Ahmed, I think you have it. The fact is there is no panacea.

Ahmed,
You have understood the true nature of Linux: If it works for you, use it; if it doesn't, either fix it so it does or find something else.

I enjoy your article my friend, its entertaining. However I have a small opinion. I do believe that linux is ready for the average home user, is it ready for all home users? Maybe not, why? very simple. Some home users are lazier than others and others are very very lazy. So it all depends in what kind of users you are talking about.

My experience with linux, it has been great, actually greater than my wdos experience.By the way Im not a computer pro of any kind Im just an average user. See I am lazy but not as lazy as most. The first computer I bought the sales man tried to sell me a preloaded comp with XP.. with a bunch of trials of this and that. I ask if I could get my computer clean so I could load it up my own way. He stood there wondering why I wanted to do that if someone else had already taken the time to do it for me. I was getting angry and told him that yeah someone else had already loaded it the way they wanted it not the way I wanted it. Also I wanted to learn how to do it myself for future reference so I would not have to depend on other people.

So setting up my own XP comp.... the first time took me a while It wasnt hard but it took me some time. After it was set up I still had to set up my drivers and all so you know we all have to do that even on wdos. Within five min. of using my system guess what i happened..that s right my screen froze for some reason, and it happened many times ever since.

I didnt know about linux up until late of last year, when I was at my local comp. store, not the same where I bought my first comp. I saw a small shelf with a penguin and next to it a green box, yep Suse 9.1 was out for the first time around my town. so I started wondering what that was. By the time I was reading the box I felt the need to start using it. Why? Because it offered another way, to me, it meant getting rid of the frozen screens and the blue screens and all of that. So I got it. Since then I have use not just suse but alot more distros, at the moment I use blag which is based on red hat. But at one point I realize that I hadnt used windows for a long time, well almost a year. But I made a full change. Did I have trouble installing linux in my pcs ....yep....but did I ever get a frozen screen with linux ...nope. Like I said Im no expert with comps.. ok.

Right now Im at the point of making the change for every computer in my family to change to linux. Along the way I have learned how to tweak my systems, installing software, this that and Im still learning, but again, What would ve happened if I was a lazy user? I would ve given up with in an hour or two maybe lasted a week. But I wasnt lazy and I decided to take on the challenge because I knew that out there, there are people who think like me and who are not willing to put up with the flaws of an expensive #@# OS..and the software for it.


So my question to all is... how lazy are you? When you decide to take on a challenge and drop it with in hours of taking it. Like most of you say, linux is an alternative not a replacement. It offers another way for all of us.

If you are paying for something, dont you have the right to find out how it operates and if it is really worth all the money you are paying for it, and if you pay for it you also have the right to modify it the way you want it, not the way someone else wants it...

sorry it got kinda long I dint realize....

Thanks for the testimonial. Would you mind putting a few paragraph breaks in there?

Was this directed at me, the OP, or someone else? Thanks for the paragraph breaks, BTW.

Its just my experience its not aimed at anyone in particular lol.......

I agree that Linux. Especoially the Fedora Project/Cent OS. Has brought my attention to linux more as being a future alernative for windows. I am dead sick of all the spyware and crap going on for windows on the inet. And I would gladly welcome linux on my desktop, but I wont seriously consider doing that conversion until linux evolves more. That beingbeing backwards compatable with win programs. Something that installs it and converts to linux native filesystem. After thus locking out other to diminish any other things that try to leak in on the net. I really dont know if thats possible but its an idea. What im looking at is salvaging all my win software, having it converted somehow into ext 3.

hmmm i only use windows for some gaming and for 1 site that realy DOESNT WORK ON anything else then IE and that is ingrammicro
contacted the admins and they are lazy to fix it they told me use IE or leave.

i have a company in linux and we do all our work in it.
linux is getting better all the time and i hate to spend my money on something that doesnt work.
we support and donate to OS projects.
we demand that everybody in our company programms using the standards.
Microsoft needs to be punisched not using standards or making standards that only works on MS.
that is no standard.
but the American way of being an ...
Linux will survive and i will use all my powers to make a happy world for all not only for billy boy.

not a flame against MS but the American way is not the way of the world and Amerika is not the world ....
but it is a nice country ;-)>

I think that when it comes to software topics, dos is a step ahead, for the same reason that dos has managed to cover a major part of the world, given the case, linux will provide with same if not better software than dos offers now when the time comes for linux to gain more territory.

Because alot of people have the same problem you have, what would you do without the software you are used to run in your machine? It is almost impossible for some people to even think about switching desktops.

To me that s actually the main reason why people do not switch desktops. In a society where everywhere you turn you find a dos machine, your usual IE, MSN mess. WMP and all that. People have learned to put up with the side effects of these software just because they feel like they have no other choice right? That is one of the reasons for linux existance, to give choice to those who are willing to get their hands a little durty. Its just a thought

MY 2 cents :-

I have my own computer. Im 17 and still in school. I use my machine for gaming, imaging, burning, downloading and assingments etc.

I havn't booted into windows (second hdd) for 10 months now.

..... Whats not to like about it or use it as a desktop for home use.

What exactly does Microsoft have to do with America except for the fact that is it's base? Who said America's way was the way of the world? Please try to keep personal politics out of technical posts.

True but I think an even bigger reason people don't switch is they are scared of change. I definately believe you are right and most haven't even heard of linux yet. Most typical computer users only know of Windows and Mac.

People are afraid of change, and that doesnt just apply to computers but everything else. Most people are afraid of change at all, when they become so used to their everyday life its a scary thought to even think about changing their routine. Most people are afraid of linux simple because they havent heard of it, and for the fact that switching OSs means they have to break their everyday life and that makes people paranoid, unlike us we love a little challenge no matter what it is...

Aside from the coffee, fedora and windows are nearly tied for doing that list trouble free.

Xp figured out everything aside from my network card.

Fedora did the same. Both were easy to install, both ran fine out of the box on my pc.

The problem came with my Ralink RT2500 wifi card. On xp, I downloaded the software off the website using a different pc, double clicked on the install application, restarted, and selected what AP to connect to using windows piece of junk wireless config. I was on the Internet, end of story for that.

Fedora had me searching this forum for awhile, I found the how-to on it, downloaded what I needed. I followed the how-to word for word. I got errors when I tried to type in the commands, finally got it to run makefile and compile.

In the end, I spent about an hour messing with the text editor and with my IP settings to get it to work. You can blame it on the instructions, blame it on poor drivers from the company. But my frustrating wireless drivers experience in fedora is only due to my inexperience. I have used windows since the days of 3.10 and know it well. I'm a noob to linux.

With windows you usually have to click the mouse. Linux, for me, is more like dos running windows 3.10, it may have a GUI but installing drivers usually requires you to go into the command prompt and manually type things in.

It took me a long time to get to know dos. Its going to take me longer to forget dos and learn linux, because there is much more too it.

It seems people (now please, read this and think about it) start out using windows. People like me and my friends. Get sick of BSODS, spyware, crashes ect. we jump onto google, download some version of linux, and plow right into it.

I downloaded Freesco as my first linux os. There wasnt a whole lot to it, so it was fairly easy to learn. But many people are moving because of the viruses, and crashes.

Now think for a moment, what causes your computer to be loaded full of spyware and viruses, and what would cause windows 2000/XP to crash right and left? It certainly cant be this buggy from the beginning. I find its because people look at porn, warez, use programs like Kaaza lite/Winmx, and become very stupid with what they do.

You can easily do this to any OS. Linux, mac, windows.... If you download spyware and viruses, the OS will run like crap. Now here is my point: People move to linux for all the wrong reasons, get frustraited, give up, and complain.

I needed a good server os for free. I took the time to mess with linux, I asked questions at the freesco forum. I got answers, and in turn, a smooth running verison of linux for my PII dell.

People seem to be moving to linux, expecting it to be installed, done, and over with in a few hours. For experienced linux users, thats all there is to it. Install it, reboot, change some settings, and your done. But for complete newbies who only hear of the windows bashing on forums, want to jump into this.

They download a distro, partition the drive, install it, and once they get to the GUI (be it X, Gnome, or KDE) the frustration begins. Relearning how to use the computer, the linux way.

What I have seem with the people I know, they screw up linux. Start changing some settings based off slightly educated guesses, linux complains/doesn't load some services... they switch back to windows and start mouthing off about how horrible linux was.

One person I know, was running an older computer as a server using windows 98. Yes, you read it right. No typo there. Windows 98 as a server OS. Not even second edition. He complained all the time about windows getting buggy, and it wouldn't work and the .VXD drivers were missing when windows would try to load. Blamed it on microsoft "sucking" and switched to linux.

Now, the only time I have ever seen a fresh install of '98 complain about missing drivers like those are when you install some new hardware, it asks for the cd, and you click cancel then reboot. Nothing seems to work correctly if someone does this.

This person installed fedora on the computer, used it for a few weeks, then told me how much of a disappointment it was and how I shouldn't expect much out of it.

And just this morning, my brother was complaining about how his computer was going slow. 2Ghz 64bit amd, 512mb ram. Should run any OS fairly well. What did I notice? Spyware icons all over his desktop, I opened taskman and saw how many "processes" were running. I googled many of them and at least 12 of those turned out to be some form of spyware. I asked him, to install Spybod S&D, lavasoft, AVG... something. He refused to do so, but continued to complain about the os.

I find this is the case with many, many frustraited linux switchers. (to sum it all up):

They are switching, to get away from some things, which are caused from their ignorance. Those same people get to linux, and still cause chaos within it.


THIS is why linux is not yet ready for the desktop environment. People are very, very stupid. Many have no patience, no time to learn.

[nonsense off topic babbling]

Look around you. Warning labels on your hair dryer and radio to not put it in a bathtub. Labels on fireworks not to eat them. Warnings all around us. There are even warnings in restaurants that tell you the hot water faucet may be hot, and aswell on the coffee. These people who the labels are designed for are the same people who may own a desktop computer.

We also have VCRs that talk to us when we plug them in. Tell us how to set it up. People still cannot figure out how to use these VCRs.

If we need labels on the hot coffey to tell people it may be hot, and if VCRs that talk and tell us how to hook it up yet cannot be understood, how should anyone expect the people who use the desktop computers to switch to linux? My linux experience has only gone as far as Fedora core 4, redhat 9.1, and Freesco linux. But I'll assume its nowhere near ready for these people who need the "Caution: Hot water faucet may be hot" labels.

During my four years at school repairing the staffs televisions, radios, flashlights, computers, vcrs and so on, I laughed at the idea of a talking VCR. But when two different people came in and count not figure out how to hook up this talking vcr, part of me died inside. The level of ignorance and stupidity is mind boggling.

Is anyone following me on this?

Although many seem to disagree with me, when I said linux was harder to learn than windows. If stupidity and the steeper learning curve does not account for the lack of non-nerdy linux users, then what does?

Ignorance may very well be the end of us all..............