Michael Pobega wrote:
Andrew Sackville-West wrote:[...] I think in reality Debian doesn't cater to a lot of people's needs
On the other hand, there must be a lot of people who would find Debian a great solution if only they could get started.
(The more common desktop user just wants Beryl and eye candy, whereas Debian really offers only stability), and there's really nothing we can do about it.
This may be true for gamers and the like, but stabilty and security are surely more important for a large number of home users who buy online, bank online, use digital cameras, etc?
[...]What I'm trying to say is, if we are just a kind community and we don't lie to potential users, they will probably come back to Debian; And if they don't, they will at least have no gripes or negative things to say about it.
We can do all this and still make Debian more accessible.
The one thing I really don't understand, though, is why people use Ubuntu.
I read in a Linux magazine that Ubuntu's popularity was mainly due to a vibrant community. Well, if that is the case, Debian already has that - it just doesn't yet have much of a focus on "complete newbies" or "BDUs". I think that Douglas's ideas for "complete computer newbies" could help to fill this gap.
-- Chris.