Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Bill Geschwind" <geschwin AT email.unc.edu>]

I fully agree that there is nothing wrong with people writing software
for themselves to do what they want it to do. If you write software to
meet your own needs, then more power to you. 

This whole thread started with an announcement that WalMart was going to
start/already is selling computers with Linux on them. If that is not an
attempt to put OSS in the hands of mainstream users, then I don't know
what is. Maybe not all OSS developers, or for all I know not even the
majority of them, are interested in making the leap of putting Linux in
the hands of mainstream users, but apparently some of them are, namely
the ones who are putting this version of Linux on those machines to be
sold by WalMart. Whether those people are "developers" or whether any
"developers" are involved in that effort may be open to semantics. My
contention, based on my personal experiences with Linux is that with the
current state of Linux that the people supporting those machines sold by
WalMart will have a bunch of whiney, unsatisfied customers on their
hands, who will neither have the skills, patience or inclination to help
themselves by modifying the software on their machines to match their
needs.

- Bill


-----Original Message-----
From: internetworkers-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:internetworkers-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Tanner
Lovelace
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 10:28 AM
To: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/
Subject: Re: Users' responsibilities (was Re: [internetworkers] WalMart
SunLinux)


Bill Geschwind said the following on 4/7/04 11:00 AM:

> And it's a mentality like that that will keep OSS from making the leap

> from something only for programmers/sysadmins into something for the 
> mainstream. The commoners who these days use (and abuse) Windows don't

> know the first thing about programming, and once you put them in front

> of a Linux box with what to them looks like a bewildering GUI they 
> will complain and whine about it without end, but they won't have the 
> patience or inclination to work through the rather steep learning 
> curve to learn how to program and modify the UI to their own liking. I

> have used and admind Windows for more than 14 years but only have been

> putting a serious attempt into learning and using Linux since January,

> and as a Linux n00B I have to second Alan's sentiment that to the 
> uninitiated Linux is a pain in the ass, and quite a royal one at that!

> (Installing it has become rather easy, however what to do from there 
> is where the PITA starts).
> 
> - Bill

Bill,

Who says that the people writing OSS want it to make that leap?  The
point is that the software wasn't written for endusers.  It was written
because the people who wrote it wanted what it does.  There's nothing
wrong with that.  The software I write (like
http://search.cpan.org/~lovelace/Gallery-Remote-0.01/) was written
because I needed it to do something I wanted to do.  Until you can
convice people that good usability fulfills something they need they
have no incentive to make it that way, just like Microsoft has no
incentive to make it's OS secure against things like viruses.

Cheers,
Tanner
-- 
Tanner Lovelace       | Don't move! Or I'll fill ya full of... little
lovelace AT wayfarer.org | yellow bolts of light! - Commander John Crichton
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