[ale] Linux Consumer Advocacy

[James P. Kinney III]

I see no reason to justify the use of any Microsoft-based desktop
environment in any business setting. As such, I ALWAYS advocate for the
Linux solution. Every time a business calls me with a problem with their
Windows systems, I can show them a safer, easier to use solution NOT
based on Microsoft platforms and/or products.

The usual gripe is "I've been using XYZ app for so long, I don't think
my staff will be able to make the switch." To which I reply rather
snidely, "If your staff is too incompetent to learn a better way to do
things, do you really want them on a computer system that is known to be
a serious security and stability problem?" The next time they hit with
_another_ worm, I get the call to build up a Linus box to test and train
from.

For the businesses that are truly trapped with a M$ only application I
start calling the app company and requesting a Linux version to
demo/test. When they say they don't have one, I (again rather snidely)
announce, "Oh! Well, I don't know what we are going to do now. We are
_SO_ tired of the worms and viruses and upgrade costs we are going to
migrate our entire office to Linux over the next year. If you, our
_preferred_ application provider doesn't support running in a Linux
environment, I guess we'll have to start looking for a different
solution. But please be sure to contact us if you get a test version you
would like us to look at."

So far, every single app provider I've pulled this on now has a way to
run their windows crap on Linux. For most, they just made their app run
in Citrix and pointed to the free Citrix client for Linux. That puts the
hosting issues on them (fine with me. I don't want to have to manage a
windows box unless I have to!)

And I sleep better a night because of this ;)

On Thu, 2004-05-20 at 09:50, Sigmascape1 at cs.com wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> How many of you guys work with Linux on a individual/consumer use level? In other words, how many of you guys tout Linux as a replacement for Windows XYZ on home systems? I am just curious about this issue. Obviously, almost every single day, if you look on the right website, you can find new articles or editorials dealing with Linux on systems that are not considered business systems.
> 
> This is an area of oss and Linux that interests me greatly. Most of my friends/relatives/associates are Windows users. Usually this is the case because they are not aware of the fact that there are alternatives, many alternatives. Regardless of what I read, especially negative Linux editorials about using Linux at home, I am 100% convinced that Linux is ready for non-technical users, especially if the users are not big gamers. What many people do not realize is that if you grow up using or are simply comfortable with a Windows 95-like system, Linux is almost a drop-in-place replacement for a lot of uses. FUD is a constant battle with Linux on SOHO/Small Business/Enterprise desktops, but one of the big issues with consumer-level acceptance is the fact that the 'average' computer user has never heard of Linux or even oss.
> 
> Also, as a side, I believe that most consumers would be greatly interested in free products... possibly more interested in 'FREE AS BEER,' more than 'FREE AS IN FREE SPEECH.'
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Mitch Featherston
> _______________________________________________
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> Ale at ale.org
> http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> 
> !DSPAM:40acb7c724682054820306!
-- 
James P. Kinney III          \Changing the mobile computing world/
CEO & Director of Engineering \          one Linux user         /
Local Net Solutions,LLC        \           at a time.          /
770-493-8244                    \.___________________________./
http://www.localnetsolutions.com

GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190 ADC3 829C 6CA7
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