Handle With Linux

Linux is better suited for non technical people than windows is for several reasons.
complexity

I believe the complexity perceived by lots of people as keeping non technical people from using Linux is based on a misconception.

Most non technical people I meet have very small needs with computers, they only use them to browse the Internet, write a letter, send an email, update their social website, the usual stuff.

Nothing they couldn't do with any other modern operating system than windows.Non technical users very seldom install new software on their computers.Many technical computer users have a small group of PC users they provide support for, and I can tell you what kind of stuff I do most of the time for windows users:

Install new software
remove spyware
clean bloated registry
update virus scanner

see a pattern here?

Ready for the desktop?

I read a lot of posts where people say Linux is not ready for the desktop, or Linux is to complicated to use.
Is this true?

If you objectively compare operating systems, which one is more ready for use by non technical users?

Windows has never been ready for the desktop , Vista is the first windows release which is any near ready to be used by non technical users and keep it a bit safe. The result of this is an almost unusable system. An everyday computer user running a well configured Linux PC would probably never meet a bigger problem than the hard disk filling up with downloaded mp3's. Only the user partition that is. It would not stop working!
Installation

Installation of Linux these days is not difficult anymore, but even so you can't ask a first time computer user or anybody at that same knowledge level to install any operating system.

Windows is not used more because it's easier to install, because that's simply not a fact.
Anybody who has had the "luck" to encounter a laptop without a diskette drive which needs special drivers for the hard disk which are not included on the standard windows CD knows what I'm talking about.

installation CD

You then need to buy a installation CD from the notebook vendor or create your own (Yes create your own windows CD I'm not even sure if that's completely legal).
The difference is windows has a huge user base and many drivers do get integrated in the windows installation Cd's. But if you choose the right Linux distribution(but which is?) it can be as easy as pushing a button to install a complete system which you can have evaluated upfront by running it live.

This is not relevant for non technical users because they'll never try the one or the other for that matter.
software installation

Installing software on a modern Linux system aimed at the desktop user is many times easier than it ever was. Dependencies are taken care of automatically and installing from source is really not needed for anything else then bleeding edge software.
I think I'd rather teach a non technical user to install and remove programs with synaptic than trying to teach them how to install software in windows in the way many technical home users install software.
(which is not a strictly legal method in all cases I'm afraid)
risks

Windows has a lot of risks, especially for non technical users.

Linux has virtually no viruses, no spyware, no registry and updating your Linux virus scanner shouldn't take a lot of time ;-)
helping out users

Remote administration of a Linux system is much easier and more safe then windows remote administration.
This makes it a lot easier for technical people to help out the non technical.
What is holding Linux back then?

The real problems in my opinion for mass acceptation of Linux for personal computer users are:

The fact that it's not coming installed by default on enough systems.

The fact that people are used to windows makes it difficult for them to get used to something else.

The fact that not enough tech people use Linux and know enough about Linux to inform the people around them of the possibilities and help them by administering their systems.

schools

Open source software should be used in schools, if people get out of school into their jobs and know how to use free software, would their be a lot of business telling them they really want to buy them the newest office xx package?
user base

Most problems exist because windows has such a huge user base, even the game theory (more Linux games == more Linux users) is the wrong way around in my opinion. If there would be a big enough user base the developers would start developing games for this market, the drivers for hardware would be made available by hardware vendors because they just need to sell their stuff.

the future

I think Linux will start getting more and more market share in the future, because of the trends in the market. More and more hardware vendors are selling hardware running Linux. The usability of many distributions for unexperienced users is improving at a devastating speed and awareness is growing everyday. We still have a long way to go but I'm convinced the times are changing at this moment.

This entry was originally posted at : www.theothersolution.nl