[ale] weird mouse problem

[Jim Kinney]

On Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 10:33 AM, Jerald Sheets <questy at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On Sep 9, 2010, at 8:56 AM, Jim Kinney wrote:
>
> I must strenuously disagree with the idea that Linux is not good for
> general users.
>
>
> The thing, I think, on this topic that we (the geeks) continue to miss is
> that to the average user, the computer is the applications.
>

On the whole, I think that one thing we, the Elitist Linux Users United For
Total World Domination (ELUUFTWD) will agree on is that the average user is
basically unqualified to tie their own shoes and should be kept away from
most technology more complex than a digital alarm clock.

>
> The *average* Joe-sixpack, Walmart shopper user will want to walk in the
> back door of WalMart, walk up to the video game rack and purchase the coed
> naked warcraft on ice video game, bring it home, insert disc, install app,
> and then off to wintry nudie wonderland of gaming goodness.
>

Hmm. Local wallyworld doesn't have that game in stock... bummer

>
> For Joe Sixpack, that does not happen on Linux, therefore it is not
> superior (to an end-user) to other options out there.
> To be fair to the players in this argument, it doesn't happen in the Mac
> world all that much either.  With the exception of a few forward-looking
> companies like Blizzard, Mac gaming is just not there yet.
>
> You and I agree completely that Linux is a superior operating system with
> many options for superior experiences.  Heck, Linus himself uses a Macbook
> Pro running Linux.  The thing we as tech-nerds must remember, though, is
> that WE ARE NOT THE MAJORITY and we never will be.
>

If we allow all the lesser  beings to starve to death....

>
> If by "average user", however, ALL you mean is email, browsing, etc.   Then
> by that redefinition of what an average user is, I agree with you
> completely.
>

Actually, I consider average use to include information access using a
browser, email, digital camera image storage and processing, letter writing,
budget work using special accounting tools as well and basic spreadsheets,
simple database tools for addressbooks, recipes, etc., and the like. All of
this is easily done within a modern distro designed for the desktop user.
Even Ubuntu users can do it <snark!> with the patches from the Fedora crowd
</snark!> (we all benefit with a problem is fixed. just gotta poke fun at
the newest "darling of the linux crowd" cause it doesn't install on 90% of
the hardware I've tested it on)

>
> Thing is, just how many people will only do that?  Seriously... My mom had
> a small Linux box I made for her and was peachy happy for over a year (and I
> could SSH into the thing and fix stuff just by getting her to click an icon
> that emailed me her IP, or in the event that email wasn't working, she could
> click a different icon and have it display to her so she could read it to
> me.  Worked GREAT.
>
> Eventually, though, $WORK wanted her to take a training class that only
> worked on Windows.  Next, they sent home training cd's that only ran under
> windows.  (or Mac, but they didn't know that).  Ultimately, if mom was
> retired, we wouldn't have had that situation, but as long as "Mom" has other
> influences like $WORK or $STORE offering all manner of things that take
> tech-nerds like ourselves to be present to run (or are not able to run at
> all), Linux is not the superior OS for the situation at hand for $USER who
> is in that situation.
>

Yep. But that is a specialized situation designed to eliminate the general
solution. Dell made a crapton of desktops that used a non-standard pinout on
the power supply. Its the same problem as "this disk will only really work
in winders". It's either that way because of incompetence (very, very
likely) or deliberately designed to force an end user in a $WORK situation
to comply to a mandate on how things will be done. $WORK requires certain
tools that they provide. If they don't provide those tools, then the $USER
is free to use the tools of their $CHOICE.

Yes, hand-holding mom through crappy $WORK software shouldn't happen but
incompetence is rampant in winders worlds.

>
> Unfortunately for our community, I just described more than 50% of the user
> base out there.
>
> I think Jim is right as it pertains to the true average user.  If by
> average user you mean someone who just needs email and YouTube, then you're
> right.
>

I feed and support what could be described as a very typical computer user -
a 20 year old female college student. Her Linux only laptop is completely
sufficient for all of her work/school/entertainment needs with the only
exception of accessing that waste of space iTunes store (because dad won't
install alternate software) with the ipod she got as a gift. But she can use
the ipod to add her own music to using normal Gnome desktop media tools. And
she gags and spits when she has had to use school provided winders machines
for special projects with expensive software (Adobe InDesign for the
newspaper) as they are just clunky and slow.

>
> --j
>
>
>
>
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>


-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
I would rather stumble along in freedom than walk effortlessly in chains.
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