Desktop Linux

[Jim Herrmann]

I wrote this and sent it about the time the list went down.  I felt it was 
important enough to save and resend.  I hope you enjoy reading it.

I'd just like to comment on all the threads about Linux vs. Windoze on the 
desktop.  I really think this is an important thread, or threads, that do(es) 
deserve a great deal of discussion.  The desktop environment is really 
important.  Anyone who was in IT when the PC came about should recognize 
this.  In the 80's everyone had a terminal either on their desk, or perhaps 
even in a shared room of terminals where one had to leave their desks to go 
get on the computer.  Slowly a few PCs filtered in doing stupid little 
unimportant things, and they were mostly pooh-poohed by the IT (actually back 
then it was the "DP") staff.  Those damn things will never replace the 
Mainframe/DECVax/Unix Server.  Well, the people who could afford PCs, i.e. 
upper management who had lots of disposable income, started getting PCs at 
home, and what did they run?  DOS and later Windows 3.1.  These management 
people started asking their technical people why they couldn't have one of 
those new fangled typewriters on their desk.  One thing led to another and 
the next thing you know a little known company called Micro-Soft makes a few 
clever marketing and licensing moves, and boom!  They are on the verge of 
world domination.  Don't underestimate the power of the desktop, the home 
user desktop, to influence the world of computing.

Linux is making in roads in a somewhat different way.  It is starting above 
and below the desktop.  It is a killer server OS and is also becoming a very 
important player in the upper end of embedded devices.  For Linux to make in 
roads into the desktop market, it will take grass roots support.  It will 
take people in Linux User Groups all over the world advocating the use of 
Linux to their friends, relatives, and co-workers.  It will require those 
advocates to "give back" to the open source community, from which they 
benefit so greatly, by giving a copy of Linux to some of those friends, and 
helping those friends out when they have trouble.  It means burning CDs and 
giving them away, answering phone calls, going to peoples houses to help them 
with installs, answering questions, assisting with kernel or distro version 
upgrades, demonstrating how to install a new RPM, showing them that it's not 
really that hard to do compiles in Linux (my 11 year old figured it out after 
I showed him once).  It will take time.  Calendar time, and people time.  The 
most valuable gift you can give anyone is the gift of time.  Spend some time 
talking to your friends and relatives about how great Linux is.  Spend some 
time with them helping them find that elusive video driver that allows their 
17 inch monitor to display something better than VGA.  Spend some time with 
them tracking down the library they are missing when they try to run TuxRacer 
and it fails.

I would like to challenge each and every one of you on this list to set as a 
goal, to help at least 10 people to convert to Linux by Christmas of 2002.  
That's less than one each month.  If every one of you did that, there would 
be at least 2000 *new* Linux users in KC by next year.  If every one of those 
did the same thing the following year, there would be 14000, and in five 
years, if this trend continued, the entire city would be converted to Linux.

I realize that's a bit over optimistic, but I think you see my point.  Linux 
is a great OS, and a pretty damn fine desktop operating system!  Tell 
everyone you know.  Make them aware that there is an alternative to the 
M$-Hell they've been in.  Let them know that they *can* say NO to paying 
continuing extortion fees, and that you can help them make the switch.  In 
fact tell them about KCLUG, and that we'll ALL help them make the switch!  :-)

Advocate freedom!

Peace, Love, Linux, and Happy Holidays,
Jim Herrmann
President, Heart of America DB2 Users Group