Mike you hit the nail squarely on the head. I'm speaking with 28+ years
of experience in the computer field (mainframe, midrange, PC, UNIX, MVS,
programmer, analyst, systems programmer, systems administrator,
consultant, etc). I couldn't have said it better. The business world
wants a common interface on the desktop, 7/24 support from a reputable
company, and business applications. That pretty much sums it up.
Vince
On Mon, 2002-11-18 at 10:08, Mikes work account wrote:
> It is my opinion that the lack of support in the business marketplace
> for the desktop is three fold:
>
> First the lack of applications that support the business community has
> in the past been a big sucking sound that no one wanted to hear,,, that
> is changing drastically from day to day and eventually the number of
> supported applications will be sufficient to support the demand.
>
> Second, business executives and other potential desktop customers look
> back at the Unix environment and remember how it fractured and that no
> one really had a market share that commanded respect. As long as there
> are people out there who want to argue one distro against another we are
> going to have to deal with this reality.
>
> Thirdly, The very nature of the open source community as free, is it
> owns worst enemy. We need applications and distros the we know will be
> here in 90 days and will be supported not by an invisible cadre of geeks
> working around the world( how do I get in touch with someone I cannot
> see or talk to?) but rather we need flesh and blood at a desk somewhere
> and a help desk to go along with that. If we have to pay, then we will
> pay for the convenience. How do you do that and maintain the freedom
> that we have enjoyed in the Linux community? By supporting companies
> like RedHat who have made a significant contribution and investment in
> the marketplace. It is that commitment that is earning them
> recognition and respect and there are even people to call for help( and
> you pay for it.)
>
> How many of you have paid for the last distro you have running on your
> computer?? I bet not many of you. These companies take the dreaded
> word 'Money' to continue and if you do not support them financially that
> can never happen.
>
> As far as I am concerned, RedHat has the edge in the market place and
> will continue to do so and I think that we should stop ragging on them
> and recognize their contribution and support their efforts. We cannot
> have a fractured Linux desktop development and dozens of distros and
> expect to compete with MS$,, who I want so much to see eat dirt!!
>
> Michael C. Rock
> Systems Analyst
> Registered Linux User # 287973
>
> "The time has come the walrus said to speak of many things,,,"
> "Christians give up what they cannot keep to gain what they cannot lose"
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: slug@lists.nks.net [mailto:slug@lists.nks.net] On Behalf Of David
> Meyer
> Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 9:27 AM
> To: slug@nks.net
> Subject: [SLUG] "My distro beat up your distro" discussion
>
> Good Morning All,
>
> I certainly don't wish to fan the flames, but this discussion has made
> me believe all over again that the one thing that will keep Linux from
> getting where it needs to be in the desktop market is the fighting back
> and forth about distributions, etc.
>
> Now I know that might not be totally accurate, but I am not the only one
> on this list who sees this as a problem as others have talked with me
> about this very thing.
>
> So, to that end, I am curious to know what some of you out there think
> about this. More specifically, what is it that is keeping Linux from
> STRONGLY coming out on the desktop market?
>
> We're 99% Microsoft free here (just converting some files now from one
> machine) throughout our house. One reason is this list. I have a
> replacement for virtually every MS program thanks to many of you.
> Surely if we can do it (wife and kids included) others can to. So my
> question is what can we do to help people make the change?
>
> Just a thought...
>
> Dave
>
>
-- Vince Meiste <vince.meiste@gte.net>
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