Can Linux beat XP in homes yet or NOT?

[Robin Laing]

Mustafa Qasim wrote:
> Salam!
>            I want to ask all you folks there that we can see the current 
> advancements in Fedora and Ubunto distros. They've came onto screen as 
> an OS not only for server's operated by GEEKS but also a much secure and 
> user friendly OS for home users but still a large amount of our home 
> user's are still stick with XP(especially here in Pakistan) . Do we need 
> to create awareness at root grass level? Is it due to the 
> Installation,configuring softwares and migrating data or other smiler 
> issues that are the giant hurdle for home users? A XP user is still 
> satisfied with Spyware,Trojan,dialer,virus an many other attacks but he 
> didn't dare or didn't have enough guidance to get rid of it by using Linux.
> 
> I've tried to talk with my some friends about these issues but at the 
> end i came to know that they didn't need to listen the philosophy of 
> FOSS they just want me to practically prove that Linux is much easier 
> and secure then Windows. For them installing software from source or 
> concept of mounting a block device is much difficult because they didn't 
> have to do this in M$ XP :p.
> 
> "What" and more importantly "How" we individuals can serve to make our 
> people at root grass level aware about the weakness and black holes of 
> their existing platform and the advantages of Linux over M$ XP?
> 
>  
> Regards,
> -- 
> Mustafa Qasim
> Lahore, Pakistan
> Cell: 0321-6614972
> URL: http://www.mustu.info <http://www.mustu.info>
> 
I have to respond to this from a home and work user.

I have not owned or used a version of Windows since 3.11 at home.  Even 
then it was secondary to OS/2.  Since 1999, it has been Linux only in 
our house.

The biggest issue at work is proprietary file formats.  Most of the 
programs to work with these files work well in Wine.

And Exchange server.  Evolution over Outlook Web Access is a real pain. 
  Of course many users that used Thunderbird/Mozilla/Netscape before 
also complain about Outlook as well.  Personal preference.

At home, it is games and 3D video drivers.

Now for the forward looking aspect I look at my daughter.  She hasn't 
really used Windows on any system but has heard my wife and I talk about 
all our problems.  She uses a eMac at school has had nothing but 
problems.  She wants a Linux laptop for school.

This points me to the education of the users.  Get the kids using Linux 
and you will find that it will grow in both home and business usage.  As 
long as they can play their games and communicate with their peers.

Now for the complaints.  3D graphics.  At present, this issue isn't 
limited to Linux but Windows Vista as well.  There are driver issues on 
both systems, just less work being done on the Linux side.  I have not 
had as many problems with lockups and crashes since I installed FC7 on a 
machine that was running very well with FC4.  I am in trouble with both 
my wife and daughter.  At least I have not tried upgrading the laptop yet.

Linux in the home needs to have solid drivers to support graphics.  This 
is the biggest frustration.  As I gather data, I will submit information 
to trace the problem but that can be a pain as well.  Bug reports that 
cover outside or other applications can be brushed off.  When you see 
"Not a Bug" or "Closed, Won't fix" in a bug report that is affecting 
your usage of the OS, doesn't bode well for continued usage.  Also the 
fact that some distros modify the code for their distro that can cause 
problems with plug-ins or remove features from the original.

Contrary to others comments, I find OpenOffice works well in our 
business location.  I have been able to open Word documents that others 
cannot.  I have been able to recover files that caused Word to crash. 
Others are finding that there are tools in OpenOffice that are not in 
Word which help them be more productive.

The biggest complaint that I read in both the press (linux based) and 
hear is the difference in packaging.  I need an rpm for this or that. 
Use Apt in this version or Yum in that version.  This creates a headache 
for developers that want to share their work.  What distros do they 
support?  I have seen enough that don't support Fedora to direct me to 
look at making my own RPM's.  Now to find the time. :)

And as others have stated, support for Dominant protocols as well as 
codex issues.  Again, the difference between different distros, makes 
this harder to solve from either the developers.

We need standards across all versions and distros of Linux or a tool to 
convert apt files to rpm and vice-versa.

My daughter likes Linux and I am starting to teach her how to admin the 
systems.  Now is the time to start using sudo.  :)



--
Due to the move to Exchange Server,
    anything that is a priority, please phone.
Robin Laing