But people don't want to compile software - they just want to install it in a form that runs right away.
And portage is something they have to know about, install and then learn to use. That's too much effort for an apparently simple process.
Windows and OS X have the advantage that you can go into a shop, buy a boxed copy of software, take it home and install it quickly and easily. No compiling or mucking about with other apps to download the app for you.
Sure, a lot of Linux software is free, but how much of it comes in a consumer format that people will recognise? If the solution is to train the rest of the world to come around, then the problem may be too hard.
Wait a minute... calling 'man' a help file... this is a joke isn't it? man pages are a shade above useless when you present them to normal (ie non-technical) people...
You nearly had me there! Good one!
man pages are help files... heh heh... priceless...
I've got a set of Access databases used for storage of call centre data. Two of them are nearing 1.5GB in size, and another two are around 800MB.
Access is stable under certain conditions. These databases are purely tables. No queries, no forms, just tables. The input and output is done through 'satellite' databases, seperating data storage from data manipulation.
Very stable.
Access works very well if you seperate front-end from back-end. As a multi-user system, it works nicely up to about 20 users in the front-end, after which it starts failing. But that's when you create a web-based front-end and only open the link when you're retrieving or sending data.
Other DBMSs are much more scalable and stable out of the box, but have their own issues. Access is one of the best for getting a prototype up and running quickly.
Having said all that, we're in the process of moving to SQL Server. The databases I mentioned above are not considered high priority, because they're so stable.
It's not luck. It's knowing the tool and using it inside its limits.
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But people don't want to compile software - they just want to install it in a form that runs right away. And portage is something they have to know about, install and then learn to use. That's too much effort for an apparently simple process. Windows and OS X have the advantage that you can go into a shop, buy a boxed copy of software, take it home and install it quickly and easily. No compiling or mucking about with other apps to download the app for you. Sure, a lot of Linux software is free, but how much of it comes in a consumer format that people will recognise? If the solution is to train the rest of the world to come around, then the problem may be too hard. Wait a minute... calling 'man' a help file... this is a joke isn't it? man pages are a shade above useless when you present them to normal (ie non-technical) people... You nearly had me there! Good one! man pages are help files... heh heh... priceless...
I've got a set of Access databases used for storage of call centre data. Two of them are nearing 1.5GB in size, and another two are around 800MB. Access is stable under certain conditions. These databases are purely tables. No queries, no forms, just tables. The input and output is done through 'satellite' databases, seperating data storage from data manipulation. Very stable. Access works very well if you seperate front-end from back-end. As a multi-user system, it works nicely up to about 20 users in the front-end, after which it starts failing. But that's when you create a web-based front-end and only open the link when you're retrieving or sending data. Other DBMSs are much more scalable and stable out of the box, but have their own issues. Access is one of the best for getting a prototype up and running quickly. Having said all that, we're in the process of moving to SQL Server. The databases I mentioned above are not considered high priority, because they're so stable. It's not luck. It's knowing the tool and using it inside its limits.