Linked by Adam S on Sun 6th Apr 2003 17:18 UTC
This is my reaction to Tsu Dho Nimh's "Migrating to Linux not easy for Windows users" featured on Linuxworld.com recently. It's not a response, I'm not challenging his opinions, which I feel are not only valid, but mostly right, it's just a reaction.
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Tsu's original article was excellent. IF you want Linux to be viable for average users so they can save money and are free from DRM and "exploitation", Linux must grow up. So what to do? It's all up to RedHat. (if you don't care about average users, skip the rest.)
They are the leader of Linux. Period. Mandrake is bankrupt, Suse is limited to Europe and nearly broke. They must set the Standard - they must be the people who finally make DECISIONS.
No more multiple desktops. CHOOSE ONE, Redhat, and we all know it is Gnome. Personally, i prefer KDE, but 99% of the world's population doesn't give a rat's ass. Say, Gnome is it, we know it's mediocre at best, but all our resources are going into it. Preferably, all Gnome apps will be written with MONO, which should have decent VERSIONING and easy INSTALLATION, like Installshield. Period. We guarantee every app written from today will run on RedHat for 5 YEARS.
Browser: Mozilla. Office Suite: Open Office, and make it work well with Gnome. These 2 paragraphs of DECISIONS will get Linux 80% of the way to desktop rule.
People will bitch and moan - where's AbiWord, where's Kongqueror? - but eventually, they will start coding to these Standard API's and making a mass movement.
The LSB is a joke. Until RedHat starts making the HARD decisions and taking heat, Linux will be stagnant on the desktop. They should not strive to be like Windows. The ideal is the ease of use, simplistic installation (just copying a folder), and pure fun of Mac OS X. Nothing else should be acceptable.