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On Sat, 12 Dec 2009, Steph Foster wrote:
Having read about a lot of problems and heard a lot of complaints I am now finding myself wondering if I could genuinely recommend GNU/Linux as a desktop OS to any non geeky user.I personally think that if this trend continues popularising GNU/Linux to the masses is going to be very difficult.I do say GNU/Linux because the problem is not kernel based so it isn't really a Linux problem.It is a GNU problem.
It's a packaging problem as I see it.People are now spoon-fed into having a PC pre-installed, or the upgrade process is easy - gamers (a minority?) in the Win/PC world are probably the closest to knowing about hardware, drivers, etc. but in the Linux world we sort of expect end-users to know a bit more - maybe no bad thing, but it's off-putting I think.
However - the pre-installed systems I've seen haven't been nice for the end-user - Linpus Lite for example... Nice, but ... Wifey got a 2nd-hand Acer Aspire One literally 5 hours old because the person who originally bought it couldn't make it work - I spent a short while putting Debian Lenny on it with xfce4, making it work in a similar sort of way to the XP that she was used to and she's more than happy - and I suspect that would work for a lot of people if only the makers/hardware distributors would spend some time putting together a nice Linux install for the users....
So what we need is an installation designed for a user and not a geek... And one that works on all hardware...
And maybe 2010 will be the year of the Linux desktop ... :-|I'm going to tackle Father in law next - his PC is getting on a bit, but I'll need to see what applications he's using under XP first and if there are good Linux alternatives - email will be easy, as will "Office", but I'm not sure what else... digital camera and printing... but wifey has an identical printer, so might play there first...
But I'd never expect a user like him to even contemplate doing an install/upgrade... (Although he has discovered Chrome without my prompting!)
Gordon -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html