My OperaSwitching From Windows - Why Are You So Scared, Mom?
Monday, December 15, 2008 8:46:21 AM
This is just a tiny personal update, but it does deal with technology, and GNU, Linux, Unix (BSD), and Solaris, so I figured I'd just post it up here.
I was discussing with my mom how my associate and I are working on forking a distro from an already existing one. I sat her down at my PC, let her play with what I've come up with so far. To be totally honest, I never expected her to actually enjoy using a computer, but this distro made it very much so. She usually checks her e-mail, maybe visits a site or two, or prints some directions. Today was different though, she sat on my laptop for hours. I actually had to beg the woman to let me have my laptop back so I could continue the testing of the distros.
Then came the big question. "Mom, can I put Linux on your laptop too?"
She seemed stunned, almost apalled that I would even ask her this. So we had a conversation. She explained to me that she has several Windows applications she has to use for work (VPN). I tried to show her how she could connect to the VPN using Linux software, and exactly how easy it was. Still, she refused to budge from her Window's corner. I thought to myself that there had to be something, some tiny reason that she was so afraid to make the change. Maybe it's just that, the fear of change, the idea of something new, something she's never really used before, something that goes so against the mainstream. I'm still not sure. I asked her why she was afraid to make the change, and she abruptly changed the subject to my sister's newborn son. I had even tried to switch her to BSD, assuring her we could set it up just like my Linux box, only it's supposed to be more stable (after all, Unix is known for it's server-grade stability). It was still a failed attempt to switch my mom from a proprietary prison to a totally free OpenSource world.
I'm sort of saddened by the whole experience, only because the distro I'm working on is one that...
Well, I can't divulge any secrets about it quite yet, but my mom made a remark about just how hard it will be to move people from their windows perch. I guess it sits so high, that they can't see the world around them and all the fun that can be had when you aren't as worried about viruses, spyware, and the likes.
Happy Hacking
PiklesOnFire
I was discussing with my mom how my associate and I are working on forking a distro from an already existing one. I sat her down at my PC, let her play with what I've come up with so far. To be totally honest, I never expected her to actually enjoy using a computer, but this distro made it very much so. She usually checks her e-mail, maybe visits a site or two, or prints some directions. Today was different though, she sat on my laptop for hours. I actually had to beg the woman to let me have my laptop back so I could continue the testing of the distros.
Then came the big question. "Mom, can I put Linux on your laptop too?"
She seemed stunned, almost apalled that I would even ask her this. So we had a conversation. She explained to me that she has several Windows applications she has to use for work (VPN). I tried to show her how she could connect to the VPN using Linux software, and exactly how easy it was. Still, she refused to budge from her Window's corner. I thought to myself that there had to be something, some tiny reason that she was so afraid to make the change. Maybe it's just that, the fear of change, the idea of something new, something she's never really used before, something that goes so against the mainstream. I'm still not sure. I asked her why she was afraid to make the change, and she abruptly changed the subject to my sister's newborn son. I had even tried to switch her to BSD, assuring her we could set it up just like my Linux box, only it's supposed to be more stable (after all, Unix is known for it's server-grade stability). It was still a failed attempt to switch my mom from a proprietary prison to a totally free OpenSource world.
I'm sort of saddened by the whole experience, only because the distro I'm working on is one that...
Well, I can't divulge any secrets about it quite yet, but my mom made a remark about just how hard it will be to move people from their windows perch. I guess it sits so high, that they can't see the world around them and all the fun that can be had when you aren't as worried about viruses, spyware, and the likes.
Happy Hacking
PiklesOnFire
ArtemArtemHP # Monday, December 15, 2008 10:54:07 AM
Microsoft has eaten users brain
PiklesOnFire # Monday, December 15, 2008 4:20:00 PM
I feel it's for a decent reason though, Linux and OpenSource in general doesn't get much hype. No publicity on TV. At the most, we have word of mouth, and a few youtube videos. We need the OSDL to start funding commercials, and things of that nature, we need to get Dell and Acer and other computer manufacturers who offer Linux on their systems to start putting it right on the front page "WINDOWS IS NOT YOUR ONLY OPTION".
Also, the laptop support and PDA support in Linux has a long way to go.
We also need to have hardware manufacturers to start helping out by contributing code for their products to the kernel. That way we'll have the most robust kernel available, able to support a multitude of hardware in a "plug and play" fashion (man I hope I don't get sued by Microsoft for using a term [protocol] they claim is theirs).
PiklesOnFire