Re: [Fsfe-uk] An ignorant question?

[Alex Hudson]

On Thu, Jun 12, 2003 at 05:02:40PM +0100, Chris Puttick wrote:
> Now the other side of the coin; in networks where the client machines need
> securing against inappropriate user behaviour, Linux is so much easier, it
> hurts...

I think GNU on the desktop actually has a hell of a lot going for it - 
please don't misinterpret my intentions :) I just think that current
systems tend to be a bit 'little island of data'; Windows (by default)
offers a lot more in terms of overall management.

But, there is some really great stuff *in place now* that Linux kicks ass 
on; much better than any other system. Gconf, for example, is very cool, 
and has the potential of being even cooler - with a network backend, you
would be able to set network-wide prefs within the gconf framework. That
means if you wanted to send users to a different HTTP proxy, for example,
you could do that across the network on the fly - you wouldn't need to 
re-login; heck, apps wouldn't even need to be restarted, they would just
pick the change up and go with it. As a sysadmin myself also, that comes
pretty close to making me wet myself with excitement. Windows has nothing
close, and I don't think could, without third-parties buying in big time.

I really don't see why people think that GNU/Linux isn't ready for the 
desktop; it clearly is more than ready. I think we're really just talking
about consolidation at the moment, and waiting for people to get on board.
Inability to talk MS natively is going to hurt a fair bit, but that's not
our problem, and I don't think will be an issue at the end of the day 
(people still manage to use Macs, don't they?)

Cheers,

Alex.