Microsoft, will you stop at nothing to protect your hegemony? Your “Linux Facts” campaign from a couple years ago was poorly executed, and trumped up a bunch of selective information to make Windows look better than Linux. You killed that, and replaced it with a Windows Server “compare” site, but it’s still a bunch of selective data points that don’t tell the whole story. Now, you’re even trying to get the sales drones at Best Buy to steer folks away from Linux!
Leaked memos are making their way around the Internets today, revealing what claim to be Microsoft propaganda attempting to “educate” Best Buy employees on all the problems with Linux. For each problem, Microsoft suggests that their products are vastly superior!
Here’s an idea: instead of spending so much money on advertising, why not make a better mousetrap, rather than re-introducing ancient bugs?
You may forget that most patrons to Best Buy probably don’t know enough about a computer to realize what Linux even is.
While this is poor taste on Microsoft’s part, I doubt it will change much.
“to realize what Linux even is”
True! Microsoft might actually be raising Linux awareness.
People might get curious about what this Linux thing is they are talking about, try something like Ubuntu and discover it is a great OS.
Like they say: What goes around comes around.
To be honest, I am a fairly experienced PC user, and tried several distros of Linux.
NONE of them are ready for the common Joe, which makes up almost the entirety of Best Buy’s customer base.
In it’s current state, Linux will be nothing but one headache after another for the average user the second they boot it up until they toss the computer out of a window and get a Windows system.
You are failing to see this from an average user’s point of view, not from a tech’s point of view.
I respectfully disagree. (I know, what fun is THAT?!)
The “average Joes” I know can’t navigate Windows any better than they can Linux. Computers are hard, and they don’t make sense. My mother-in-law couldn’t figure out how to connect her brand new Dell laptop running Vista to her wireless network. She couldn’t install an application to save her life, so the decision to use Windows or Linux is moot: they’re both equally hard for her.
From a longevity point of view, I think Linux is the better choice for her. Her system won’t get as easily corrupted with malware. She won’t get anti-virus popup messages that she won’t know what to do with. She won’t have Windows Security Alerts reminding her that her AV software is out of date. She won’t have strange little icons popping up in her task tray that she doesn’t recognize or know what to do with (Java updater, for example).
The spectrum of “computer user” is way too broad to say “the average Joe is better served by Windows”. SOME average Joes are better served by Windows. Some are better served by whatever system is used by the people on whom they rely for support.
I respectfully disagree with your opinion.
The average joe is raised in a windows enviornment. They use windows at their local libraries, when they goto a friends house chances are there is a windows system there, the highschool/college that they graduated from within the last 5-10 years used windows and the job they are likely to work for will be using a computer with windows on it.
I’m sure there are exceptions to each point but in general windows is better suited to the average joe. Linux is complicated for someone who is switching from windows to linux. With windows average joe points and clicks. They don’t have to worry about command lines or searching the net for compatible programs that are readily available to windows users.
I agree linux is an amazing operating system… but for the average joe its complicated, limited and consumes more time to learn than windows would.
Re: “With windows average joe points and clicks”
That’s just as true of today’s Linux: I run both Vista and Ubuntu…I’d say that Ubuntu 9.04 is actually easier for a newbie to use – the UI requires less ‘mousing around’ than Vista, by far.
I find installs easier on Ubuntu, too….that used to be a Linux hangup for most casual users, but that’s not true now.
I write C++ code in the Windows world, so I’m not going to join the MS bashers either…there are things that MS does rather well. But, for personal use, I prefer Ubuntu: more stable, more secure, better apps, free apps, safer on the Web, nice UI, …
Looking forward to Win 7….but given that OS’s Vista code base, it’s more apt to call it Vista 2.0…so, I think Ubuntu will still be the better OS overall.
“My mother-in-law couldn’t figure out how to connect her brand new Dell laptop running Vista to her wireless network. She couldn’t install an application to save her life”
This is even more of a reason NOT to use Linux actually.
Windows is by far simpler to use, even if it would be hard regardless, Linux would still be harder.
Windows is designed to be a GUI-based OS with executable binaries.
Linux is not, yes it has a GUI, but the GUI is merely a shell over a terminal, and the majority of GUI-based apps, if they even have a GUI, are just a front-end over a terminal and not really designed with a GUI in mind.
For somebody new to computers, clicking the mouse around would be miles easier than learning all sorts of cryptic keyboard commands and seeing stories of text rapidly scrolling across the screen each time they do. Linux is far too technical and text based for most computer users. The Command Prompt in Windows has been reduced to basically admin usage that no average user would know how to use anyway such as fdisk or any other such applications, for Linux, even in a GUI based distro, the Terminal is still the MAIN method of using it. THIS is a big factor that is keeping it out of the hands of the common people.
And good luck getting support.
I tried, back when I first started experimenting with Linux Ubuntu was at version 7.04. My sound, WiFi, and Video acceleration would not work. Above all, I wanted to get WiFi working. So I join an official Linux chatroom, instead of helping me find open source drivers or get ntldr to stop crashing my OS, he remoted into my system and tried to RECOMPILE THE KERNEL with WiFi support.
“Im on battery!”
“Itll only take a few hours, plug it into AC”
“But I just wanted to get the drivers working”
“This is better”
“I don’t want to redo this every time I update the kernel!”
“Then don’t, you should never need to update the kernal after compiling a custom one”
Oh, and by the way, the Kernel didn’t even boot.
Basically, if you want help, be prepared to do things THEIR way, even if the alternative is fully acceptable.
Using a GUI based app? Install a text based one from the repos, they don’t like that GUI based app.
Using 64 bit? Reformat and reinstall 32bit, there is no reason you should be using 64 bit, since the person helping you has no reason.
Using vi instead of nano or nano instead of vi? Install and learn how ot use the other.
Etc Etc, they are HIGHLY elitist (and this is coming from several support channels I tried) and will downright refuse to help if you are lucky, and if not mock you and be hostile, if not outright ban you, if you don’t do things their way.
Compare this to how many Windows support channels and forums there are, pretty much all of which answer your questions as best they can and typically do not chastise you for doing things a different way or using something they don’t like.
BTW, Ubuntu 8.04 added support for my sound hardware, 8.10 added video acceleration and WiFi support, 9.04 broke support again because the new version of Xserver is incompatible with the drivers, and he manufacturer isn’t releasing new ones.
Try explaining THAT to the average Joe when what the equivalent of Windows Update is to them breaks their sound or WiFi/Ethernet support and there is no way to get it back without downgrading and never upgrading again. Good luck if an app they want has the updated software as a dependency.
Unless you are moving to a new version of Windows, an update would almost never break hardware drivers, and if it does typically new ones will be released or the next update will fix it.
linux is very simple to use if you can use that failure of a op windows you can use mint linux it is easy windows is a failure for many reasons with linux it is formated diffrent there is no defragmenting its simply not needed not much trouble from viruses there ios alot of up keep and things you have to do to keep windows going once you got linux on and lined out to what you use hardley any work to it at all vista from the desktop not doing anything runs around 50 processes vista takes out of you hd 64 bit op 12.5 gigs linux only 2.5 gigs for xp 18.6 and linux 2.9 32 bit op linux is faster on all the ones i put it on and far more stabe on this one i use on linux it runs 3 times faster then it was new from the store what would take me 45 mins on windows takes me only 15 mins on linux it is really fast and takes so little to run i have fixed alot of computers with it my nephew was going to throw his computer with xp in the trash untill i put linux on it he loves it he can use linux and he is horrid on computers my bros old laptop was unstable with one net tab now runs 3 fine with linux mine i had 10 net tabs dls going and stuff going on a flash it done fine it would have blown up on windows it gets slow on vista it gets unstable at 3 tabs on windows vista takes about 2 gigs of ram min to run ok biggest thing with linux is getting it one and everything lined out you dun have much up keep at all on it just keep it updated and clean and vista i could speand a night on weekly work scedual with it there is just so much to do to keep it running it takes all night to list and windows has to have a billion diffrent players to run everything and diffrent stuff only need a couple on linux move player plays most things and get vlc player for dvds it doesnt require all that space that windows does with players it takes a good night to set up vista with everything i need i am done in a couple of hrs on linux linux is far more fast easyer to use less up keep more stable plus the op and alot of the software is free unlike windows that dolloar you to death and if you need windows stuff there is a program called wine that will allow you to install windows stuff windows is a horrid slow failure of a op the worst there is on the market i will not use it if i can help it i am thankful for that day i left my power chord and i got to use my bros mac a while then i tryed linux people are addicted to windows and they are blinded to how much better other ops are over it i wont ever use windows again if i can help it to all you who havent tryed it i say try something better for once then you will see how slow and unstable windows is and for the people with not much know how or starting try either ubuntu or mint distros easy and simple and with mint you actuly no need to do a whole lot of stuff to it it comes with a buch of stuff out of box pre installed codecs for movies for one :) linux is far supperior to windows ^^
Hello, I would like you to meet my friend called the period:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/10/11/
ps mac is good too just simplistic and it not give you alot of control alot of things just work :) but they uber costly lol and please dont troll me for spelling and grammer i have been trolled by peeps over that and quite frankly alot of them were just rude people who thought they were better then everyone else but i do say give linux a try it is free and handels iso files it and mac do you have to pay alot for programs for windows to do it right hehe
Cyber Akuma, I love the period joke. Some peolpe… but read below.
For all you who say Linux is not ready for the “average joe.”
Have any of you tried or seen the Linux for Netbooks? You do know what a Netbook is, right? It runs a modified look (of course you can switch back to traditional view easy) of Linux for “the average joe.” And the Linux version is nice. You’d have to be a complete booob to get confused with it. And if you do, then computers are not for you.
This Linux “look” is what they should be selling with new desktop computers. It would make Linux look a lot better and get more “average joes” running it.
Cyber Akuma… your post above about Linux being hard is because you’re not that experienced. Why the heck did you let someone you don’t know remote into your system?!? What a booob! You even let him/her recompile your kernal?!?! HAHAHAHA!!!! You deserved what you got! I have never run into a Linux driver issue I couldn’t fix via the forums. Recompiled the kernal… HAHAHAH!!!!