Re: GUIs: Motif or ...? (was Re: tlug: Fw: Could Linux Kill NT?)

[Scott Stone <sstone@example.com>]

On Thu, 25 Jun 1998, Jonathan Byrne - 3Web wrote:

> On Thu, 25 Jun 1998, Scott Stone wrote:
> 
> >I would also argue that the UI diversity is one of the neat things about
> >linux.  I can make Linux look like whatever *I* want it to, not what some
> 
> Well, I don't think that anyone is really arguing that such flexibility
> ins't a good thing from the viewpoint of Linux hackers and hobbyist
> users.  Rather, the argument goes that the lack of a standardized GUI is
> a barrier to commercial success, especially if you want to sell it to a
> big company with thousands of computers.  The IT manager, the tech
> support manager, the IT staff who take care of all those users, want
> thousands of computers that all look and work the same way and keep
> everything in the same place.

well, if THAT's your goal, then doesn't TurboLinux already satisfy it?
Install TurboLinux on 1000 machines, don't f**k with any of the settings
(as Steve put it earlier :) ), and they'll all look and act the same,
won't they?

Actually, couldn't the same be said for any Linux distribution?  Or any
OS?

> 
> The success of the Macintosh and of Windows in the marketplace really
> has very little to do with the quality of the code or the stability of
> the OS, two areas where Linux (and indeed UNIX in general) wins hands
> down.  They succeeded because of the GUIs they have (and Microsoft
> marketing muscle, in the case of Windows).  Most users neither know nor
> care about these technical issues.  They just want a computer that's
> easy to use and does what they want.  Apple, and later Microsoft, gave
> them that.   The editorial on ZDNet that said that if IBM (for example)
> were to deliver an Enterprise-oriented Linux the support and backing of
> a powerhouse like IBM, they'd probably do very well and severely crimp
> Microsoft's style.  I think they really would, too.  Compaq is another
> company with the clout to do that, but IBM would be better.

Well, personally I'd rather see PHT do it :)

--------------------------------------------------
Scott M. Stone <sstone@example.com, sstone@example.com>
               <sstone@example.com>
Linux Developer/Systems Administrator for Pacific HiTech, Inc. 
http://www.pht.com		http://armadillo.pht.co.jp
http://www.pht.co.jp	        http://www.turbolinux.com


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