In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Wed, 29 Mar 2006 06:52:42 +0100
<e0d7en$11eh$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> __/ [ The Ghost In The Machine ] on Tuesday 28 March 2006 20:59 \__
>
>> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote
>> on Tue, 28 Mar 2006 18:14:40 +0100
>> <e0br1b$2a6i$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>> __/ [ ray ] on Tuesday 28 March 2006 16:59 \__
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 05:42:16 +0100, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> < snip />
>>>>
>>>> We're due to have one of their four head systems installed at the
>>>> Portneuf District Library in Idaho. This follows on the successful
>>>> deployment of Mandrake Linux on the public access internet computers last
>>>> year - a VERY successful deployment, I might add. No complaints in over a
>>>> year, and a recent customer satisfaction survey showed universal
>>>> acceptance and revealed that several patrons were unaware they were not
>>>> running MS.
>>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>>
>>> Is this /truly/ the test for success? It leaves me with a bad taste in the
>>> mouth.
>>
>> I can't say I'm all that happy about it myself, and there
>> are rather sinister implications if Microsoft wants to
>> exhume a certain look-and-feel suit (which ultimately got
>> rejected -- but that was then; this is now, although stare
>> decisis might give us some protection).
>
>
> That's just what I thought. Think of all these iPod copycats that vanished
> due to lawsuits.
Can't say I've personally seen any. :-) I have seen an occasional
iPod in the store, admittedly.
>
>
>> Of course it depends on how perceptive the customers are.
>> Presumably, if a customer stares at a desktop long enough
>> he might forget *what* the background color is. :-)
>>
>> What is a webbrowser anyway? It's a standardized fat client
>> with client-server communications capabilities.
>
>
> In some cases, it has client-server-filesystem capabilities;
> And it has poor comprehension of security and separation of
> the two (or perhaps the code is not sufficiently modular,
> IE/i.e. messy).
I'd have to see what Mozilla is like in that respect, though I'm
not sure where to *start* in the code. :-) IE, for its part, is
a glorified OLE browser with a bolted-on HTML parser, as far
as I can tell.
>
>
>>> Here at the Student Halls we deployed Windows terminals to handle the
>>> simple task of running a browser with a Web form to serve as a
>>> communication gateway.
>>
>> With IE? Oy.
>
>
> That particular IT department is very Microsoft-oriented. Fortunately, it is
> also VNC-friendly and has recently gone Web-based.
There's hope. :-)
>
>
>>> Needless to mention, the machines crash quite often (leading to
>>> plenty of trouble as they only get manned the following day) and are a
>>> pain to maintain (updates, cleanups and other types of drek on a platter).
>>
>> As opposed to Linux which can be administrated remotely by IT
>> (as opposed to a malware writer :-) ).
>
>
> Precisely. Well, I'm 24, so I haven't a hand on any policies.
Gad, now I feel old. :-) I was born in '61.
>
>
>> <snip />
>>>
>>> Precisely. Such success stories must be echoed rather than have success be
>>> taken for granted. Look how a state of quiet existence leads Windows
>>> advocates in this group to suggesting a failure (notably Munich and
>>> academic institutes). Google mention nothing about their stock of
>>> Debian-type boxes. It's irrelevant. They just handle the workload.
>>>
>>> http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2005/12/08/quiet-positive-sign/
>>>
>>> Quiet is a positive sign.
>>
>> In some ways. The problem is quiet can equate to nonexistence (and
>> certainly to non-perceptance); "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".
>>
>> <snip />
>
>
> This argument can be extrapolated to account for Linux usage myths. You
> rarely have a Linux box brought to an engineer or a shop.
And one wonders why.
[1] Linux users can fix their own problems?
[2] Linux systems rarely break down?
[3] Linux systems are bought with better hardware?
[4] Linux system owners think shops can't figure out what's going on?
[5] All of the above?
Not that it's a bad thing but it does appear complicated. :-)
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Roy
>
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Windows Vista. Because everyone wants a really slick-looking 8-sided wheel.
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