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Linux is not ready for the mass market because average joes are not able to use the newest version of a browser? Righty right, because your average joe (a) doe

by middus 17y ago

Linux is not ready for the mass market because average joes are not able to use the newest version of a browser? Righty right, because your average joe (a) does not care about the newest version, (b) does not know what a browser is (remember that video?). Moreover, Preston Gralla does not seem to have a clue what package management is about. "Unbuntu"? Seriously?

andrew1 17y ago
He uses the word "Unbuntu" once, and the word "Ubuntu" three times. Therefore I'd imagine that "Unbuntu" was a spelling mistake, and probably doesn't have a great bearing on his knowledge of package management.
- savant 17y ago
  It does have a bearing on him being able to say that for Joe Sixpack, Linux is indeed not ready for primetime. The average Joe can probably spell "Windows Vista" and "OS X".
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - lawn 17y ago
    Sure it's his fault for not rereading and checking for typos but come on, is it really that unthinkable to accidentally type "Vitsa", "OSX" or "Unbuntu"?
- olliesaunders 17y ago
  I'd call it a typo, seeing as he demonstrated three times that he knows how to spell the word.
nailer 17y ago
> Moreover, Preston Gralla does not seem to have a clue what package management is about. He clearly does. The article is about the lack of packages for Firefox on the latest Ubuntu. Attacking a typo doesn't make this argument invalid. A web browser is the most essential piece of software on the desktop these days. FF 3.6 has significant speed increases that make users happy. If Ubuntu wants users, it should care about this.
pvg 17y ago
If you're asking an end-user to care about 'package management' then you're likely proving his point.
- middus 17y ago
  I'm not asking an end-user to care about package management, he is. He suggests that users should install new versions of software themselves instead of relying on managed packages. Someone who absolutely has to have the latest and greatest is most likely an advanced user and still can just add another source to his package manager.
  - pvg 17y ago
    Right, you know, just like current users of the popular desktop OS'es. They go, grab the latest and greatest and install it themselves, just like they usually do. And they care not a whit what 'package management is' nor what 'adding sources' means. He's saying having to care about package management is antithetical to the notion of 'ease of use'.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- cgranade 17y ago
  How? Package management is simply a different model entirely. One that doesn't encourage people to go download random files and give them full privileges on their machines. It's no harder to go to System > Administration > Add/Remove Software than it is to go seeking out some software on the web, downloading it, installing it manually and making sure that you have whatever other software it needs. I dare say that asking users to care about package management is a solution to the problem of Windows installers.
  - j_baker 17y ago
    Package management is simply a different model entirely. Heh... isn't that a bit like saying functional programming is only an entirely different programming paradigm? :-)

by middus 17y ago

andrew1 17y ago

He uses the word "Unbuntu" once, and the word "Ubuntu" three times. Therefore I'd imagine that "Unbuntu" was a spelling mistake, and probably doesn't have a great bearing on his knowledge of package management.

savant 17y ago
It does have a bearing on him being able to say that for Joe Sixpack, Linux is indeed not ready for primetime. The average Joe can probably spell "Windows Vista" and "OS X".
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- lawn 17y ago
  Sure it's his fault for not rereading and checking for typos but come on, is it really that unthinkable to accidentally type "Vitsa", "OSX" or "Unbuntu"?
olliesaunders 17y ago
I'd call it a typo, seeing as he demonstrated three times that he knows how to spell the word.

nailer 17y ago

> Moreover, Preston Gralla does not seem to have a clue what package management is about. He clearly does. The article is about the lack of packages for Firefox on the latest Ubuntu. Attacking a typo doesn't make this argument invalid. A web browser is the most essential piece of software on the desktop these days. FF 3.6 has significant speed increases that make users happy. If Ubuntu wants users, it should care about this.

pvg 17y ago

If you're asking an end-user to care about 'package management' then you're likely proving his point.

middus 17y ago
I'm not asking an end-user to care about package management, he is. He suggests that users should install new versions of software themselves instead of relying on managed packages. Someone who absolutely has to have the latest and greatest is most likely an advanced user and still can just add another source to his package manager.
- pvg 17y ago
  Right, you know, just like current users of the popular desktop OS'es. They go, grab the latest and greatest and install it themselves, just like they usually do. And they care not a whit what 'package management is' nor what 'adding sources' means. He's saying having to care about package management is antithetical to the notion of 'ease of use'.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
cgranade 17y ago
How? Package management is simply a different model entirely. One that doesn't encourage people to go download random files and give them full privileges on their machines. It's no harder to go to System > Administration > Add/Remove Software than it is to go seeking out some software on the web, downloading it, installing it manually and making sure that you have whatever other software it needs. I dare say that asking users to care about package management is a solution to the problem of Windows installers.
- j_baker 17y ago
  Package management is simply a different model entirely. Heh... isn't that a bit like saying functional programming is only an entirely different programming paradigm? :-)