No subject

productivity if they need to get a job done with a minimum of hassle.  It's
often easier to remember command-lines than do a whole series of drag & drop
with folders & pictures.  It's certainly easier to troubleshoot systems from a
command prompt than from a graphic.
Family: my mom and my wife both would rather the software work and get
something done faster, but are tied to the MS environment as it's what they
learned from the start.  What I've taught them in text-mode would fill a book. 

Aren't books what we learned from in school?  Did you memorize poetry from
pictures or finely printed text?  Linux will do more from a command line than
DOS or MS Windows, but I'm probably preaching to the choir here.
And yes, I know X is alive and well, that the choice of window managers
abounds, but it is my choice to install them if I wish and I still drop to a
console for work.

Installing is easier than MS.  Uninstalling is easier than MS.  
Hardware compatibility problems?  I didn't pay for support to change
configuration on my laptop and won't if I have trouble with the modem...support
is just a group away.  If users want to buy "ready-to-use" systems, they often
care about that term exactly when they buy.  Every MS-ready-to-use machine I've
purchased had more setup AFTER I removed it from the box than the Linux box I
setup by myself.  

thanks
Mike Rice

--- Eric Skagerberg <eric at skagerberg.com> wrote:
> I got this call from a reporter at the Press Democrat, and he's doing a
> story about Linux.  He's going to call me back tomorrow (Wednesday), and he
> wants to know if I consider Linux ready for the average computer user.
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> He got my number because I teach Unix using Linux at SRJC.  We've used
> Linux from the beginning, although always in command-line mode via telnet
> to a single host.
> 
> The Linux GUI has improved enormously.  But fellow instructor Sean
> Kirkpatrick has always asked:  Would you turn Linux loose on your typical
> white-haired grandma?  Could she use it as easily as a Windows or Mac
> machine?  Or are we still a year or two away (or more)?
> 
> (Now, Nancy, I know you qualify as a grandma, but I would hardly call you
> typical!)
> 
> Key usability issues for me:
> - Installing the OS
> - Installing software
> - UNinstalling software
> - Hardware compatibility (modems, for example)
> 
> Any other issues?  Comments?  Act now!  That guy is calling me back
> tomorrow morning, Wednesday, June 21.
> 
> Thanks!
> Eric S.


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