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351 lines
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<H4 ALIGN="center">
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<H1><font color="maroon">Battle for the Desktop: Why Linux Isn't Winning</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:dfield58@earthlink.net">Dennis Field</a></H4>
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<P> Linux has several advantages over Windows; it's more stable,
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cheaper (free, if you're able to download it), comes with tons of free
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software and will happily run on systems too small for Windows. So why
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isn't Linux being used on most of the PCs in the world?
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<P> Some would say that the problem is that Linux is too clunky and
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difficult to use. While command-line Linux is certainly not for everyone,
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modern distributions include self-mounting CDs, drag & drop
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functionality and other modern conveniences. There are still some rough
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edges to be smoothed out, but for the average web surfer or office worker a
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Gnome or KDE desktop is little different than Windows. So, again, why aren't
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more people using Linux? Perhaps my experiences will help to explain. The
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story you are about to read is true; only the names have been changed to
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protect the inept.
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<P> I work in a medium-sized bookstore (20 employees, 2.5+ million a
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year). We are currently using an old DOS based Point of Sale system, but
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there will be a web-based system out next year. Since this new system is
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calling for Windows XP capable PC's for every cash register, this is a
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considerable investment for us. However, I would estimate that we could
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save $300-$400 per terminal in both licenses and reduced hardware costs by
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using Linux instead. It also happens that I needed a portable workstation
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for my desk (I'm trying to develop an email newsletter for our store). So I
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decided to get a laptop to install Linux into, thinking that this would
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give an opportunity to both learn more Linux myself and show off Linux to
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everyone at work - trying to sell my manager on a non-Windows OS. Then,
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when our new POS system gets up to the sales demonstration stage
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(i.ei; beta test), I'd already have a Linux workstation ready to hook up to
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it. Since it's supposed to be web-based, hopefully one or more of the web
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browsers common to Linux should be able to interface with it correctly.
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Whether our office server would work using the Apache web server is an
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entirely different question, but the individual terminals throughout our
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store are supposed to be, basically, web browsers.
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<P> I began by researching different Linux distributions, quickly
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narrowing it down to one of the best known names in Linux, because they
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promised secure server/credit card processing support (which we would
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eventually need for our web-based cash registers) and were actively pushing
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a monthly service and support contract. Our POS system literally runs our
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whole store, so we can't afford to just lock the doors and send everybody
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home whenever we have a technical problem. I'll call this distribution
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"Commercial Linux", because that's the market they were clearly aiming for.
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<P> Since I couldn't afford a new laptop, I started looking on eBay
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and finally found an old IBM Thinkpad for under $200 (the low price largely
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due to the lack of a CD-ROM drive). A quick search on Google revealed lots
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of people happily using various flavors of Linux on the exact model I was
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getting. I already knew that Linux can commonly be installed in half a
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dozen different ways - indeed, you can almost tie a wet string between two
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monitors and install it over that - but before bidding I checked with
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"Commercial Linux" and verified that a CD-ROM wasn't listed as a system
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requirement. I also purchased a PCMCIA Ethernet card, again after checking
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with "Commercial Linux's" Hardware Compatibility List and finding it listed
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as both "supported and easily installed".
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<P> I installed "Commercial Linux" on my home desktop PC and was very
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impressed with the software. Plug & Play nearly on a par with Microsoft,
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a definitely improved desktop, etc. The printer setup would have gone more
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smoothly with better instructions, but after a few tries I has able to get
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Linux to print. I set up an ftp sever, copied the install files to it and
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confidently tried to install "Commercial Linux" into my newly acquired
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laptop.
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<P> Plan A: I hooked both desktop & laptop into an Ethernet cable and
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inserted the PCMCIA boot disk into my laptop. I soon found out that my 3com
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PCMCIA card is supported by the Linux kernel, but not by the PCMCIA boot
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disk - not much use with a blank hard disk in my laptop. Neither the
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"Commercial Linux" web site nor their beautifully laid out and well
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illustrated installation manual contains a list of which network cards
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actually are supported by the PCMCIA boot disk.
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<P> Plan B: The "Commercial Linux" on my desktop contains a PLIP
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server and their boot disk contains a PLIP driver. So I hooked up a
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parallel port, ie; laplink cable and tried to do a network install. Guess
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what? "Commercial Linux" doesn't provide any instructions on how to do a
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network install. Their web site doesn't show it, their printed installation
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guide doesn't explain it, and if you email them the question, you'll be
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told that your two months of customer support (for which I paid $80)
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doesn't cover network installs. So I spent a week trying every possible
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option and configuration I could think and never got any connection at all.
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It occurred to me early on that the "Commercial Linux" firewall, which
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their installation software set up by default, was probably cutting off the
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connection. Guess what? The "Commercial Linux" firewall program doesn't
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contain any detailed instructions on how to configure the firewall. I
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searched for "firewall" on "Commercial Linux's" web site. The most current
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listing they had was generic information from three software versions
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earlier. After wasting several more days trying to configure a firewall
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without instructions, I gave up and simply reinstalled my desktop Linux
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without a firewall. I again tried every possible option and configuration I
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could think of on the PLIP server (which - big surprise - also had no
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instructions) and still never got any network connection at all. In
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searching the Internet, I finally found a third party web site that
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mentioned that "Commercial Linux" no longer supports PLIP installs (a fact
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which I confirmed by phoning them, but have never found listed anywhere on
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"Commercial Linux's" own web site).
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<P> Plan C: I could use my trusty Laplink cable to copy the
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installation files into my laptop and simply do a hard drive install.
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Sounds fairly straightforward, right? However, when I tried that, I found
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out several things: While most Linux distributions let you simply copy the
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directory structure onto the target hard drive, "Commercial Linux" makes
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you copy an ISO9660 image file of their entire installation CD onto the
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hard drive. To make matters worse, "Commercial Linux" put some of the
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required packages on their second CD. So you have to copy almost 1.4GB of
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installation files! (Windows 98SE requires less than 400MB, other Linux
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distributions require less than 100MB of installation files for a complete
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desktop system). In my case, my laptop, which exceeds the published system
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requirements, doesn't have enough room for both the "Commercial Linux"
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installation files and the Linux OS both at the same time. At the risk of
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being truly redundant, neither the necessary procedure, nor the list of
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required files, nor the actual disk space requirements were explained on
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"Commercial Linux's" web site or in their installation manual. And when I
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telephoned to ask them about it, their Customer Service people gave me the
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wrong information. Seeking to get some OS on my laptop, I tried Windows
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instead. I had never done a hard drive install of Windows, either, but I
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simply copied the cab files over, clicked "install" and Windows installed
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itself with nary a hiccup.
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<P> Meanwhile, I played with "Commercial Linux" on my desktop. The
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factory CDs contained three different versions of StarOffice: not one of
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them installed correctly. There was no information on their web site as to
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any problem with StarOffice, much less how to fix the problem. A quick
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web search revealed several other irate "Commercial Linux" users who had
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already concluded that StarOffice simply wasn't compatible with the latest
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release of "Commercial Linux". I tried another word processor (again from
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the factory CD). This one installed correctly, but as soon as I launched
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it, it totally locked up my computer - keyboard and all. Warm booting my PC
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destroyed the file system so badly that Linux wouldn't even boot! By this
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point I was beginning to suspect that "Commercial Linux" never bothered to
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test the 3rd party software they ship to see if it even works on their own OS!
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<P> All told, I have asked "Commercial Linux" five installation
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questions. I have received a total of three wrong answers, one flat refusal
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to even discuss my problem and one failure to return an email. And it's not
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just "Commercial Linux", either. I e-mailed four other Linux distributions,
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asking each of them if they supported a hard drive install. Two of them never
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responded at all, the third one emailed me back the next day saying that they
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categorically refused to answer any questions unless I first gave them my
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product registration number. Only one Linux distribution actually took the
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time to answer my question. (guess which distribution I'm going to buy next
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time?).
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<P> In stark contrast, IBM has done a wonderful job of supporting
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their Thinkpad laptops. My 760E was built during the transition between
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Windows 3.x & 95. IBM's web site has a complete set of device drivers for
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both OS's (including software patches for 98), exhaustive documentation,
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installation notes, troubleshooting guides and a search engine that
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actually finds what you're looking for - all freely available for public
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search & download.
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<P> In some respects, Linux already has better documentation than
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Windows ever thought about providing. There is an internal manual ("man
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pages") built into Linux. There are lots of external instructions
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("HOWTOs") written by experienced users, explaining "how to" do all kinds
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things with Linux. Any distribution that cared to could build upon these
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resources and provide expanded and customized help files (specific to their
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own distribution) to answer common questions regarding program operation,
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server set-up, etc. Apparently this idea has never occurred to anyone.
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<P> Perhaps it is because Linux has traditionally been sold to, well,
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basically computer geeks. People who either enjoy tinkering with computers
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as a hobby, or who were already experienced UNIX administers. Consequently,
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I believe that many of the people who make Linux distributions have fallen
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into the practice of thinking: "Okay, we put the software on the CD for
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you. It's not our concern if the software actually works or whether you
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have the information you need to use it. We did our part. Now send us the
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money". These same people then wonder why they are unsuccessful at selling
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Linux to either the general public or to the small business market.
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<P> Earth calling Software Vendors! It doesn't do any good to
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distribute your software if it doesn't work or if your customers don't have
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the basic details needed to operate it. Here's a couple of really Wild &
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Radical ideas for Linux vendors: first, test the cotton-pickin' software
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before you release it! It may not be possible to test every video driver,
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but it certainly is possible to test if the software you're shipping
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installs into the correct directory and doesn't have any obvious
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incompatibly with the OS. I'm sure many venders try to do this, and
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are no doubt caught between the conflicting demands of constant testing
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for reliability and trying to hurry out the latest and greatest software. But
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as a business user, I would far rather wait a few weeks longer for the
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software to be released and have everything <B> work.</B> If smaller
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venders don't have the resources needed for comprehensive testing,
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then please A) note what software hasn't been tested, and B) maybe
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include general installation procedures, directory paths, etc. so users
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have some chance of fixing packages that don't install correctly.
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<P> Secondly, provide adequate documentation! Let me challenge the
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vendors to a simple test: Take a laptop down to your local community
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college. Go into the Computer Science building and select three or four
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students at random who do NOT know Linux. Offer to buy them all pizza if
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they will attempt to install and/or operate some software for you (based
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only on whatever documentation you provide to your users). If they can't at
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least begin to get a handle on it by the time the pizza is cooked, then YOU
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are not providing enough information! No, I am NOT talking about another
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"Guide to Linux". Linux itself is well documented. The individual
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distributions, however, provide barely enough information to let you
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install them - after that, you're on your own. And most Linux applications
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include a header file saying what the program is intended to do, but giving
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few, if any, clues as to how to get the program to do it. Almost all modern
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software templates include places for both general help files and context
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sensitive help. Few programmers use them. If several of the largest Linux
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vendors made it a policy to not accept 3rd party software unless it
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includes basic built-in documentation, then they could raise the bar for
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the whole Linux community.
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<P> Oh, and my laptop? I downloaded a small distribution off the
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Internet, I'll call it "Mom&Pop Linux", which did know what a hard drive
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install is. Instead of an Installation Manual laid out by a graphic
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designer, they had a typical Linux "HOWTO";i.e., four text pages of friendly
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notes. Following the directions installed Linux flawlessly into my laptop.
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Well, almost flawlessly. It turns out the boot loader in "Mom&Pop Linux"
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doesn't work. It also turns out that they were apparently switching over
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from tarballs to RPMs and, perhaps as a result, I can't load any new
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programs into the laptop. Sigh. Being able to both boot the computer and
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install programs were two things I was really hoping for in an operating
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system. But I did at least prove that Linux can operate on my Thinkpad.
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<P> By this time, I was now two months behind in my project at work.
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Searching through IBM's web site, I learned that the addition of a docking
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station would allow my laptop to have a (non-bootable) CD-ROM drive and a
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(bootable) floppy at the same time. A little more shopping at eBay and I
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found the necessary hardware. This put me 50% over budget, but at last I
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would have a functional Linux laptop!! I happily installed "Commercial
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Linux" from their CDs, already knowing the correct settings for the X
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window setup from my earlier install of "Mom&Pop" Linux. Guess what??
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"Commercial Linux's" X server doesn't work in my laptop. They list the
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video chip as supported. I double checked all the settings, but all I get
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when I type "startx" is a page and a half of error listings. Based on my
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experience with "Commercial Linux" to date, I have little hope of finding
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the information needed to fix the problem on their web site. And their tech
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support won't even talk to me, because my 60 days of installation support
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has expired.
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<P> As far as our bookstore is concerned, I do not currently believe
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Linux to be a viable alternative for any small business. Even if I did, I
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doubt I could ever convince my manager that "Commercial Linux" is capable
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of supporting our office network, since they have already demonstrated that
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they are not capable of supporting an installation into an IBM Thinkpad!
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<P> Oddly enough, I still believe that Linux is a good Operating System,
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and I am continuing my search for a functional distribution. But so far,
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the only OS that will actually operate in my Thinkpad is Windows. I would
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rather be running Linux (Indeed, once Windows XP becomes dominant, I will
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have to either run Linux in my laptop or else throw it away). I believe
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there are a lot of other business people who would like to run Linux as
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well. But it's not going to happen until some of the Linux vendors get
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their act together.
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<P> Let me offer an analogy: Suppose you were looking for a car, and
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you heard about this great new sports car that got 50MPG and only cost $5000!
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But when you went to buy one, you were told it didn't have any tires, and
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there was no alternator (so you had to figure out some other way to keep the
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battery charged) and, oh also, don't drive it too fast because the brakes
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don't work. And if this car ever breaks, then you'll need to find your own
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spare parts and try to fix it yourself, because the dealer that sells the
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cars refuses to work on them. Would you buy that car? More importantly, would
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you recommend that car to somebody that needs reliable transportation to get
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to work tomorrow? Does this sound far-fetched? Well, that's exactly what many
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Linux vendors are telling the people who buy their software. Getting back to
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my automotive analogy, these same vendors will then loudly complain that
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Chevrolet is being unfair because they put radios in their cars as standard
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equipment. Well, maybe people aren't buying Chevys because they have built-in
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radios. Maybe people are buying Chevys because they have tires and the
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dealers are willing to fix the cars if they don't work! Likewise, maybe
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people are also buying Windows because it works out of the box (well, mostly
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works, anyway), and Microsoft at least <I>tries</I> to offer support when it
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doesn't work.
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<!-- *** BEGIN bio *** -->
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<SPACER TYPE="vertical" SIZE="30">
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<P>
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<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Dennis Field</H4>
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<EM>My first encounter with a computer was when my high school got an
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old IBM 1130 (which had a whopping 8k of main memory!), and I've been
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playing with computers off and on since then. My first home computer was as
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Amstrad, which ran C/PM and came complete with a revolutionary 3" floppy
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disk drive (yes, you read that right<g>). Although I've had one college
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course each in both C and Linux, I still consider myself a Linux newbie.
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However, I am a fan of Linux, and would be delighted to see Linux start
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providing some mainstream competition to Microsoft. But doing so will
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require more than just technical achievement or even a user-friendly
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interface. It will require somebody providing some real customer service
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and support.</EM>
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<!-- *** END bio *** -->
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<P> <hr> <!-- P -->
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
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Copyright © 2001, Dennis Field.<BR>
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 72 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, November 2001</H5>
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