[ale] Linux bashed by Apple?

[Byron Jeff]

On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 08:41:10AM -0400, Rich Faulkner wrote:
> 
>    I think the idea with "too many competing technologies" is just fine.  Do we
>    want a monopoly?  I for one do not.  That is what Microsoft has regarding
>    their hold on consumer's concerning their desktop.  I for one prefer choice
>    and change at a developer's whim.  Why?  Innovation and the freedom to
>    innovate and invent.  Not all ideas will be useful and I for one do not have
>    to change just because a developer did.
>    My machines run Ubuntu 11.04.  Why?  Because it is the last version of
>    Ubuntu that offers Gnome2 OOB (that I am aware of) and it suits my needs.  I
>    turn-off notifications on major releases of the OS and do not do migrations
>    just because it's April or October.  I use what I use because it suits my
>    needs.  No discomfort or dissatisfaction here...

BTW this is exactly what Miguel discusses in his piece. The bottom line is
embodied in the saying "Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." The
dichotomy between the Linux developer community, which certainly does not
consists of little minds, and the general user population, which views most
technology as an appliance, are almost exclusively so.

>    The idea behind free software is that we are free to innovate and make a
>    better product because of it.  Take that away and we're nothing more than
>    another Apple or Microsoft.  YMMV but to each their own.  I for one do find
>    frustration in the recent convolutions of the DE market; but who says I have
>    to embrace their change?  I roll my own and like it that way...so to this I
>    say (IMHO); compete and bring new technologies to bear in the free market of
>    GNU/Linux.

The point is in that divided market, that no single consistent UI will ever
emerge. It'll always be a churn of desktops and distributions with no hope
of a consistent out of the box experience.

So at the end of the day, there's lots of innovation. However, without a
consistent theme, there's little hope of getting enough market share to
move developers for the masses to start to contribute.

I'm not saying that it's good or bad. I'm just saying that it's not
possible to have it both ways. I too would rather have the flexibility to
choose.

BAJ
-- 
Byron A. Jeff
Department Chair: IT/CS/CNET
College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
Clayton State University
http://cims.clayton.edu/bjeff