We tried to use Vista. We (a team of 3 techs) couldn't get a brand new HP printer to work. That's a deal killer, and certainly a permanent loss of me as a user. (Note that Linux and Mac OSX had an easier time than even WinXP with this printer)
Everything is a matter of perspective. Yeah, Linux can be a pain in the arse to get up and running, but once you get it there, it stays there. Many of our users are slowly migrating away from Microsoft products to open-source alternatives, mainly because of stability and consistency.
We have roughly half of our administrative staff using a decent amount of OSS now, where 2 years ago it was just me. Every single one of them migrated by choice, and none of them are tech savvy. Granted, I'm the only one to go (almost) pure-OSS, but I imagine within the next year or two we will have a much more diverse set of platforms on campus.
~Bradley
Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
A Snow Penguin is off topic, but this intense exposure of sociological ignorance isn't?
Windows sells because Windows works. Most of the time, for most people, who need it specifically for one thing or another. Linux can be made to work better if a) you're very lucky or b) you are or have access to a Linux guru.
My dad tried Linux - I think it was a Knoppix disk I sent him - and he couldn't get his printer to work. That's a deal killer - and probably a permanent loss of a potential user. Not everybody would have an easier time using a Linux computer, even one running Gnome.
There's a reason there isn't a "College of Conservative Arts". _______________________________________________ Kclug mailing list [email protected] http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug