[ale] Best Desktop Env or Distro for Windows users?

[Joseph A. Knapka]

Thompson Freeman wrote:
> 
> On 2002.08.21 10:43 Charles Marcus wrote:
> > > From: Irv Mullins [mailto:irvm at ellijay.com]
> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 9:43 AM
> > >
> > > On Wednesday 21 August 2002 08:37 am, you wrote:
> > >
> > >> Unless people are running Pentium 150s or something
> > >> I'd recommend a real desktop ENVIRONMENT like GNOME
> > >> or (my preference) KDE instead of just a window
> > >> manager like IceWM. These are windows users who are
> > >> going to want things like a control panel, a menu
> > >> panel, icons on the desktop, things they are used to.
> >
> > > Agreed. Any of the 'lightweight' window managers are
> > > going to be an immediate and final turnoff for people
> > > who are used to Windows. They will refuse to use them,
> > > your cause is lost.
> >
> > Uh.  If the Company President, or Office Manager, or whover is in
> > charge of
> > these decisions, mandates that this is the new corporate Desktop, the
> > Users
> > will have no say-so about it.  They *can't* refuse to use it - all
> > they can
> > do is complain amopngst themselves, and worst-case, quit and go work
> > somewhere else.
> >
> > Managements *only* concern should be that they have the tools they
> > need to
> > do their job well.
> >
> > > You can use this as a selling point. Users will be
> > > impressed with their ability to customize things.
> > > The only other thing they will care about is that
> > > Linux may crash less often than Windows.  Anything
> > > else, no mater how real, will be unimportant.
> >
> > Who *cares* what the Users think, ultimately?
> 
> Anybody who wants the Users to accomplish something positive.

I guess that leaves Microshaft out. I mean, I think the
success of Windows has demonstrated that users can get
used to *anything*, up to and including regular bluescreens
and rabid weasels gnawing on their ankles. Even if they're
a "captive audience" in an initial switch to open-source,
I would think the same principle would apply, and that
eventually the less-aggressive open-source beasties - and
lack of continual crashing - would capture their hearts
and minds.

Cheers,

-- Joe
  "I'd rather chew my leg off than maintain Java code, which
   sucks, 'cause I have a lot of Java code to maintain and
   the leg surgery is starting to get expensive." - Me

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