algeriatul team mailing list archive

[Martin Wildam <1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 12:15, Tom <1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> If people really want the opposite of what is on offer then we should
> listen, smile smugly and walk away.  As keeps being pointed out many people new
> into the linux-world just want a free version of Windows complete with all it's
> vulnerable broken systems and "blame the user" mentality.  Just smile and walk
> away.  Usually these people change their attitude once they begin to realise the
> gems on offer.  I did.

In my personal case even before I learned to love some of the gems
offered by Linux and Ubuntu in particular, I enjoyed the missing flaws
I experienced on Windows where - after more than 15 years - I lost
confidence to the OS, the Company and the technologies used.


On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 14:39, lelamal <1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I just meant that freedom of choice, in my view, is fundamental to Linux, and
> that without choice there's no freedom. Which is a scenario we're all familiar
> with, and is called Windows.

Having the choice is important at least because apart from personal
favors one thing cannot do best in any circumstances. For example:
With a fully featured desktop there is less performance and more
memory used. Bad for weak workstations. While I am sure that there can
be optimization done (I find Gnome getting faster with each new
version), you can't get a truck and a roadster all-in-one.


> All in all, unfortunately, I don't think this bug will ever get fixed. It's
> true, in my view, that most people feel more comfortable in the restricted
> space where the monopoly of the year decides to confine them, rather than
> wandering in the vast open space of freedom where choices are too abundant not
> to feel overwhelmed.

1. Most people don't have a plain idea of what they are in. They
suffer and find it normal.
2. Having the choice means you either have to
    a) invest more time at the beginning to find out what fits better
for your requirements or
    b) ask a friend what you should use.
If you are not willing to invest more time at the beginning (which of
course could probably save you tons of time later) and you don't have
friends who have walked that path before (moving to Linux), it is
logical to stay with what you know. - But: Staying with what you know
is not what I experienced with people coming from XP to Windows 7 and
Office 97-2003 to Office 2007/2010. Apart from other tools they use,
the core things they usually deal with have changed radically. I can
see people having less problems getting familiar with Ubuntu and Open
Office than getting familiar with Windows 7 and MS Office >=2007.

That said, Ubuntu and other distributions still also have a long way
to go: Yesterday I lost a complete workday by getting Ubuntu 10.04 to
work with my docking station - to make it use just (and only) the
external monitor. This is something that already worked better with
9.04 and it should work automatically (plenty of people complaining
about this issue on various forums, some either downgraded back to
9.10). It is hard to convince people of using Ubuntu instead of
Windows when such basics don't work out of the box.

But finally: I lost complete workdays on Windows also a few times when
something got fu**ed up. I still prefer Ubuntu, but I am a technical
guy and can help myself, get into the communities and find solutions.
Other users don't have that option (although I don't know anyone using
Windows who has not his personal support guy if he is not a techie
himself).

-- 
Martin Wildam
http://www.google.com/profiles/mwildam

-- 
Microsoft has a majority market share
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu 4
dz, which is a direct subscriber.

Status in Club Distro: Confirmed
Status in Computer Science Ubuntu: Invalid
Status in EasyPeasy Overview: Invalid
Status in Ichthux - Linux for Christians: Invalid
Status in JAK LINUX: Invalid
Status in The Linux OS Project: In Progress
Status in The OpenOffice.org Suite: In Progress
Status in Tabuntu: Invalid
Status in A simple player to online TV streaming: Invalid
Status in Tv-Player: New
Status in Ubuntu: In Progress
Status in “ubuntu-express” package in Ubuntu: Invalid
Status in The Jaunty Jackalope: Invalid
Status in “ubuntu-express” source package in Jaunty: Invalid
Status in Baltix GNU/Linux: Invalid
Status in “linux” package in Debian: In Progress
Status in Fluxbuntu: The Lightweight, Productive, Agile OS: Confirmed
Status in openSUSE: In Progress
Status in Tilix Linux: New

Bug description:
Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace.
This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix.

Non-free software is holding back innovation in the IT industry, restricting access to IT to a small part of the world's population and limiting the ability of software developers to reach their full potential, globally. This bug is widely evident in the PC industry.

Steps to repeat:

1. Visit a local PC store.

What happens:
2. Observe that a majority of PCs for sale have non-free software pre-installed.
3. Observe very few PCs with Ubuntu and free software pre-installed.

What should happen:
1. A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software like Ubuntu.
2. Ubuntu should be marketed in a way such that its amazing features and benefits would be apparent and known by all.
3. The system shall become more and more user friendly as time passes.