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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<H1><font color="maroon">Winning the Battle for the Desktop</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:dfield58@earthlink.net">Dennis Field</a></H4>
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<P>Last month
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(<A HREF="../issue72/field.html">Battle for the Desktop: Why Linux Isn't Winning</A>, issue 72),
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I recounted my misadventures in trying to install Linux onto an IBM ThinkPad, and
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called several unnamed venders to task for failing to provide adequate documentation and/or
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customer support. Or testing their software before releasing it, but that's a different story . . .</P>
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<P>Well, I actually sold that laptop to a fellow writer (who is perfectly happy with it running
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WordPerfect under W*ndows 98 Second Edition). I am currently looking for a slightly newer ThinkPad that will support
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booting directly from a CD. I haven't found one yet, because I'm on a tight budget and, given my
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previous experience, I want to get something that is at least marginally capable of running
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Windows XP. Yes, I know I just used the "W" word again (for those wishing to stone me, there's
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a pile of rocks to your left. Anyone wishing to lynch me, however, must supply their own rope).</P>
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<P>As far as distributions go, I'm waiting for the latest version of Libranet Linux (due at the end of
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the month, although they've already delayed the release once - apparently wishing to make sure it
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works before they ship it. What a novel idea!). They are the one vender from last month's article
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that actually bothered to answer my email, or to publish their hardware requirements.
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Meanwhile, I downloaded their old version so I can try it out on my desktop before purchasing
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the new release. Libranet is based on Debian, and I have heard that Debian actually provides
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some of the documentation I keep ranking about. If any other venders are already providing the
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documentation and support I'm referring to, then please understand that this article is directed at
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those venders who aren't - which is the majority of them, in my experience.</P>
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<P>Windows XP is now out, and I continue to be amazed at the opportunity that Linux venders have
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squandered. After I couldn't find a functional version of Linux (remember, that pile of rocks is
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to your left), I was forced to upgrade my home PC to XP. XP doesn't really do anything 98
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wasn't supposed to be able to do, although I've been running it for almost three weeks now and
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only had it crash twice (a record for a Microsoft product!). Both times it even rebooted itself
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without locking up. But Microsoft's infamous Product Activation and obnoxious attempts to
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hijack everything in the world even vaguely related to computers have continued to sour people
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on the idea of even trying XP. If any Linux vender had a functional OS, packaged with a good
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suite of business applications, they could be eating Microsoft's lunch right now.</P>
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<P>The first and foremost step in winning the battle against Microsoft will be to introduce a concept
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which is apparently entirely unknown in the Linux community. This revolutionary new strategy
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is called Customer Service. No, by this I do not mean the customer is always right (I work in a
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retail store, remember?). Nor do I mean that Linux should be made into an
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idiot-proof, one-size-fits-all Windows clone that does all your thinking for
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you - whether you want it to or not. What I mean is that the objective, goal
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and overall attitude of those wishing to advance Linux should be
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<EM>to meet their customer's needs.</EM> Listen closely here, because there's something that a lot of Linux
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people are currently not understanding: The objective is <STRONG><EM>not</EM></STRONG><EM></EM> to get the software on the CD. <EM>The
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objective is for the customer, i.e.; the end user, to be able to successfully use that software in his
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business, life, Conquest of the Galaxy. Whatever.</EM></P>
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<P>In the late Douglas Adam's science-fiction satire <EM>Life, the Universe and
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Everything</EM>, he introduces a whimsical invention called the "SEP Field"
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(chapter 3). He begins by explaining that to make something (say, a mountain)
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truly invisible is both infinitely complex and requires fantastic amounts of
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energy. But if you erect a cheap and simple SEP Field around the mountain, "then
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people will walk past the mountain, around it, even over it and simply never
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notice the thing is there. An SEP is something that we can't see, or don't
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see, or our brain won't let us see, because we think that it's somebody else's
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problem. That's what SEP means. Somebody Else's Problem. The brain just edits
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it out; it's like a blind spot. If you look at it directly you won't see it
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unless you know precisely what it is."</P>
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<P>Well, apparently there are a lot of Douglas Adams fans in the world of Linux. Because the single
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most common response I got from those who objected to last month's article was that I was
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blaming vender's for things beyond their control. This is a view that is certainly shared by the
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venders themselves: Your software doesn't install? That's not our problem! There are no
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instructions telling you how to configure our firewall? Too bad! The software works, but you
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can't get it to do what you want? Well, figure it out yourself! What? You want us to tell you if
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Linux will work with your hardware before you buy it? Well, that's certainly not very reasonable
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of you to expect that level of service!</P>
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<P>Now, for the record, I will concede that if it's an obscure printer that only 3 people in the world
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are using, then it's probably never going to get supported. In which case, you should at least be
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able to tell your customers that it's not supported, so they won't waste their time trying to get it to
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work. But the real bottom line is that this doesn't solve the user's problem. And if you're honest
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you will have to admit that the attitude of dismissing users valid problems as being Somebody
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Else's Problem covers a whole lot more than just print drivers in the world of Linux.</P>
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<P>Am I being unreasonable in expecting venders to actually solve their
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customers problems? Many of you have said that the Linux venders are not
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responsible for third-party problems. Well, let me tell you a little story:
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Last year, everyone in our office chipped in and got our boss a Handspring
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Visor for Christmas. The first week he had it, he installed some third party
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software that wiped out the USB connection in his Windows box. We called the
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third party vender and they denied all knowledge of the problem and had no idea
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how to fix it. We then called Handspring and explained that the Visor connected
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just fine until we installed Somebody Else's software, and now it wouldn't
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connect at all. We'd already tried uninstalling the third party software, we'd
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tried reinstalling the Windows USB drivers, we even deleted all references to
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the bad software from the Windows registry. Still no USB connection. Did
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Handspring have any ideas? Their response was: "No problem, we've done this
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before". Their phone tech then preceded to lead my boss, step by step, thru
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opening the Windows registry, finding an obscure entry and editing it. The tech
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then cheerfully waited while the computer was rebooted to make sure that the
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problem was fixed. Now, Handspring is <EM>not</EM> responsible for Windows, and
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they are certainly not responsible for the third party software that caused the
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problem. <EM>But Handspring knows that the value of their product depends upon
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being able to connect it to a PC.</EM> So they make it a point to know
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how to fix connection problems instead of just blaming them on someone else.
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The last that I heard, Handspring was selling Visors as fast as they could
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build them, largely to business people. These same business people won't take
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a copy of Linux for free. So which approach do you think is more effective? Let
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me give you a hint: We now have a total of six Visors in our office, and zero
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Linux boxes.</P>
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<P>Wait! Stop. I can already hear your screams of protest. Every Linux vender on the planet is now
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getting ready to email me to explain that they don't have the resources to do that! Maybe IBM
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can afford to have world-class Customer Service, but the poor little Linux venders and software
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companies can't even afford to have anyone answer the phone now. How are they supposed to
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provide support for their customers? Well, I have a solution for them. You see, there's this
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newfangled invention called the "Internet". People can build something called a "website" and
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post information on it. What? You've already got a website? Well, let's give it a little test: Go to
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ibm.com, look up a model of computer and see how much information IBM provides to help
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their customers use it. Now go to a couple of Linux sites and see how much information they
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provide. Oops. I hear more screams of protest. You are now yelling "Do I have any idea what it
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costs to build and maintain a professional quality website like IBM's?" Well, perhaps not
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(although if IBM has more money to spend on website development than you make, then they
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must be doing <EM>something</EM> right <g>). But I do know a way the smallest Linux vender can
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compete with IBM in terms of information available, if not polish and web graphics.</P>
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<P>Again, the key to IBM's website is not that they manufacture their own servers. The key is that
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IBM is concerned with making sure that their customers have <EM>whatever it takes to use the
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products</EM>. IBM doesn't just say "Well, we built a perfectly good laptop, it's not our problem if you
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can't get it to work". IBM makes sure that you <EM>can</EM> get it to work. In like manner, I propose that
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Linux venders build support websites with two key features:</P>
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<P>1) The vender should post current information on their distribution's file structure, boot
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options, port assignments, common command line switches, etc. This should also include
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professional HOWTO's on installing a new X server, recompiling the kernel, trouble shooting
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network problems and any other common difficulties. Isn't this all available on the net? Yes, and
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every HOWTO on the net includes the disclaimer "This works with SUSE, but I don't know about
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Red Hat" or "I tried this with version 5.1, but 5.2 does it differently". The vender is the one who
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knows both the file structure and correct procedures for that <EM>specific</EM> version. And that is the
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information people <EM>need</EM> to have. One of the great strengths of Linux is that you can work on it
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yourself. But if you were trying to fix the engine in a '96 model Mercedes, how would you feel if
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the Mercedes factory sent you a repair manual for an '84 model Ford along with a note that said
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"Well, this is pretty close, maybe you can just figure out the differences"?</P>
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<P>2) But the venders can't possibly test every piece of hardware, or know every different
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network configuration! So they shouldn't even try to offer user support, right? WRONG! The
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second feature that needs to be on the vender's website is an area where users can post HOWTO's of
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their own. Again, this information needs to be version specific. Not just how to install <EM>some</EM>
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printer under <EM>some</EM> version of Linux, but detailed, step by step instructions for how to install a
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Canon BJC250 with distribution 6.5. That way the first person with a BJC250 can pass the
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correct settings on to everyone else (otherwise everybody is forced to reinvent the wheel). But
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the Internet is already loaded with Linux HOWTOs. Why add more? Several reasons. Aside from
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version specific information, having the HOWTO's submitted to the vender for posting means the
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vender can, if not test each one, at least visually inspect all HOWTO's for apparent errors before
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posting them. Which at least prevents some joker from telling newbies that the first step in
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installing a printer is to reformat the hard drive <g>. This would also represent a tremendous
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research tool for the venders. By adding a couple of radio buttons for user feedback, each HOWTO
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could be rated (on a scale of 1 to 5) on both whether the HOWTO addressed the user's problem and
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also how well it solved the problem. That way if a vender gets only 5 hits a month on how to
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handle MP3 files, but 200 hits on how to burn CD's, then the vender can tell what to improve or
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add in the next version. And if only half of the people trying to burn CD's actually succeeded,
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then maybe that problem needs to be fixed. This feedback would also make the HOWTO's
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self-correcting. HOWTO's that consistently solve people's problems could be made a permanent
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part of the vender's documentation, possibly even be put into the man pages. Any HOWTO reported
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as unhelpful or counter productive could be dropped.</P>
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<P>If I were a vender, I would carry this idea one step further. Whenever anyone submitted a HOWTO
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that got positive user feedback, I would send the person who submitted it token of appreciation
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(a toy penguin, or a pen with the company logo, or a baseball cap with "Linux Software Team"
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embroidered on it). Does anyone doubt that in less than a month there would contests among
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your more technically inclined customers (notice I didn't say Computer Geeks ) to see who could
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collect the most pens, caps, whatever. As a vender, I would encourage this by giving a special
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prize (T-shirt, jacket, Handspring Visor) to whoever submitted the best written and/or useful
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HOWTO each month. Wouldn't that cost a lot of money? Well, let's see. If someone spends 10
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hours researching and solving a problem for your customers, and you give them a $5 baseball
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cap, then you've gotten expert technical support for 50 cents an hour. </P>
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<P>Many of you are now saying that I'm just being silly. After all, there are all kinds of Linux users
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groups, mailing lists and clubs already out there. Why should a vender waste his precious time
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hosting one more? The answer is: Because of your customer, that's why. Imagine for a moment
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that you are the CEO of amazon.com and you've just learned that your server has crashed. You
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call the head of your IT Dept. and ask "What happened? How soon can we be back up?" The
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head of your IT Dept. tells you "Beats me. I have no idea what happened. But I'll start asking
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around with some friends of mine, and maybe one of them can think of something in a few
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days?" How long do you think the head of that IT Dept would have a job? Allow me to let you in
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on a secret: If some little one man operation with a single printer is using your software to make
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a living, then keeping that lone printer running is just as important to him as amazon.com's web
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server is to them. Users groups are wonderful resources for learning, sharing solutions to
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problems, etc. But the bottom line is that it's the venders who are responsible for keeping their
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product working. And if the customers can't trust the venders to take that responsibility
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seriously, then they're not going to buy the software.</P>
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<P>And unless I'm mistaken, the people who are now yelling that they don't have time to build a
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useful website were the same ones who were yelling a few minutes ago that they can't keep up
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with the Customer Service demands they've already got. Well, everybody that can find the
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information they need on your website is one less person phoning your understaffed Customer
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Service Dept.. And if the customer does phone anyway, then which takes less time: Explaining
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something to him on the phone (and hoping he takes good enough notes to actually do it), or
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looking it up on your own site and emailing him printed directions to solve his problem? And as
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for not being able to afford to provide Customer Service? Well, several of the larger commercial
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venders are now charging for Customer Support. Unfortunately, what none of them have figured
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out yet, is that you have to actually <EM>provide</EM> the support in order for customers to be willing to
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pay for it! </P>
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<P>In closing I would like to say, for the record, that I am NOT attacking Linux. I like Linux (and
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will probably enjoy it even more once I find a distribution that actually works <g>). And I think
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everyone would be better off if Microsoft had some serious competition. But so far, the best
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explanation that I can come up with for the behavior of most Linux venders is that they are
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secretly owned by Bill Gates. Because Microsoft couldn't come up with a better strategy to
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protect it's market share than what many Linux venders are already doing!</P>
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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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<P> The author is currently in hiding at a secret location, after having
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narrowly escaped an angry mob of torch-waving penguins.</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 73 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 2001</H5>
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