response 43 of 203:

Jan 31 21:12 UTC 2007

If ease of use were the determining factor, Mac OS X would be giving 
Windows a real drubbing.

Speaking personally - I've used Windows, Linux, and OS X to try to get 
serious work done, and in the ease of use department Windows comes in a 
poor third.

Windows may (currently) have overwhelming dominance in the desktop/laptop 
world, but in the server world it's a different story.

response 45 of 203:

Jan 31 21:19 UTC 2007

Windows works well enough that an average person can buy a computer at
Wal-Mart, and get an Internet connection set up by a trainee from
Comcast, and be able to use the Internet, type and print papers, play
games, and watch movies.

The Macintosh works just as well for these purposes, but it costs more
and it isn't available at Wal-Mart.

I have been a Unix hobbyist and Unix professional for around 20 years. 
I pretty well understand the uses and advantages of Linux.  I would not
say an average person can do what they want to do, without much
assistance, using Linux.  Not yet.

response 47 of 203:

Jan 31 21:25 UTC 2007

Re: #45. I would disagree but, whether I would or wouldn't is not the point.
What I have been trying to get over is the fact that, just as you can walk
into any high street store and buy from a number of pc vendors, without
problems, you should be able to have your pc of choice installed with your
*os* of choice, or at least supplied with none so that you can install your
own later, WITHOUT hassles, WITHOUT being fed rubbish like "it's illegal to
supply a pc without an OS", and preferably (though one must make allowances
for the mental capacity of the staff in such places) WITHOUT being bloody-well
laughed at.

Not that the last point is one I insist on, however. I just laugh back at
them behind their backs, louder and harder.

response 49 of 203:

Jan 31 21:45 UTC 2007

Regarding #46; Sure!  Link it over; you're a fairwitness there.  :-)

response 51 of 203:

Jan 31 21:46 UTC 2007

Perhaps.  Actually, I've seen Gates speak.  I was, honestly, quite impressed
with his philanthropic activities.  He was also quite an engaging speaker,
even if I disagree with his interpretation of technology.

response 53 of 203:

Jan 31 21:51 UTC 2007

Re: #49. Good point!

Re: #50, #51. I have taken the rather unpopular stance that since I consider
most of Gates's gains ill-gotten, I cannot support his "philanthropic" work.

response 55 of 203:

Jan 31 22:41 UTC 2007

re #53 oh c'mon twenex, you don't support Gates' philanthropic work 
because he's a flaming liberal.  He and his buddy, the world's second 
richest man warren buffett, are both supporting Barack Obama in fact  

response 57 of 203:

Jan 31 23:20 UTC 2007

Re #48: It's kind of hard to get features that the end-user wants without
getting the "kitchen sink" mentality -- particularly, it seems to me, because
what one end user wants will be useless (and "kitchen sink" material) to
another.

response 59 of 203:

Feb 1 01:19 UTC 2007

 re #56:  Bad news, twenex.  Richard knows your secret about all that
 fundraising work you do for the National Front.   It's just like how
 he figured out I am a far-right libertarian.  He's uncanny..

response 61 of 203:

Feb 1 08:03 UTC 2007

Ideally what the Linux guys ought to do is just clone the Windows Desktop look
and feel.It's a Linux but the user shouldn't be able to tell the difference
in terms of the GUI..not sure though since MS might have patented their look..
or copyright infringement? Can it be done? 

The next thing would be a MS Office clone. I think the main problem here is 
user inertia. People have spent time and energy learning to use MS-stuff and 
they don't want to sit around and learn something new when there is not 
much of a added advantage to it..

It's a little like Grex in a way :) great ideals but who wants to figure
out the syntax when gardenweb.com requires no additional brain work. I agree
with what Mynx has to say. 

I think Linux's advantages will show up as it ages..the fact that MS's Vista 
is a bunch of security patches and eye-candy is very indicative, though 
Linux has a lot of bloat in the GUI (KDE/Gnome) and OpenOffice sucks.. 

Ideally Linux/MS should come out with something like 2K+MS-Office+Nero+WinRar
+Dict+FF+Thunderbird+Putty+MPlayer(Linux port)+WinAmp+RASPPPoE before 
adding any more idiotic eye-candy.

response 63 of 203:

Feb 1 09:22 UTC 2007

Re: #61. Boy, are you out of touch.

"Linux has a lot of bloat and OpenOffice sucks"- you DO know that Vista
requires FIFTEEN gigabytes of hard-drive space and that the newest version
of Microsoft Office has a *completely* different interface, right? And how
exactly does OpenOffice suck?

response 65 of 203:

Feb 1 10:41 UTC 2007

Re #61: Don't redit what i type when you quote me! I DID NOT say "Linux has
a lot of bloat and OpenOffice sucks"! 

Re #64: Actually hand signals wouldn't make any sense either :) given that 
i still need to know what your gestures mean :). A perfect interface would be
one which required no learning about the interface by the user but still 
managed to convey the information/meaning :) - at least that's how i see it.

I like Linux well enough to use it, but i'm not completely blind to it's
defects..as i see it - there's not much sense in trying to get the world
to fit Linux. It's better for Linux to try to adapt to the world. Given
that we live in a MS dominated world, from a user perspective it makes
sense for any UI to simulate MS and gradually wean users away to something
better.