Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Thu 21st Sep 2006 08:54 UTC, submitted by brandon
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Member since:
2006-01-08
People tend to give up easily. I promoted Linux 4 years ago (I did before, and do now, but by this time I organised a big LIP, and was more active) and it was further from being an alternative on the desktop.
When I started using the IRC people I met were all into trying different OSs, Linux, *BSD, etc. Today a lot of people in the Messenger generation ain't into other OSs, they got Windows with the computer their parents bought, and it serves them enough. Old school people and people influenced by these are the users and new users of most different OSs. Of course there's always people on the search to move away from Microsoft, but the times are different, so some marketing by other OSs work on these people, we can see that by watching people acquiring Apple hardware.
Linux is ready for my desktop, as for a lot of people's desktop. In my view, it requires the user to be interested on the software, and the underlying OS, but it is usable by people who aren't at all interested. Some people are completely against learning something different from Microsoft software, those are difficult to introduce to Linux, even if it is easier, free and free.
The "fight" is not on showing that Linux is ready for the desktop, it is on educating people to Open Standards so they know how and why to ask for all those codecs and plugins and drivers missing a completely legal and/or stable solution on alternative OSs.
Edited 2006-09-21 11:00