Why Linux Has Failed Beginners
Over the years, I've had a number of people asking me what I believe the problem was with further migration over to Linux by the public at large. To be frank, I don't believe that there is a simple answer to this. To me, there are a number of factors that play a role in keeping Linux out of the mainstream limelight.
Failure to Find Common Ground.
One the biggest issues that I have seen are the total lack of cooperation from within the corporate side of Linux. Not with the Linux community mind you, rather with the companies who make Linux their business. It can be truly hair pulling, let me tell you.
There has been a lot of press about Linux companies who choose to "do it better" and yet they fail to understand that part of "doing it better" also involves working together in an effort to get Linux out of the hands of the geeks and into the hands of people who need it the most - the beginner PC user.
Now lately there has been some work toward finding a way to bring a clear set of standards that all of the Linux community can bet on. One example might include the push to make the Jack Sound System the sole method for making audio happen in the Linux world.
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Very Insightful...
I tend to agree (very much so) with the author of this article. In the end, the attitudes of the people associated with it are what really stops people from trying it. It's both the attitudes of the adherents, and the inherited attitudes of those who have been burned by the adherents. It's lonely being both a devoted user and an evangelist who really cares enough to walk people through it...
To the rest of you, do me a favor. Invest in a box of mini-cds and burn copies of Slax, Puppy, DSL, and other small distros to hand out to random people. Print the URL of the respective help forums/FAQ/documentation on the cd, so if they try it but have questions, they're not stuck going "Now where's that guy that gave this to me?"