[Sussex] What path does one take

[Ian mu]

Hiya all, I agree pretty much with most of whats been said in the other
responses, the LUGs are fundamentally for anything within the context of
Linux and doesn't need to be any more significant than that really, even
something not specifically Linux but may be of interest to people who run it
(assuming not trolling :)). There's a couple of bits I probably disagree
with a little, but thats maybe not part of the initial mails questions, but
feel like including them anyway for thoughts....

First thing is I do think usability does matter as much as freedom really. I
think this is still one of the main issues with Linux and why its growing,
but not really being grabbed. Dists like Ubuntu I think have helped a lot
with this, by having things like xubuntu, kubuntu, edubuntu, server ubuntu
etc as well, to try and have something within the same base but tailored for
each setup needed (more than windows does in fact).

However, whilst there's some more usable dists now (I guess I'm overlapping
usability with userfriendliess a bit too much), there's still a big hole for
when things "go wrong", and things do still go wrong with Linux just as much
as windows. Or probably more in fact if you throw as much apps like people
do on their Windows boxes and as much new hardware etc.

Just as an example in one box I have here, I have a creative x-fi card.
There's no way to get it working in Linux until 2007, end of story (as far
as I know anyway). Thats not a fault of Linux, but creative. But there are
these little scenarios all over the place. Some hardware doesn't work, some
doesn't have properly developed drivers etc. This for me comes under the
usability umbrella, and for any "average" person this would be a big
problem. People don't really want to buy hardware to fit an o.s (same can be
levelled at other o.s's though, not unique to Linux).

I still hate Linux when X fails to display (assuming that happens, happy
with console, but obviously for desktops its not ideal). This is one of my
huge annoyances with Linux in truth (and yet I still love it ;)),
xfree/xorg, resolutions, refresh rates, etc. This is again basic usability,
but its hard to find a dist with a decent ability to let you get even the
display set up correctly and easily, and even harder if you get a problem.
So I think Linux has a long long way to go with this. I can even remember a
year ago someone harping on about debian so I thought I'd try it and it
didn't even have /dev/psaux set up in install and I was wtf? Is this
"really" usable? Sure I can make anything usable given enough time on it.
This is where the usability for me is as important as the freedom, and I
think too far this is weighted in the wrong direction.

I admire Desmonds strenght with introducing Linux to home users (not sure if
they have a required level of technical skill before you would do it
though?). I'd probably run a mile at doing in on some peoples machines hehe.
I do think there's a bit of a misnomer from your experience though.

This is mainly the Linux is more stable, no viruses, etc argument. It's hard
to disagree, but I think importantly there's a couple of problems with this.
There are actually viruses for Linux, but not many of them. How many here
are using a virus checker for Linux I'd be interested to know, and how many
out there in the big bad world? How many are running unpatched kernels,
systems not up to date etc, no firewall ? From what I can see when I speak
to people actually a surprisingly huge amount I find.  The security and
stability of any o.s I find down to the security mindedness of the person,
people throw in more of their custom solutions while overlooking flaws. The
more stable a system, typically the older it is. Most people want their cake
and eat it I find, want bleeding edge and stable.

So I take the opinion that Linux is only really more stable and less viruses
because less software is typically installed on it and people have false
confidence in it. There are certainly some other reasons why its less likely
a virus would have the same impact solely due to numbers, but as an
o.sgains popularity and more software comes along to make things
easier and
more usable, invariably more holes are introduced. I find that fairly
inevitable.

Having rambled on like a loon, I'd be interested in how other people see
Linux with issues like that. I still love Linux more than Windows, but I do
have moments when Linux bugs me still and find the things I love about it
also part of the problems.

Sorry if I dragged it off topic a bit, but thought it had been quiet enough
on the subject to just ramble on a bit :)

Ian
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