> -----Original Message-----
> From: Graeme Fowler [mailto:graeme@graemef.net]
> Sent: 10 October 2001 10:37
> To: 'nottingham@lists.lug.org.uk'
> Subject: RE: [nottingham] proposed intro to Linux evening
>
>
> On Wed, 10 Oct 2001, Neil Stevenson wrote:
> > Home users like to think that they dont need to know much to use
> > their computer.
>
> Sadly, yes. This is where any Unix-alike (whether it be a Linux or BSD
> based system) starts to frighten people off. Type commands?
> This is the
> 21st Century, dammit!
>
> > Business users will want to see a migration route to something that
> > costs them less or brings them more bang for their buck,
> but also need
> > to know its reliable.
>
> ...which for many is where 'alternate' OS systems (whichever)
> win hands
> down.
WE already know this! The trick is to demonstrate it without being
condescending. You sorta say "Hey, your already using something great - but
let me show you this, it'll blow your mind"
>
> > - Use wine or VMware to show Outlook Express (or Eudora or whatever
> > e-mail program will work) running on a linux X-terminal.
> You can show
> > other stuff running too - the home user gets to see how comfortable
> > and cosy life could be and business users get to see
> they're not tied
> > to Microsoft.
>
> Ah. So using VMWare, which OS would you use in the container, exactly?
> While that might be a clever demo of functionality, it doesn't clearly
> remove the 'tie to Microsoft'. And Wine, I think, would
> frighten people.
> The last time I used it - at the weekend, I use it to dump
> data off of my
> decompression computer after diving - it spat out loads of
> debug info to
> the xterm I ran it from...
The trick is to show the un-enlightened that they'll still be able to sit in
their comfort zone. Lets face it, if any of them ditched their windows
system, they'd never use Outlook express to read their mail, they'd use
Kmail or Netscape or summat like that.
>
> > - Show some of the stuff that Windows is crap at
>
> Memory protection. Show how easy it is to trip it up, and how damned
> difficult it is under Linux.
>
> > - Show off some of the _really_ polished Linux stuff; KDE and Gnome,
>
> Ugh. Gnome, polished? I refer you to the quote from theregister about
> Gnome2.0, the roughcut release:
>
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/22025.html
>
> "It's a major rewrite, first announced at LinuxWorld Expo in
> August 1999
> when it was slated for a September 2000 release. The software is
> accompanied by a note warning that this initial Alpha build 'does not
> include anything of use to end users,' which at least makes
> it consistent
> with all the previous versions of GNOME Desktop we've used"
>
> Made me laugh, anyway!
>
> Still needs a *lot* of work, in my book. Whilst clever in the
> way it gives
> a desktop and stuff, I don't need a desktop. I drag and drop
> things on my
> PowerBook, not a Linux box. But then I'm probably not
> representative of
> the average user ;-)
Most folks would go "Gnome, that looks a bit like what they used in that
film 'antitrust'". It wont get used for anything serious while people are
being shown it. They'd probably end up using KDE anyway if they came from
Windows. The important thing is to show the depth to the environments; and
Gnome happens to be one of the current big ones.
>
> > StarOffice (show it loading a Word document - that'll fry
> some business
> > users who think this isn't possible), Gimp, etc. Is there
> anything stable
> > that connects to MSExchange for e-mail yet?
>
> Sort of: check out the Bynari website at
> http://www.bynari.com or instead
> http://tradeclient.sourceforge.net/
OK, plotting a course now.
>
> Neither of them do Exchange per se, but both will do
> IMAP/POP3/SMTP/LDAP
> stuff, so you can get pretty much everything your Exchange
> server gives
> you.
> Alternatively you could just use Pine+SSL & the IMAP
> functionality of your
> Exchange server. Works for me!
Then perhaps this should be demonstrated too - the business users may find
this to be just what they need; an Exchange/IIS server with a load of
workstations running StarOffice and Pine on the employees desktops - costs
them less and is more secure (except the IIS but of course, but I'm assuming
they've already spent the cash on this).
>
> > Remember the issue is not to show that Linux wins hands
> down over Windows -
> > we know it does, but telling folk they've been using the
> wrong O/S all their
> > life 'aint gonna go down too well. The whole point is to
> show users that
> > there are alternatives; and that the alternatives are
> strong enough to
> > warrant serious consideration.
>
> Why don't we pitch it slightly differently?
>
> You (as in you, the non-Linux person) tell us (NLUG) what you
> want Linux
> to do, then we'll show you it can. That way we preach the words the
> audience want to hear... probably!
Its quite hard to do that 'cos the users are bound to say 'can you show me
something to do this...' only to discover you havn't got it. I'm sure if
there is a broad range of things are on display, there will be something
that can be adapted to show them exactly what they want.
Cheers.
Neil.
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