Re: [OT] Re: [libreoffice-users] Linux alternative

On 07/18/2015 10:44 AM, Felmon Davis wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Jul 2015, Thomas wrote:
>
> > Although I know, this does not belong here, just a word.
> > I have been trying (STRUGGLING) to move away from MS and get friendly
> > with Linux for 7-8 years now!
> > So far with little success. Yet, I still keep trying.
>
> this makes me wonder what the top two or three things are that people
> find hard in adopting Linux.

I've found a number of people simply expect _any_ computer to look, act,
and feel like Windows.   I installed LibreOffice on the computer of a
client of mine because MS Office Starter Edition kept acting funny when
he would try to open MS Office documents attached to email messages. 
One day, we were talking about his using Excel vs Calc to update a
spreadsheet.  He insisted he couldn't use Calc because it didn't do what
Excel did.  I asked him to show me the things he could do in Excel but
couldn't do in Calc and we both discovered he actually _could_ do all of
the things he needed to do in Calc but the way he needed to do those
things were a little different.  In another case, I showed an IT guy I
used to work with an Ubuntu system.  He wanted to run an application and
went straight to the lower left corner of the screen, looking for the
"Start" menu.

The more people learn Windows, especially as their first computing
interface, the more they tend to think "all" computers behave that way. 
Of course, this isn't an absolute statement.  :)

Something else I've found is non-Linux users tend to expect a higher
standard of performance from Linux for it to even be considered a
"viable option".  For example, if Linux can't support {fill in the
blank} perfectly, "Linux isn't ready for prime time".  Let's forget the
fact that Windows might have issues supporting {fill in the blank} as
well.  lol

This thread could not have come at a better time since I recently read
the TechRepublic article and another article about Linux being an
alternative to Windows.  In the other article, I was floored by various
comments made by others who had read that article.  Comments about how
Linux is good for "basic" things and not good for "productivity".  So,
if you want to just read email and surf mainstream websites, Linux is
great.  If you want to do "real" work, you need Windows for that.   I
had to laugh since I find myself doing "real" and "productive" work on
Linux on a daily basis, and without using the command line unless I want
to use ImageMagick to process some images in batch.

I've switched my mom to Linux and while she's not doing anything
sophisticated, I've noticed her computer question volume has decreased
significantly.  Her computer usage hasn't changed much from when she
used Windows XP except I think she's actually listening to more music on
her computer now, while reading email and surfing the web.

Sorry for being so long winded.  :)

Peace...

"The other" Tom

-- 
/When we dance, you have a way with me,
Stay with me... Sway with me.../

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