, and biasedly comparing to the least popular from another?
For more on "Windows 7 Sins:" FSF Attacks Windows 7's Sins Campaign
The Boston Common was FSF's launch pad - and a squirrel on the grass would have drawn a bigger crowd.
The link I provided simply searches YouTube for "Windows 7."
It doesn't prove - and isn't meant to prove - anything about "open source."
But it does have something to say about the visibility and effectiveness of the FSF and "Windows 7 Sins."
If you check that video, you'll even see them throwing away 'OS X' boxes.
There isn't a "Windows 7" box to throw.
They love OS X because it's nice and shiny and 'just works' and hate Windows because it's far from shiny and is still fraught with problems left and right. Whether that is fact or popular opinion propagated by the masses (certainly partially) doesn't even matter.
But it isn't being propagated by the masses.
Win XP wiped the floor with OEM Linux in the netbook sector. You didn't need to do much more than slap the Windows logo on your product to make the sale.
Vista has about a 20% share of the client desktop. That has to be consumer based and it represents a significant investment in new and more powerful hardware.
The Win 7 RC 1%.
These numbers look very good when compared to OSX, which is also essentially a high-end consumer product - a discretionary purchase.
Your local retailer?
It's becoming difficult to find any home theater audio or video device that doesn't support streaming media out of the box.
It won't be long before you'll just key in the title from your remote and the movie will launch.
If you want the full experience - multichannel theater sound - the ultra high definition 2K x 4K video on the 50 or 250 or 1250 GB optical disk, it will be a one-click order that arrives by post in two or three days from Netflix or Amazon.
The sea going pirate retired from the trade not only because he was being ruthlessly hunted down by the world's navies - but because his markets were being flooded with easily affordable - instantly accessible - high quality product from the legitimate trader.
Insert Ubuntu CD, boot, click on Install, answer a few questions and that's it.
Ok, now I just need to open my wedding invitation Word file from last year and-- ALL MY DOCUMENTS ARE GONE!!!!
(Psst: you're missing a huge step here.)
Dual booting or virtualization are things no ordinary user will ever want to do.
Two operating systems to maintain. Two operating environments. Two software libraries. Multiple skill sets.
That can be agony for even the most dedicated enthusiast or IT pro.
If you are looking for FOSS the simplest - least painful - solution is to download and install the apps ported to Windows or the Mac.
The end of summer is marked by the Open Regatta, the county fair and Peach Festival, jazz concerts in the park, the Labor Day Parade.
The Back-To-School Sale.
Crowds are large, receptive, very well fed - they love hand-outs and are open to anyone who puts on a good show.
If can offer them shade, a coke and a folding chair, so much the better.
But, geek being geek, he'll chose the chill and wet of autumn - and place himself at the point of maximum inconvenience.
The Seventh Day Adventist at your door.