Re: I really prefer Linux over everything else

["Jarod Wilson" <user=74@nabble.blu.org>]

 On Jan 21, 2008, at 11:53, Mark Woodward wrote: 

> I have a real issue about "easy to setup" vs "easy to use."  IMHO   
> they are very different. Any argument about Windows vs mac vs Linux   
> eventually devolve into this, because lets face it, all these   
> systems, once configured, are about equally usable. 

Sure, assuming you won't ever want to configure your computer to do   
something new in the future, and assuming that nothing will ever go   
wrong. To me, being able to set up and trying out new things myself   
and being able to recover from problems are important. 

> I think the "setup" argument is kind of a strawman, I'm the ONLY one   
> in my circle of friends that can comfortably setup a fresh system   
> from an install CD. Most would never do it. I mom, wife, son   
> certainly never would. 

So what is your mom to do if she gets a new computer, and would like   
to migrate her user settings and all her data over to it, but you're   
no longer around for some reason? (We'll say you moved to the opposite   
coast of the country and are very busy with a new job :). This   
scenario is very real. My folks live on the west coast, and my very   
non-technical dad just bought a new MacBook Pro. He uses it on a daily   
basis for his political consulting business, and he set up   
*everything* on that laptop by himself, including migrating everything   
over from his ~5 year old PowerBook. Somehow, I don't think he would   
have been able to do that if we were talking Linux (nor Windows, for   
that matter). Ease of setup is quite integrally tied to ease of use in   
my book. 

> I don't know about that. Mac is CLEARLY better, but Windows sucks   
> just as bad I think. 

Ah good, earlier, I thought you said Macs couldn't do anything   
better... ;) 

> See that's the thing, there are so many "time sinks" in Windows, and   
> to a lesser degree the Mac, that you have to look at the overall   
> amount of wasted time, and I think Linux have fewer overall deficits. 

Never mind all that pesky setup you'll have to get your technical   
friend to do for you, since you can't set up your own computer, its   
their time sink, not yours... ;) 

Of my Mac OS X and Linux installs, neither has any significant amount   
of time sink attached. Really, the Linux installs are where I probably   
waste more time, but only because Linux is where I do most of my   
experimentation -- hell, I get paid to work on the Linux kernel. :) 

-- 
Jarod Wilson 
[hidden email] 



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