Re: End of the past... things to come...

[Tom Gilbert <gilbertt tomgilbert freeserve co uk>]

On Tue, 1 Jun 1999, Diego Garces Casao wrote:

--------------SNIP------------
->But one thing is true, if we want to make Linux powerful and even maybe overcome
->Windows, because we want to see big companies programming big applications for Linux
--------------SNIP------------
->If RH doesn't like E because it is too much
->configurable, I think it's an error, there aren't programs too configurables but
->programs difficult to configure. We can't expect a computer to behaviour like a VCR
->with three buttons and a hole as input.
--------------SNIP------------

I think what I'm about to say may be somewhat contraversial, so no flames
please. I love Linux, I *love* e, and I love gnome. (Just wanted to make
that clear).
Referring to the last two lines of the above message...
If Red Hat software or any other commercial company could produce a
distribution/OS that could run a server or desktop machine using just 3
buttons like a VCR, they would do so in a second.
I'll tell you another thing too. They'd sell enough copies to take over
the world. Companies want ease of setup and use, and RH are thinking like
a sensible commercial company when they steer towards setups involving
*less* configuration options.
I know you can have configurablility *and* ease of use, and for me that's
what's behind my personal decision to use e + gnome for my environment.
But for a commercial company, its simplicity and power, simplicity and
power.
Power users like us want configurability over everything else. We want to
customise our environments, personalise our space, have everything _just
so_.
Red hat and companies like it don't make *any* money out of us. I
bought my RH5.1 distro for £30, and have downloaded all of my updates
since them. Red hat and others make money from companies buying software
*and support* for mission critical operations. These *paying* customers
don't care what colour their cursor is, or whether the pager shows
constantly updating screenshots. (don't get me wrong, *I* love it).

I'm rambling, but I think my point is coming next.

If users like us want configurability, (and I believe we *do*), *we* have
to put it there. We have to make that effort. We should not rely on
companies such as Redhat to cater to our (non-profitable) whims, and we
should definitely not criticise them for not doing so.

IMO Redhat are doing an awesome job of bringing Linux to the masses. The
masses are not just us power users who like it because it is free (as in
speech), but include your average Joe who likes the sound of it because it
is free (as in Beer), and sees it as a cheap  way of getting software.
People like this need a manual, support, and ease of use. They need all of
these *over* configurability, or else they go back to Windows.

If you want this software to "overcome windows" as in the above message,
these are things you must bear in mind. As a group, we are not "the
masses", and do not think like them. Redhat and other commercial Linux
distributors must force themselves to think like the masses on a regular
basis, or else they stop making money and fold.

You have to ask yourself whether you want Linux to overcome windows, or be
a "cult" OS, worshipped by a comparitively small number of power users,
and used by a relatively small number or brave corporates.
If you choose the former, then you *must* accept the decisions companies
such as Redhat make. It is the only way the masses are going to get
involved. You need the masses if you want to "overcome Windows".

I love GNU/Linux *because* there is so much to learn, and so the results
are *immensely* rewarding. I love GNU/Linux *because* it is *so* powerful
and configurable. I love e for the same reasons. Gnome I also love, 'cos I
can see what its goals are, and I am amazed how quickly it is racing
towards them. I love to get involved. The idea that I can patch some
software to fix something that bugs me, then mail that patch to the author
and have it available to everybody, that's *fantastic*. I can't get
enough.

Just remember that Joe Public couldn't give two hoots about such things,
and would probably be scared off by the very idea. Joe Public doesn't want
to learn scripting or C or C++ or Perl or Python to get results.

I do!
You all do, or why else are you subscribed to this group?

_They_ don't.

Don't confuse yourselves with the masses. And don't get so carried away
with ideas of taking over the world, 'cos the rest of the world may not
want the same thing.

Long message, sorry. This is a subject I feel strongly about.

I want Linux to continue, and I'd love to see it dominate the market, but
I accept that for it to do that, it will have to change a *lot*. I hope
enough of its roots will remain for me to get down and dirty with its
code, and I hope people like rasterman and mandrake and the gnome team
(and of course Linus) will make it so. But I try to remain realistic as
well. We are all idealists, its why we're here, but idealism is dangerous
in concentrated form.

I just think people should be careful with these "take over from Windows"
comments. GNU/Linux is simply not there yet, and I'm not sure you'd all be
so happy with what it would be like when it got there.

Didn't mean to annoy, just my 2, err, 1724 cents worth.

-- 
     /---------------------------------------------------------------\
     | Tom Gilbert, England                   pingu@linuxfreak.com   |
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