I have found a funny troll blog

[sydbat]

Just demonstrates the psychological inertia that prevents people from changing. Marketers and advertisers know about brand loyalty. When confronted with a set of options, people will pick a brand randomly and as long as they are not overly dissatisfied with it, they'll stick with it, even if they obtain information that better brands exist.

Life is too short to explore every option in every avenue in life. People optimize. They labor against a learning curve, and once they've learned something, they stick with it. They don't want to re-learn; they don't want to change.

Sit a child down at a computer and she would probably learn GNOME faster than Windows. But adults who have learned one way will find it harder. Some things are hard because we don't know anything, but some things are harder because we do know something. The bias works against us.

In fact, the Linux community is not immune from this. Remember how many people complained about KDE 4 and how the kicker was more complicated? I remember reading one reviewer who admitted that he presented KDE 3.5 and 4 to his wife, who had never used either, and she thought the KDE 4 kicker was easier to use. The KDE kids got stuck in their ways too.

A big +1

[Giant Speck]

It's satire. Read the title again:

Linux to spend eternity in shadow of 'little blue E'

Inside the mind of John Q Windows

[Noblacktie]

People take the Internet too personally.

Linux users, especially, are too easily riled up by what they perceive to be an attack on their OS.

It's not a religion, it's not even a way of life.

It's just an operating system that lets you do stuff on your computer.

[cardinals_fan]

In fact, the Linux community is not immune from this. Remember how many people complained about KDE 4 and how the kicker was more complicated? I remember reading one reviewer who admitted that he presented KDE 3.5 and 4 to his wife, who had never used either, and she thought the KDE 4 kicker was easier to use. The KDE kids got stuck in their ways too.

I showed the KDE 4 kicker to my mom, and she was horrendously confused.

Everyone will have their own experiences.

[Twitch6000]

I showed the KDE 4 kicker to my mom, and she was horrendously confused.

Everyone will have their own experiences.

Lucky she wasn't scared...

I showed my brother KDE4 just to see if he would like it and well lets just say I think if I show him anything that isn't gnome again... I won't be alive lol...

[Icehuck]

I think the accurately described the average office user perfectly. Even if you move their icons around on the desktop they will freak out.

[Taidgh]

I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, I find myself agreeing with his observations of the (lack of) intelligence and common sense of many of his fellow human beings. On the other, I find myself saddened over the implied prospect of feeling society has reached a point where it's beyond the point of saving.

It troubles me because it's not a society I feel safe living in. I can only hope to God that my fellow human beings aren't all as mindless as that. Surely we must be better than that.

For the love of Stallman, someone here tell me I'm not wrong.

How does their inability to feel enthusiasm for relearning how to use their computer, for no apparent reason, show lack of common sense? I use Linux because I like to tinker. You don't have to be a tinkerer to use Linux, but I don't see many other sources of motivation.
Sure, it's wrong that the typical user uses closed source software, but perhaps they just don't have time to become an ethical computer user.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Yeh but OSX has no blue E either, it has a compass and people seem fine with it.

[p_quarles]

I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, I find myself agreeing with his observations of the (lack of) intelligence and common sense of many of his fellow human beings. On the other, I find myself saddened over the implied prospect of feeling society has reached a point where it's beyond the point of saving.

It troubles me because it's not a society I feel safe living in. I can only hope to God that my fellow human beings aren't all as mindless as that. Surely we must be better than that.

For the love of Stallman, someone here tell me I'm not wrong.

Fine. You're wrong.

Really, none of the issues addressed in the article have anything to do with either intelligence or common sense. What the article is saying is something like this:

Hey, Linux geeks! I'm one of you, and for a lot of us, being an advanced computer user is really important. But, despite what so many of us say (without really thinking it through) on Linux forums or in IRC channels, one's knowledge of Bash syntax doesn't really equate with intelligence.

So, you know, enjoy your pursuits, but please stop overestimating the value of your knowledge, and stop underestimating those who don't share that knowledge. They might, in fact, have other skills that are even more valuable than yours.

That's how I read it, at least.

Also, no, The Register is not a "troll blog." It might be unfamiliar to some readers, but it is essentially the UK's equivalent of Slashdot: a group-driven tech news site.

[Paqman]

Yeh but OSX has no blue E either, it has a compass and people seem fine with it.

Once you've paid that much money for something, you're going to at least try to like it. People associate price with value (which is part of Linux's image problem, incidentally)