I just made an update to the "Linux is not Windows" page linked from my sig. I thought it might be of interest as a standalone short article, so here it is for anybody interested:

"Aha, now I've got you," says our newbie smugly. "There are Linux projects with the goal of replacing Windows, not just being an alternative to it."

Yes, there are. KDE and Gnome, for instance, provide a comfortable desktop environment that's far more Windows-like than typical Linux window managers and CLI. Linspire is a distro based almost entirely around the idea of making Linux Windows-like.

However, paradoxically, these prove my point better than they prove the newbie's.

Why? Because these projects are normal FOSS projects, revolving entirely around making the software better. The only difference is, one of the definitions of quality in these projects is "How similar to Windows is it?"

As soon as you factor this in, you see that these are 100% typical Linux, with the sole aim of improving software. These are projects made by even-more-selfless-than-usual Linux developers: They aren't making software for their own use, as they know Linux very well. Instead, they're making software entirely for other people's benefit: Software that makes the transition from Windows to Linux easier.

These developers have recognised that there are Windows users who want to move to Linux, and they've put a lot of effort into creating a Linux environment which Windows users find comfortably familiar. But they haven't done so to try and replace Windows, though the end result might give that impression. The end goal is what makes the difference: The goal is not to make a Windows replacement; the goal is to ease the Windows-user's transition to Linux.

It's not uncommon to see community hostility towards these projects. Some of it for rational, understandable reasons ("KDE is bloated, so use Fluxbox") but some seems to be an irrational, hostile, "Windows-like software is bad" attitude. This isn't, actually, an anti-MS or anti-Windows attitude. Instead, it's the far more compehensible dislike of what isn't understood.

The 'typical' Linux user is a hobbyist: He uses computers because computers are fun, programming is fun, hacking is fun. And Linux is a far better OS for a hacking hobbyist: He can take it apart to its most fundamental level, and reassemble it exactly as he sees fit.

However, the current influx of Linux users has a large percentage of non-hobbyist non-hackers. They want a computer that Just Works, a computer that works like Windows.

From the typical Linux user's perspective, this is like somebody who wants a Lego model that comes pre-assembled and glued together so it can't come apart. It is alien to their understanding. The only way they can react is with a baffled "Why would anybody want that?"

It's baffling. It's incomprehensible. It's self-defeating. It's pointless. If you want a ready-made model, buy a toy. If you want a model you can build and take apart, buy Lego. Why would anybody want a Lego model that can only be used as a toy?

This is how a typical Linux user reacts to the "Why can't it Just Work?" brigade: "If you want it to Just Work, use Windows. If you want to hack it, use Linux. Why would you ever want to switch to Linux if you have no interest in the advantages of open source?"

The answer, usually, is that they don't actually want to move to Linux. They just want to get away from Windows: They're running away from viruses; they're fleeing malware; they're striving to be free of restrictions on how they use their-paid for software; they're trying to escape from the clutches of the E.U.L.A. They aren't trying to get into Linux, they're trying to get out of Windows.

Very nice article. I'd say that the main idea that should be noticed is represented by:

Yep - in fact, that point gets expanded in the main page. A lot of the "I tried Linux and didn't like it because. . ." threads I've seen would have been greatly simplified by that one realization. . .

Really nice. I request permission to quote your full article in my blog (with credits to you of course).

No permission needed, help yourself: it's published under a Creative Commons license.

Altho considering the number of times I've updated that page, you might find linking to be better: Even the quoted passage above has been edited several times already, and I only wrote it yesterday!

that is what first started my path down the world that is open source, and i can tell you i am loving it more and more every day.

that is one of the best write ups i have seen on this subject. very well done, no flaming, just nice easy logic to follow. i agree with everything you have to say, and the reason i like the KDE/Gnome projects is it does make it easier to help people move away from windows.

/salute very well done.