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  • From: Andrew Phillips <aphillips AT buildscape.com>
  • To: InterNetWorkers <internetworkers AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Liar Liar Pants on Fire!!!!
  • Date: 19 Mar 2002 14:31:00 -0500


On Tue, 2002-03-19 at 14:04, Josep L. Guallar-Esteve wrote:
> El dia Dimarts 19 Març 2002 01:42 pm, no tenies res mes que fer i vas i
> m'envies aquest mail:
> > Well, yes and no,
>
> > I just took another look at the Dell site in more detail just a minute
> > ago. You are right in that a number of their PC model lines only let you
> > select various versions of MS Windows - and the available versions of
> > Windows also vary from model of computer to model of computer. However
> > you CAN still get a Linux Dell, albeit with very limited choices. Go to
> > "Workstations" and select the "Dell Precision Workstation 530." When you
> > click on "Customize It", the first choice it asks you to make makes
> > absolutely no sense at all
>
> It is so difficult to get there that a random Joe Sixpack or Mary Soccermom
> will be unable to even find it.

If Joe Sixpack or Mary Soccermom are using Linux I'd be very surprised.
I mean come on... who are we kidding here. Are people that don't know
what they're doing going to be buying a Linux machine? Right now Linux
is not ready for the everyday desktop, it just isn't. Can my mom use
Linux? no... she has enough problems with Windows as it is. the UI is
confusing (both KDE and Gnome), the application library just isn't there
and if a program is it has bugs, documentation in general is horrible,

And on that note... honestly.. do you want Dell to be installing Linux
on your machine? To me it would be the same as if they didn't since I'd
do a fresh install. The reason Dell focuses on Microsoft products is
because... they sell, people want it, its easier for 'joe sixpack', a
majority of people use it, etc...etc.

Microsoft has done a great job marketing there product, spent more money
developing it then some countries have a GNP, and have a set of great
lawyers. I tip my hat to them, they've changed the way people view
computers since the 80's when it was a College and 'geek' toy. Without
Microsoft the desktop revolution would have never happened, or wouldn't
have been as great. Were there alternatives? Yes, OS/2 was also a great
OS, but there was a major need to weed the available desktops down,
without that happening applications wouldn't be as robust as they are
today.

If you want to setup 'Joe Sixpack' up with the simplest machine, or
simply a Microsoft alternative get them a Mac. Otherwise, for now
Windows is the only option.

-Andrew
------------------------
Andrew Phillips
Applications Developer
aphillips AT buildscape.com
(919) 484-9843 x 246
http://www.buildscape.com






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