Re: "Red Hat recommends Windows for consumers"
On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 at 01:31 GMT, ScruLoose penned:
>
> --i0/AhcQY5QxfSsSZ Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding:
> quoted-printable
>
> On Wed, Nov 05, 2003 at 05:27:11PM -0700, Monique Y. Herman wrote:
>>=20 See my post in another thread. Different people have different
>>visions for the future of linux. Not all of us care whether or not it
>>becomes a desktop leader. Not all of us want it to be easy enough to
>>use that our moms are comfortable -- not if that means sacrificing
>>security, stability, or our beloved command line and text
>>configuration files.
>
> That's a very good point. I'd like to add that Linux can already be
> easy enough to _use_ to make Mom comfortable (plunk your average
> end-user down with pre-installed KDE3, OO.o and Mozilla; I expect
> she'll be perfectly happy) , it's just not that easy to _administer_.
100% agreed. I've often thought that, if I lived anywhere near my
parents, I would install some variant of linux on their machines and
help them when necessary.
On the other hand, I think I'd have a tough time explaining to my dad
why the software that came with his camera/scanner/plug n play rutebega
won't work on his system.
On the third hand, my fiance installed debian on one of his father's
machines to act as a samba server, and his dad can't stop singing the
praises of that machine. He uses it exclusively as an internal
fileserver, but as such, it's been flawless.
> I wonder if there's a future of full-time freelance sysadmins keeping
> whole neighborhoods worth of end-users' home systems up-to-date
> remotely. Like plumbers, but for your PC...=20 (well, you can't
> un-clog a toilet over ssh, but you see what I mean)
After talking to my father about the tech support he's received at a
local shop, it occured to me that there is a market for what I jokingly
called "geriatric computer support." My father isn't *that* old, at
all, but he has certain expectations about personal interactions. He
gets annoyed at strangers addressing him by his first name, just as an
example. Sure, part of tech support is knowing your stuff, but another
part is building rapport with your customers. I wonder if you could
build a business on "old-fashioned values; high-tech know-how."
(No, you can't have that slogan! It's mine, dammit, all mine!)
--
monique
PLEASE don't CC me. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top.
Whatever it takes, just don't CC me! I'm already subscribed!!
Reply to: