Choosing software (was Re: [Hudlug] Fwd: FOSS community, disabled ...)

[Ben Fowler]

On 3/20/06, Anne Wilson <cannewilson at tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
> On Monday 20 March 2006 16:04, Ben Fowler wrote:
> >
> > I was thinking very much less formally. Suppose I wanted to support SuSE
> > as I have used it sucessfully in the past, ...
>
> Linux is linux.  If we can't, between us, cope with whichever distro he would
> like to use, then we should be ashamed.  ...

I wasn't being at all clear, but what you said was correct. I still think that
there is a Bang-for-buck issue, who should choose, the user who is delivering
support and carries the can or the user who is doing the using. I would work
on the basis that Michael would get better 'value' by using the same distro
as his peers (the same is true of sighted people, but they get more chance
find out for themselves)..

> Actually, though, I was thinking more of packages than distro.

But that is much easier. there is nearly always one package that is best
of breed; if there is more than one then both are probably very good.
Most Linux packages exceed the non-technical user's users needs by a
factor between 7000 and 70 000.

(Funnily enough a psychological quirk means that most people, at least
most men give the wrong answer to this), but if I offered to increase your
monthly income by some factor between 7000 70 000 would you really
be bothered which!

> > Perhaps we need to organise a plebescite amongst groups who speak up for
> > the disabled, and arrange a league table ...
> >
> League table????

Arrange distros and packages in an order of merit as to who easy they
were for a viusally handicapped user.

Ben