Re: [ox-en] Where is a Common Linux?
- From: Stefan Seefeld <seefeld sympatico.ca>
- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:55:03 -0500
graham wrote:
In the first case, if notebook customers only want a system which
mimics Windows as much as possible, why is it better if this is Linux?
There is a huge culture of computer use, which has been manufactured to
a great extend by Microsoft, Apple, and all the other big software
vendors. You can't blame ordinary users for not wanting disruption when
upgrading their computers. I think it is very important to make people
aware of what they really buy into when using proprietary software. I'm
not even thinking of those freedoms Richard Stallman keeps pointing out.
I'm thinking of the big corporations' mindset of "we know what you
really want".
They are asking for a supposedly neutral 'technology' which has
discarded all the social features of Linux. There is no essential
feature of Linux (any more than a commodity has a crystal of value in
it, to refer to another thread) which makes it good to spread; the
important thing about it is the social relationships it embodies.
Remove those, and what is left but a different version of windows?
Don't expect users to be all enthusiastic about their newly found
freedoms if they in fact start using Linux. This is a long process of
empowerment. My wife used to be a graphics designer. She occasionally
still works on graphics design, for personal use. Nowadays she uses Free
software, such as gimp, inkscape, scribus, etc. (yay !)
But she regularly complains that these tools don't work the same (good)
way as the (in the professional world) much more popular equivalents. I
keep suggesting that she tries to get in touch with the community of UI
designers working on enhancements to the above Free tools, to express
her concerns / suggestions. Well, you can see how those discussions go. :-)
Regards,
Stefan
--
...ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin...
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