[Gllug] Converts to Linux

Riq riq at trw.org.uk
Tue Nov 6 20:04:02 UTC 2007


I have recently convinced three individuals that the machine I supplied 
to them should be SuSE Linux 10.2, not Windows.
My arguments were
1) freedom from viruses and need for constant updates
2) price

I undertook to install Windows within the first 90 days for the cost of 
the software if they were not happy.

One client is still using Linux. He was sad not to be able to download 
10 free songs from iTunes Store, but no
other complaints.

The second client hit a bug in OpenOffice 2.0 - he had stored many 
letters written in Word with the date as 'today'.
These are displayed in Word with the original date, but OpenOffice shows 
today's date. Also being elderly, he could not cope
with the largely cosmetic differences between these word processors. I 
had to install Win XP and Office.

The third client was very happy with Linux, till her daughter found a 
website which would only work properly with IE. As this was necessary to 
apply for
a job, I had to install Windows. In this case a dual boot was chosen and 
IE only used when unavoidable.

I anticipate the next problem will be .docx files. It is really a shame 
that OpenOffice have still not taken this on. We have a real opportunity 
with MS users starting
to receive .docx files and being expected to shell out £££ for Office 2007

To sum up, we have quite small problems which could be fixed soon if 
priorities were based on winning ex-MS users.
We would then start to build numbers of users which would lead to the 
resolution of browser incompatibility and lead to less perception of
Linux being a leap into the unknown.

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