From: dna@nntpxfer.psi.com (James Botte) Subject: Re: The best way to "support Linux"! Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 05:19:31 GMT
In article <93080.211349K11111I@ALIJKU11.BITNET> <K11111I@ALIJKU11.BITNET> writes:
rahayden@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (R Andrew Hayden) writes:
>D) Market the hell out of linux. Once 1.0 becomes a reality, Linux
>should be pushed as much as possible on the net and in the real world as
>an alternative to DOS/Windows, Windows NT, and OS/2.
Why should somebody switch over. Changing OS costs companies a lot of money
(installation, training, software adaptation,....).
There are some basic needs a professional used OS should deliver.
(read k11111I: Re: Linux is not a real OS /Linux Foundation).
Linux leaks many of them.
If somebody should switch, Linux must have a real big advantage compared to the
other OS. And the price is absolutely *not* imprortant.
Most of the costs of a computer in a company are training costs
(57 percent), then support (12 percent), administration (14 percent) and the
last thing is hard- and software (=hardware+OS+applications)
(17 percent).
I think a company will switch (maybe to Linux) because this can bring down the
costs for administration and support and development. But when this means that
the users have to use a different word-processing application (most used is
word, wordperfect, exc
›el, 1-2-3-,...), the costs for user-training for the new applications (if there
are) will be much more than they can reduce costs in support and admin.. So they
will still use MS-DOS and Windows (or switch to OS/2 or Windows NT, there are no
training cost
›).
But if you can produce a look-alike, which does first the basic (and most used)
services, you can avoid trainig costs (for the Windows users). And the companies
will switch (if support is better and admin/progr. easier).
>E) Encourage commercial software developers to write Linux software.
>Obviously it is best to wait for 1.0 so that they would all have a commom
>programming platform, but copies of Linux could be supplied to various
>companies that would be interested in developing. Numbers garnered >from the
"registered users list" could be used as a basis for the size of the
>Linux population.
There would be never *Linux 1.0*, just the kernel 1.00. And this is in the
responsibility of Linus. But Linus is just one part of the complete Linux. There
are so many other parts. And they all have to work together.
There should be a *coach* which assembles a -=collection=-. And this collection
could be promoted and supported for commercial use.
And there could be many coaches and many Linux Collections.
** read k11111i at alijku11 for my suggestions**.
>F) Conduct polls via the registered list of what future enhancements are
>required and desired and pass those on to a list of registered developers
>(both commercial and GNU/Shareware).
Cold be done by the coaches.
======================================================
Software is not a product,
you cant sell it.
Software is a stored service,
you should pay for the use you get out of it,
afterward, voluntary, if you are satisfied.
If you want to use a software,
you have to learn how.
This is your investment.
If you doesnt pay the author
for using the programm,
he will stop supporting you
and stop improving the programm.
You will loose your investment.
(c) 93 by ED
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