[lug] my latest guilty pleasure -- Linuxhaters Blog

[Bear Giles]

Elyse M. Grasso wrote:
> On Tuesday 29 July 2008, Nate Duehr wrote:
>   
>> Also curious:  Could she have loaded that machine herself with the 
>> distro you're using and ended up with the same desktop you set her up 
>> with... with a single "go do it" mouse click?
>>
>> That's the goal... if we want people to use Linux.
>>     
> I think that's a false requirement: 98% of the ofice people I've dealt with in 
> the past few years, and half the 'technical' people, do not and usually 
> cannot  set up their own Windows boxes. They just use whatever the IT 
> department sets up for them. 
>   
What, you mean you don't make your own new car with a (large) gift 
certificate at AutoZone?  Or treat your kid's cavity with a cordless 
drill and some spackle?

Seriously, the whole point of a mature ecosystem is that you have 
specialization -- which includes the ability to drop specialized 
knowledge since you can trust others to provide it.  You don't want easy 
installation, you want it to be a moot point for the vast majority of users.

You didn't have that a decade ago with Linux.  You do now -- you can get 
it preinstalled from some vendors, or go to an installfest, or simply 
hire somebody.