Re: Users ready for Debian on the Desktop
On Thu, 2003-04-17 at 16:50, Roberto Sanchez wrote:
> >Seems to me that almost all of the objections to Debian in particular are
> >based on installation difficulties. Since most computers sold come with the
> >o/s pre-installed that issue no longer exists as soon as the vendors wake
> >up.
> >
> >Point of interest one our local Wintel vendors provides OO for Win with
> >what
> >he sells. The thin of the wedge is in.
> >
> >Bob
> >
>
> I agree that the difficulty of installing Debian should NOT be the primary
> criterion for judging its fitness for desktop use. You are also correct
> that most MS users do nt install their own OS. Getting OSMs to offer non-MS
> OSs as an alternative is a step in the right direction, but unless the
> install is so simple that the average person can do it themselves withno
> real difficulty the huge installed base of MS customers will remain out of
> reach for the time being.
I've been following this thread with some interest. I'm going from the
other side of the fence, as it were. Part of my duties at my paying job
include evaluating new technology and making adoption recommendations.
Some of the things I take into consideration when evaluating a new
product:
* Does it address a business requirement not currently met
* Does it address a business requirement that is met in a better way
(better being extremely subjective)
* What is the impact of migrating to the new product?
* If technology-related, does the development staff have the skills
necessary to leverage the new technology (i.e., if it's based on COM/VB
it probably won't get adopted in a Java shop, and vice-versa).
Issues such as cost, freedom and ease of installation tend to fall
relatively low on the priority list.
If I were evaluating a new office suite, here's some of the things I
would consider:
Can I open/import existing documents (including scripts/macros)?
Does it have features *that we would use* not in the current product
(e.g., the ability to export a Word document to PDF)?
Can it integrate with the existing solution (e.g., can I embed a
spreadsheet created with the new product into a PowerPoint presentation)
?
HTH,
Ian
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