Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Mon 18th Mar 2002 18:07 UTC
Many companies tried to create a truly easy-to-use Linux distribution, but as they say in Greece "they reached the well, but weren't able to drink water". Corel, Mandrake, Lindows, Xandros, Stormix and many other distros tried or are still trying to bring Linux closer to Windows' ease of use and the millions of the desktop-oriented users. One of the new distributions that has many people impressed so far, is Lycoris (formerly known as 'Redmond Linux'). OSNews tested the latest Lycoris Desktop/LX and here is what we experienced.
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A couple of people have commented on this already (thanks Stew & Joe Nayares), but please do not think Windows is the most usable system around.
Don't forget, Windows is the most popular desktop OS in the world and has been for some time. This does not mean that it is the "best way" to do things - it simply means that lots of people have got so used to it that they have developed ways to work around its shortcomings - this level of implicit knowledge is often underestimated.
I have used Redmond Linux and in my opinion it is more usable than Windows for the average home user - new apps are unlikely to be needed because so many are already installed. The operation is simple and straightforward, and like enough to Windows to calm anyone unfamiliar with Linux.
If you really want to look at usability, take a sample of people who have used neither system, and get them to perform a set amount of tasks and compare their performances. Until then, all this guff about usability remains just an opinion.
Example - a friend phoned me asking me how to shut down the computer - I said click on start, then logout and so on which was simple enough, but she said "why would I click on something marked start to stop the damn thing?". For a moment I thought she was just stupid, but it says a lot about usability - logically, she is absolutely correct to think that, as she didn't have this "implicit knowledge" that so many of us do.
She had also worked out how to switch off a Mac in a few seconds with no help, and Mac (& Lisa) was based on good usability research - Windows is NOT.