why, why
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| nikkels Sep 14, 2006 6:18 AM EDT |
Why are you posting a link to such crap? Don't you have a reputation to protect. |
| salparadise Sep 14, 2006 7:08 AM EDT |
I have to agree. This is nonsense. |
| Inhibit Sep 14, 2006 7:37 AM EDT |
I think he linked to it just to get an extra blurb in on the subject :). Some things you just can't resist poking at for their absurdity. |
| dcparris Sep 14, 2006 9:10 AM EDT |
Look. We post news and opinions. You might agree or disagree with the opinions. You might like or dislike the news. That is what you have to figure out for yourself. We have never claimed to be a propaganda site. My name is Don Parris, not Hanoi Hanna. I realize the difference is rather blurred these days, but I'm sticking with news and opinions - not propaganda. That said, I try, and encourage our editors, to find stories about businesses that use FOSS or offer services around it. We try to focus on GNU/Linux and FOSS-related stuff. This story pertains to the community. I not only believe our readers have the ability to think for themselves, I even expect that. Maybe I just expect too much from people. If anyone wants me to do their thinking for them, I'm not sure I want to know just how bad off they really are. If you just want to share your opinion about an article, post a comment. Write up your own Op/Ed piece and submit it to the queue. But please don't try to squeeze LXer into some box you have for what counts as news and opinions. |
| dek Sep 14, 2006 9:14 AM EDT |
dcp: But please don't try to squeeze LXer into some box you have for what counts as news and opinions. Well said, Rev. I appreciate LXer's wide-ranging news and commentary. Don't have anything to say myself o/w I'd slip article under your door! Don K. |
| tuxchick2 Sep 14, 2006 9:19 AM EDT |
Hear, hear, Chief Parris. Remember folks, it's not 'free as in freeloader', but 'free as in freedom'. Which means everyone has the opportunity and perhaps even a bit of responsibility to contribute. Find some stories you like and post them here. Write a feature. Those who do not contribute forfeit whining rights. |
| dinotrac Sep 14, 2006 9:24 AM EDT |
Besides -- I don't think it's such crap. There's a lot of truth to what the guy says. For example, how often have you seen someone in these very forums say something to the effect of "Well, if they can't be bothered to learn, maybe they should stick with Windows." That's pretty much the same point the article is making, but starting from a Linux enthusiast's perspective. Wish I know how many free software folk seem to chafe at the thought of the Linux desktop being unpopular, but can't stand the thought of all those unwashed casual Windows users coming to the platform. It's OK to decide that Linux desktops should remain the province of sophiticated and technologically astute users. It's masochistic, however, to make that decision and then get all tied up in knots because it isn't "popular". |
| tuxchick2 Sep 14, 2006 9:42 AM EDT |
dino, it is a pretty decent analysis. He makes one point that I don't agree with: 'the Linux desktop has been designed and implemented by technology enthusiasts, for technology enthusiasts. If they were to seriously try to make it appealing to the masses, the effort would collapse halfway because they would be dismayed by the result.' "The Linux desktop" is not a monolothic beast, but like everything else in the FOSS world, endlessly customizable and adaptable. So anyone who wants to make a simpler, streamlined interface already has all the tools to do so. So who should do this? Anyone who wants to- the end user or the distribution maintainer. Josephine Luser who doesn't want to be bothered isn't going to touch it, so anyone who really wants to turn her into a Linux user is going to have to do the work. The U/K/X/Edu/buntu teams have done wonders with package selection and menu organization. Xandros is nicely done, and unlike Linspire everything works out of the box. I've been testing PCLinuxOS (because of devnet) and they have done a good job as well. So it is possible. I think, for the reasons stated in the article, that it is difficult for most FOSS devs to maintain the discipline and focus that it takes to design an interface for someone who is not like them. Interface design is a skilled specialty; it's not something that just anyone can do. |
| dinotrac Sep 14, 2006 10:00 AM EDT |
tc - You are, of course, correct. The danger in being right in many ways is that you're tempted to use phrases like "will never be". The assorted Linux desktops have been taking a number of stabs at ordinary Joe usability. More to the point, he makes a presumption by extrapolation -- ie, this is the way it's been and this is the way it always will be. We've seen enthusiasts in projects like apache, OpenOffice, the Linux kernel, etc, supplemented by paid developers working to further the needs of companies who have figured out that they could profit from free software if it only supported their device, or did one more thing. Professional developers may not have anything extra in the skill department, but they can be motivated to do things that might not line up with their personal preferences. |
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