Re: When Will GNU/Linux Be Ready for Joe User?

[Paul Bramscher]

Simon wrote:

> I'm doing a survey.
>
> When do you think GNU/Linux will be ready for the average Joe?  What
> obstacles must it overcome first?

It's already far easier (and far, far more powerful) to work with than 
DOS or Win3.1, both of which were supposedly "ready for the average Joe" 
in their time.  So if linux isn't ready today, then we might begin to 
ask whether Average Joe has dumbed down in the past 10-20 years.

Linux faces challenges that other OS's don't because it doesn't cripple 
the hardware or server daemons to the extent that M$ does.  If all you 
want to do is word process and browse the web, then Red Hat, SuSE and 
other distros are already ready for the average Joe.  A point-and-click 
installation and you're done.

But if you want to set up a load-balanced web server, database server, 
SSL certificate, ssh or sftp services, etc. then there are additional 
considerations and skillsets -- regardless of OS -- that need to be 
considered.  WindowsXP is easier in this regard because it simply 
cripples a lot of that out.

The other problem with linux is that, as an open source OS, it can be 
custom compiled and there's a lot of technical -- and totally 
unintuitive -- jargon surrounding it.  This is a good thing for expert 
users and people concerned about security, development, openness, etc. 
-- but presents a big worry to the neophyte who thinks he'll need to 
learn perl/c/bash in order to send an e-mail.  Just not true, but it's 
possible if you want -- and that's a strength not a weakness.  The linux 
community just needs to make it known that setting up a box equivalent 
in functionality to an XP installation is basically point-and-click with 
more than one distro.