Asking the Lifehacker crowd may get an interesting reaction, but the responses seemed pretty skewed to tech savvy users who've already tried Linux. If you've already tried Linux, I can't imagine the look and feel was the reason you abandoned it. Hardware incompatibility, lack of software, etc... This is what the commenters noted and they probably don't even represent the average customer well. When I think of Linux, I think, "business, servers, incompatibility and geeky". If Ubuntu is looking to make big headway in the world of desktop computing, I don't think those associations serve them very well. Addressing the look and feel of the software may help to change the "geeky" impression, but certainly won't do much else for the others.
I wonder if the Ubuntu folks have tried just putting a bunch of Ubuntu computers in the hands of some current (average) Windows users or students. Load them up with the apps you think they need (office stuff, music software, etc...) and then let 'em run with it. Survey them afterwards and even if the information is skewed, you'll probably get a pretty good read on what some of the critical issues are. They might even tell you that the software just didn't feel cool enough, supporting the look and feel approach and totally shooting down my earlier assumptions. I can't imagine this would actually cost that much to try and at the least you'll probably get closer to discovering what the main problem is with using Linux for everyday computing life.
1 comments:
Linux is not a viable alternative for people who want it to be Windows. It will never work for them. Linux is fundamentally different and therefore will never satisfy someone who is looking to try a "free" version of Windows with an office suite that is, for all intents and purposes, Office 2007. There will be at least one, if not many, gotchas. And there are. But I've used Linux for over two years and I feel that I've finally got a computer that works the way I need it to work. It not only does everything I need it to, it's opened me up to a whole world of software I wouldn't have been able to experience.
The problem for Linux is that for most people on the planet Windows is the definition of an operating system. It's the best operating system because it's the only operating system. Anything that's not Windows, fails, regardless of how pretty it is or how functional it is. Every negative review of Linux I read in some way is saying "Linux will never make it be cause it's not like Windows". Guess what, it's not trying to be like Windows. It's coded by people who use computers, not by people who sell computers.
Post a Comment