Problems Linux Enthusiasts Refuse to Address

[Avi Greenbury]

Michael Haney wrote:
> http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3929866/
>
> I totally agree with everything in this article.

Really? At the risk of coming across as some sort of an uber geek I 
thought most of those problems were fairly well solved by now? It's been 
a long time since I've had a bit of hardware that didn't work in Linux 
out of the box, and I've never got into the habit of checking 
compatibility first.

There *already is* a 'simple notice on the distribution websites 
indicating that self-installation is to be an "as is" type of deal'; 
it's the top of the GPL. But it's no more 'as is' than anything else - 
no OS comes with built-in support, and I don't see where the expectation 
that they would comes from, especially from someone who's previously 
used one of them.

I think "Linux brand peripherals" will do the same wonderful thing as 
Apple managed with their Apple hardware branding - so many people assume 
there's something fundamentally different about macs, so they can't 
possibly work with commodity hardware. Linux hardware support is *good*, 
I don't think we need to pretend it isn't by creating a 'Mad fo Linux' 
line of peripherals. What would be nice it to get the Tux logos 
alongside the 'Certified for Windows' icons, but that requires someone 
to actually test the stuff.

I do love the idea that, in his pursuit of a linux for non-uber-geeks, 
he reckons linux PCs should be home-built, as if there's some 
fundamental wrongness with any hardware that's been put together to fit 
Windows.

 >                                                     The uber geeks
 > aren't alone in the Linux community anymore, and they need to start
 > addressing the needs of new users.

No they don't.


-- 
Avi.