[WEB4LIB] Re: Little of GNU/Linux in Libraries (was: The beginning of the end for the

[Raymond Wood]

> >The only thing that is
> > keeping Linux down is the user interface. People are scared of Linux
> > because t's a high intensity command line driven system that gives you
> > total control over your computer. Folks don't want to learn complicated
> > commands nor do they want complete control over their computer. 

These are, quite simply, myths.  

MYTH 1:
Anyone who has *actually seen* a modern KDE or GNOME Desktop Manager
interface will surely drool, er, admit that it certainly equals (with
few exceptions) the familiar Windows GUI interface.

MYTH 2:
GNU/Linux is no longer *necessarily* a "high intensity command line
driven system" (although the command-line is always available to those
who are so inclined).  The modern GUI interfaces now include many
configuration tools that would surely suffice for whatever configuration
a regular user would need (in many cases a regular user doesn't need
access to many of these kinds of things anyway).

MYTH 3:
Windows users are already denied 'total control' over their Windows
desktops - this is what happens with security policies (especially with
NT).  Without the all-powerful 'root' access reserved for the system
administrator, regular users of GNU/Linux and other Unix-like systems
are (or can be) similarly constrained.

> Being a Linux/OpenBSD/Windows user myself, I agree with most of what Dan has 
> to say, but I really must disagree with his statement that Linux is totally 
> oriented around the command line.  Well, sort of.  Linux definitely is 
> command line based, which I personally think is a tremendous plus, but I 
> think that the graphical interfaces and programs available have really 
> matured to the point that the average Windows user would have no trouble 
> doing the things they usually do, i.e., web browsing, email, word processing, 
> and maybe some graphics editing.  In fact, my goal is to replace most of my 
> library's staff computers with thin clients running Mandrake 8 and KDE 2.  
> The problem is those few programs that don't have a viable equivalent in 
> Linux, like MS Publisher.  (If someone knows of one, please tell me!)

See StarOffice - it is a bloated application, unfortunately, but offers
the most MS Office-like experience that one can currently achieve with
GNU/Linux.  Furthermore it is completely free.

> So, I don't totally disagree, but I don't want anyone to be scared off 
> because of the command line.  With the new GUIs available, you could probably 
> get away with not using it at all, unless you're installing a new program 
> that must be compiled from scratch (which isn't as hard as it sounds).  And I 
> feel that once you get used to it, you'll find it indispensable.  Think of it 
> as DOS, but much better.

DOS commands were actually modelled after some of the more common Unix
commands.  And yes, a Unix command-prompt is infinitely more powerful
than a DOS prompt, almost incomparably so.  For one thing, you can
actually multi-task  :)

Raymond