[H-GEN] Windows to *nix

andrew laidlaw aa_laidlaw at yahoo.com.au
Thu Sep 21 05:20:17 EDT 2006


Anthony wrote:

 I can think of many freat 
> free software programs that windows users use on their computer over 
> comercial equivilants.

The most used piece of software in the world would have to be (somekinda)office.  It only takes a few minutes to convince even the most ardent windows user that openoffice does substantially better than MS.  So there is an existence theorem for excellence in free software (unless, of course, you know the history behind openoffice).

Personally, I prefer freeware because it generally does not include three thousand features I'm never going to use and hence is much easier to learn, even accounting for a few dead end downloads.  But you wouldn't generally want to put it on a corporate system, and I never (OPEN aside) push freeware at users I'm trying to help (who'll fall in a hole at the first bug, wasting a great deal of my time).

>Anthony,
the essential problem is that users of computers want "it" (ie the
>computer, its OS and all+sundry applications) to "just work".

>If your app doesn't "just work" then you have failed your user base.

YES.


>My goal when writing software is to ensure that (a) it interoperates
>seamlessly with the existing infrastructure, and (b) that the user
>should not require reading any manual or howto/readme/quickstart
>guide in order to be productive with it.

And YES.

>The great thing about the internet is that everybody can take part
>in it and show off their skills.

>The horrendous thing about the internet is that everybody can take
>part in it and show off their skills.

Ditto.  This about understanding how, once the transition is made to large 'broad market' style user numbers, it is they, and only they, who can define what goals are appropriate.  And they are very, very clear on this point.  They want the most work done for the least effort put  in.  It's not rocket science to understand that.  For developers to think at the level of how the consumers of their creative efforts "ought" to be, and therefore how to educate and improve them, is like counting angels on pinheads.  

Nothing is gained by being "right" on a philosophical point if it is certain to cause failure in the market.

One might reasonably argue that linux is for the community of contributing developers, and only for that community, and that the market success - winning the desktop war - is unimportant.  In that case it's cool to have everyone "contributing and showing off their skills".  And let us not forget that this is precisely what has driven, to a substantial degree, the real success to date.  

But it's a dangerous thing to think you can extrapolate from that to the next order of magnitude in the user base.  And the fact is that the linux community simply does not argue that way.  It seems to be dreaming about winning the desktop war by converting users - on mass - to its own image.  And that's so much worse than wrong.  

For the community of peers, showing skill is (maybe) good, but for the masses, as James is saying, the subtler approach of hiding all that skill is infinitely to be preferred.

regards..... andrew.



 		
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