Linked by Preston Liam Whels on Wed 16th Apr 2003 18:07 UTC
Put yourself in his/her shoes. You're a budding young technical writer and the one word you hear popping up in almost every tech-related conversation is, you guessed it, Linux. Now look in the mirror and try to tell yourself you're more than a writer. After all, you write about technology because it not only interests you, but you're accurate and fair enough to tell it like it is. Maybe not.
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Well, this is an interesting read. While I concede that he's thought things through, I'm not in complete agreement. I don't view most Linux users as those who want to "take Microsoft down.' Taking Microsoft down is not the same as "wanting to move off of MS products." I don't want to use pirated software or battle blue screens after I install new USB hardware. I also like the challenge of Linux - it reminds me of the older days when I really had to work, and not fruitlessly, at getting my computer to run properly. The payoff is great - my system is exactly as I want it to be.
Furthermore, this article says some things that are getting to be old hat for me. Admittedly, some of the points are probably the same things I've said in past articles, but put simply, we're running in circles in the community in that we constantly harp on the same issues without ever really making progress. RTFM is something I have seen a lot of in the past, but in truth, lately, I've gotten A LOT of help from people, and no one has told me to read any manuals. In fact, people have gone WAY above and beyond - one guy helped me tweak Apache's mod_bandwidth and mod_throttle to an astonishing degree. The community is improving and deserves some credit. Also, 'everyone working together' is easier said than done - no one is trying to make things complicated or wrap up their projects in red tape, but coordinating projects en masse takes time and skill, and not every project can pull it off.
Lastly, one thing I do agree with is your summation - Linux is ready for the desktop, but most people aren't ready for Linux. I relish eye candy and pretty and responsive GUIs. I trade off a lot of the polish for 'good enough' because there are other benefits for me. I carry on, but I'd never put it on my mother's computer. It's a rare breed that can use Linux without Windows. You're totally right about this - as much as it's ready for you, you have to be ready for Linux too.