[ale] Open Source Apps

[Greg]

I just don't think that 99.9% of US home computer users *want* linux or
anything else.  I think that 99.9% of the time 99.9% of the people will
pick/choose/want/insist upon MS.  Many geeks think that 99.9% of the people
care about any of the reasons that we would prefer an OS solution and I just
don't think that 99.9% of the US population care that (pick any or one)

MS is a convicted monopolizer (so was IBM, ATT, etc....)
MS is *evil* (whoooooo (scary music soundtrack) )
MS is greedy (and what biz isn't ? - kinda goes with the whole capitalism
thing)
MS puts out crapware (now and then)
MS puts out vaporware
MS is proprietary
MS is irritating (and where is MS Bob when you need him ?  what, did the
paperclip do him in ?)
MS changes things and doesn't tell you
MS wants DRM to the max
MS wants your firstborn (oops.... - just checking if you are awake)
MS sells out developers
MS is (fill in the blank)

and thus MS is the *enemy* (more scary music)

I think that 99.9% of the US population are non-geeks (do I need to repeat
this ??? don't make me use the <BLINK> tags .. and I will !) and they want
something *that just works* just like *what we use at work* and that is like
*what everyone else uses*.  If folks were independenly minded the only one
working in cubicles would be rats in a lab, there would be no evil
companies, and no long commute.  99.9% of folks are sheep/lemmings and they
want MS.

That's the reality.  I think some geeks/OS types cannot acknowledge this.
While I use OS a lot at home I don't care what the US sheep are using and I
don't waste my time trying to convert any unless they are interested in
hearing the OS rap.  Yes, 'tis sad, but I think that it is the reality -
even if Best Buy/whoever had 2 pc's on sale - one with MS and one without I
think that 99.9% of the sales would be the MS pc EVEN WITH THE PRICE
DIFFERENCE.  Wal-Mart's Lindows pc's are not flying off the shelves (and so
probably will be pulled soon).  The *backlash* from the MS licensing
increases didn't drive businesses to OS like crazy - it just made them not
upgrade or upgrade and bite the bullet.  And I have not heard of a single
instance of a major company ditching MS from the Justice Dept thing.

Really, I don't understand this fascination with MS that many on this list
seem to have.  Who cares ?  Other OS projects don't and I think it just
detracts from the OS movement.  If you really believe in letting people
choose, then you had dang well be prepared when they choose something you
wouldn't.  Just as long as I and others *can* choose I am happy.

However I wouldn't want this in any way to stop others from fighting against
reality, I mean, even Don Quixote probably won a few now and then ....and
perhaps ... in some small way ... really cared about uptime measured in
years....

Greg

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org]On Behalf Of
> ChangingLINKS.com
> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 3:05 PM
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [ale] Open Source Apps
>
>
> I have a friend who told me I could get a 3.2gig Dell server with
> 128RAM for $300
> - so I became intensely interested in buying a Dell recently.
>
> (PowerEdgeTM  400SC Small Business Value (1-4 users)
> Intel? Celeron? Processor at 2.0GHz, 128KB Cache, 400MHz FSB
> No Operating System, Microsoft 128MB DDR, ECC, 400MHz, 1X128MB
> 40GB 7.2K RPM IDE Hard Drive Featured at $499
> $299  [After $100 Instant Savings and $100 Mail-in Rebate]
> Limited time offer.
> -and they had what LOOKED like a free upgrade to a 3.2 gig processor)
>
> As you can see with this link:
> http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6
> W300&l=en&oc=pe400scsapp&s=bsd
> one can easily buy a Dell with "Linux 9" on it. Or with "No
> Operating System, Red Hat Linux Configuration."
>
> To make a long story short, the fine print in the "Dell Deal"
> made the computer much
> more expensive, and I did not purchase one. I ended up adding a
> gig of DDR ram to my
> current box and was satisfied with that performance improvement.
>
> Reason for Posting:
> While I do not endorse Dell, we should check the facts BEFORE
> criticizing companies
> for their "lack" of Linux.
>
> HP also seems to offer boxes with "no OS" (WITH a big price difference):
> http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/ctoBases.asp?ProductLineId=431&Fa
milyId=1435&Jumpid=re_hphqiss/ELS_Buy/tc2120

Neither company is cramming Linux down the throats of home users . . . . but
would WE as
a community really want that . . .  to be more like M$FT?
--
Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew Brown
http://www.ChangingLINKS.com

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