[Wlug] Awesome article about Windows v. Linux in the marketplace

[Stephen Daukas]

Good article, but it misses the one issue that keeps me with a windows
machine, as well as my wife...

Productivity Software - as in Outlook, Excel, Access, and to a lesser
extent, PowerPoint and Word.  Sure, I have heard of OpenOffice, I even use
it from time to time, but guess what - it isn't 100% in all cases.  For
example, certain PowerPoint features like custom animation effects, embedded
MS objects, etc, don't always work, or don't always work as expected.   And,
if you need to work with some Excel-based app that has screwy macros and
such, well, it may or may not work.  By the way, this holds true for MS apps
on Macintosh as well.

But before you offer the typical advice of:  "you can get the same result if
you do it this way", try explaining that to someone who already knows how to
use what is already on the PC and who only cares about having a successful
presentation at a public hearing where the audience is already unhappy to be
in attendance in the first place. One misstep and you are screwed!

Yes, you guessed it - the FUD factor.  Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.  And
yes, if you already have M$, and you already know how to use the bundled
tools that often come with it (because M$ is bundled with the hardware),
then why would you go looking for something that takes effort to do what you
already know how to do?

Oh and yes, I think having to decide "what Linux" is just frosting on the
Linux cake!

I know lots 'o folks who have heard about Linux and are interested in it,
and that it is free.  As soon as the begin to realize that they may have to
understand what video card they have, or that they may have to tweak their
favorite MS Access application to get it t work with XXX, well, they have
already made the decision to not change.

Most people think of a PC as a tool only.  Sigh.

Steve


On 8/16/07, Eric Martin <freak4uxxx at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I found this on either digg or slashdot.  It's a really good article and I
> agree with most of it.  People won't even consider GNU/Linux while they can
> still get a copy of XP for free from a buddy.  That's why I tell people that
> I won't support their pirating of software; and pitch FOSS at every turn to
> them.  http://tlug.jp/articles/Windows_Is_Free  Give it a read, it might
> spur some good conversations tonight.
>
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-- 
Stephen C. Daukas
Engineer, Geoscientist,
Environmental Analyst
________________________________________________
- Please, before printing, think about the environment -
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