Linux Desktop Readiness Thread

[KIAaze]

Oh, and I forgot to mention the very well known number one reason why Windows is easier: It comes pre-installed almost everywhere.
Computer-phobic persons don't even know what an OS is. Setting up hardware is "difficult" for people who need step by step instructions for copy/pasting and selecting files like my mother! (something which is exactly as "easy" as in Windows by the way)

I think I'll be buying a Dell next time...

[Peyton]

Peyton, fixing sound problems in firefox isn't something the average user does everyday. I imagine that if you fixed it once it would be alright for days afterwards.

Well, it's not so much fixing it as getting it to work in the first place.

[KIAaze]

My previous post didn't take the following pic. This is something I run into from time-to-time while watching Inet news on Linux.

This is the kind of thing I hate the most.

I can understand when something doesn't work, but when they actually tell you that it's because of geographical restrictions, OS restrictions or browser restrictions, it pisses me off!
Especially geographical restrictions!!!
Regional lockout is about as horrible as DRM! How can they talk about globalization and do something like this?

Flash videos work on all platforms. But some websites still insist on using technologies that don't work on all browsers&OSes.

And what does the geographical restriction have to do with the OS anyway??? It's either one or the other!
If they created a specific error message for this they could at least have made 2 separate of them.

[raja]

Sounds pretty average to me.

Well, average things are what average people do most of the time and these must be the yardsticks to decide on desktop readiness.
As for above-average things, of course some of them you can only do on windows and lots of them you can only do on windows.

[kamaboko]

This is the kind of thing I hate the most.

I can understand when something doesn't work, but when they actually tell you that it's because of geographical restrictions, OS restrictions or browser restrictions, it pisses me off!
Especially geographical restrictions!!!
Regional lockout is about as horrible as DRM! How can they talk about globalization and do something like this?

Flash videos work on all platforms. But some websites still insist on using technologies that don't work on all browsers&OSes.

And what does the geographical restriction have to do with the OS anyway??? It's either one or the other!
If they created a specific error message for this they could at least have made 2 separate of them.

I only posted it to demonstrate what I run into at times using Linux. I am in the US though.

[prizrak]

Playing .wmv videos,

Never had a problem with all the Gstreamer plug ins. Perhaps I'm lucky.

watching DVDs

Yeah that one is sorta tricky you need to know to get libdvdcss2 otherwise it's not difficult.

installing games (think of native GNU/Linux games not in the repositories), buying a GNU/Linux compatible Webcam and installing it, getting on the internet with a dial-up modem

To be honest never tried, I assume a supported Webcam would be picked up just like anything else automatically but from what I understand the software is lacking.

installing a printer

The only tricky one was Lexmark, otherwise I had no problem. In fact Feisty picks up printers on a print server in a Windows domain with no problem (I'm not logged in to the domain either). I have had some serious issues with Windows though, with printers just plain refusing to work for no reason.

Easy. USB wirless NIC. Odds are the average Jack/Jill would have to **** around with a wrapper rather than just inserting a CD and let it run.

If you only knew how many hours I have spent trying to get USB and PCMCIA WNICs to work in Windows.... In fact in my girlfriend's laptop a PCMCIA WNIC does not work, it's an XP machine and all the drivers are there but it just won't connect. Reinstalled Windows like 10 times to try and get it to work.

How about another everyday event like listening to a radio station on ones computer. I tried that the other day with a local station. Had I been in Windows all would have been fine. But if one is using Linux they have a load a crap to deal with.

Never had a single problem. Exaile, Rhythmbox, Gstreamer, Banshee all picked up any feed I threw at them. The only thing I need something else for is RealPLayer stuff, granted that is a bit more involved in Ubuntu than it is in Windows.

. I'll leave you with a picture that I get from time-to-time when I want to watch MSN News on the Inet My previous post didn't take the following pic. This is something I run into from time-to-time while watching Inet news on Linux.

This is obviously a problem with the website, I want someone with a Mac to take a look and see if they get a similar error. I've ran into sites that didn't work with Windows as well...

No one said Linux has no problems or is perfect by the same token Windows has tons of problems, hell even OS X has problems and that is regarded as the best OS ever by many. Point is that Linux at the very least isn't any worse than Windows, or is any harder to use. When you run into problems in any OS you have to be fairly knowledgeable to resolve them, most "average users" I know/ran into will call someone for help with Windows even things I would consider very minor. Hell I was racing a Geek Squad car on the highway at some point, why do you think he was driving there?

[Feba]

Well, it's not so much fixing it as getting it to work in the first place.

Uh huh. It's still not a thing you do every day. It's something the manufacturer fixes so the user doesn't have to use any brain cells on it.

[prizrak]

Oh, and I forgot to mention the very well known number one reason why Windows is easier: It comes pre-installed almost everywhere.
Computer-phobic persons don't even know what an OS is. Setting up hardware is "difficult" for people who need step by step instructions for copy/pasting and selecting files like my mother! (something which is exactly as "easy" as in Windows by the way)

I think I'll be buying a Dell next time...

Of course that is an issue and is why so many people asked Dell to provide a preinstalled Ubuntu machine. There are plenty of other vendors that do that as well. That's the thing that many people don't seem to grasp, while Ubuntu and some other Linux distro's strive to be as easy to use as possible they are not necessarily aimed at converting Windows users or people who are computer illiterate. Linux based OS's can gain a significant enough market share without trying to convert the "Gramma user".

[KIAaze]

To be honest never tried, I assume a supported Webcam would be picked up just like anything else automatically but from what I understand the software is lacking.

Nope, you usually have to install the drivers yourself, which is not always easy. They are not in the repository and mostly come in source tarballs as far as I know.
The first webcam I used, somebody did the installation of the driver for me. The second one, I never managed to finish running the installation script made for it. It always stopped on some error which I don't remember right now.

[Peyton]

Never had a problem with all the Gstreamer plug ins. Perhaps I'm lucky.

Is that easier than in Windows, where all you have to do is click the file? No.

If you're content to have Linux as a tool for organizations and technical departments, then that's fine, but, as I pointed out earlier, the Ubuntu philosophy seems to be inconsistent with that, and the article in dispute isn't either. The scope of my original argument was limited to the average desktop user and the barriers to him adopting and using Linux.

No, I'm not trying to say that Windows is perfect -- no one here is. However, what I am trying to say is that Linux isn't the cure-all that some people think it is, and there are a number of obstacles in the way of adoption by average desktop users. Sure, some of these obstacles are what makes Linux Linux, but people need to realize they are there and find ways to counterbalance them if they want Linux to get a hold in the mainstream.

Also, if people want to convert Windows users or what-not, then people should focus more on what's good about Linux then what's bad about Windows and Microsoft. For example, instead of telling someone that Microsoft is evil or whatever, try showing someone the benefits of Linux. For example, one thing that I find amazing about Ubuntu is its software repositories. If I want a piece of software, all I have to do is type in a few keywords and click a few buttons. That honestly is like magic.

Feba, but using sound in one's browser is an everyday task. Sound shouldn't be too much to ask for.