<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 TRANSITIONAL//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=UTF-8"> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="GtkHTML/3.16.3"> </HEAD> <BODY> Based on the comments from the Linux side, I believe one can easily see why Linux is NOT truly ready for the desktop. If anyone that thinks it is, based on applications and usability, then they are obviously not basing their opinion on fact. I have been using Linux exclusively as my desktop platform for the past two years (willing to work through and around Linux desktop's shot comings) and can tell you honestly that there are a lot of shortcomings in Linux as a desktop client. Note that I have used CentOS, Fedora, and Ubuntu for the last four plus releases, as well as deployed K12LTSP and K12Linux in school labs for the past two plus years, so I have had extensive experience with the usability as well as issues with Linux. Continuing to blindly favor and praise Linux desktop solely because of ones prejudices against Microsoft is foolishness and continues to cause Linux to not address it's weaknesses and enhance it's usability for desktop users. Out of the box experience, what 90% of the computing user world experiences, determines their preferences, and if they have to go through Linux setup/configuration Hell to do it, guess what, they won't. Look at the statistics for the number of returned Linux based Netbook PCs vs Windows XP based Netbook PCs, that alone should tell us something. It is in Linux best interest to seriously tune and optimize their desktop offerings. Secondly, Linux seriously needs a Small Business Server platform that competes with Microsoft's SBS. Continuing to ignore these two key areas will continue to be Linux Achilles heel to wider adoption. Red Hat can continue to blindly ignore desktop and Small Business Server opportunities to their own demise, but Ubuntu and SUSE will eventually fulfill that niche and eventually surpass Red Hat. Keep in mind that the lions share of businesses are small. On Tue, 2009-05-19 at 10:00 -0600, David L. Willson wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <PRE> I resemble that. For my part, I think Linux is completely ready for the desktop, but I'm not sure that the users are ready and I'm not sure that IT people are as ready as they think they are. So, my general-purpose advice is this: Go ahead and pilot Linux on the desktop, with an eye toward full deployment, but make darn sure you have a safety net: a Windows Terminal Server, a Virtual Machine, or a dual-boot handy for anything you might have overlooked. Working without a net is bad geekery. It scares users, and it should. Be humble. Serve the users that feed you. Study as hard as you can. Never, ever attack people, even when they're being "stupid" and "deserve it". --David ----- "Terrell Prude' Jr." <<A HREF="mailto:microman@cmosnetworks.com">microman@cmosnetworks.com</A>> wrote: > He's only done part of his homework. And some of those "points" are > just plain wrong. I smell an MCSE at work there.... > > --TP > > Alan Hodson wrote: > > Check out Tashkinov's article: > <A HREF="http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.desktop.html">http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.desktop.html</A> > > Serious food for thought! > > > > > > Alan A Hodson MEd. > > Instructional Applications Analyst > > El Paso Independent School District > > oF: 915-887-6871 > > fX: 915-772-4016 > > Nxt:915-892-0389 > > <A HREF="mailto:aahodson@episd.org">aahodson@episd.org</A> > > <A HREF="http://links.episd.org/">http://links.episd.org/</A> > > Open Source Grokker > > <A HREF="http://tinyurl.com/3e4sh8">http://tinyurl.com/3e4sh8</A> > > > > Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, > > but by the moments that take our breath away > > -=o=- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > K12OSN mailing list > > <A HREF="mailto:K12OSN@redhat.com">K12OSN@redhat.com</A> > > <A HREF="https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn">https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn</A> > > For more info see <<A HREF="http://www.k12os.org">http://www.k12os.org</A>> > > > > _______________________________________________ > K12OSN mailing list > <A HREF="mailto:K12OSN@redhat.com">K12OSN@redhat.com</A> > <A HREF="https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn">https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn</A> > For more info see <<A HREF="http://www.k12os.org">http://www.k12os.org</A>> _______________________________________________ K12OSN mailing list <A HREF="mailto:K12OSN@redhat.com">K12OSN@redhat.com</A> <A HREF="https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn">https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn</A> For more info see <<A HREF="http://www.k12os.org">http://www.k12os.org</A>> </PRE> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML>