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

["Fred W. Smith" <fsmith computersandthings com>]

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


>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.


Hi!

I have subscribed to this list since March 23 of this year, and have read a
lot of the messages that have come through. I bought Red Hat 5.2, installed
it with a minimal amount of trouble, bought Caldera's latest version, bought
Red Hat 6.0 which installed very nicely. The problem is not with the
installation, but in the configuration.

I am not to be completely classified with the masses, because I install
server operating systems and configure them every day for a living. But I
agree with what you said about not everybody being a programmer. I am not
one and don't have time to learn right now. But I can take a server
operating system whether Novell or Windows NT and in a few hours time have
it operating a network and connected to the internet as a web server, e-mail
server, or just as a proxy server. I just have not been able to do that with
Linux. Every time I try to do another step in the configuration process, I
have to read a separate man page, look up the configuration documentation
for the .conf file or try to use the gui which by the way does not work all
the time, in the mean time I have a business to run in order to make a
living. I'm sorry, I just don't have the time it will take to learn how to
set up and administrate this software. I think it is great, I think it has
great possibilities but I made the decision today to put it on the shelf for
about another year and come back and see where the linux world is by then.

The author of this e-mail is correct, If you want us working stiff's to
implement linux in the small business world, it will have to get easier to
configure and set up in the network environment before I can join your ranks
no matter how much I would like to do so right now.

Thanks for your time.

Good luck,

Fred Smith

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