Casual computer users & Operating Systems - What they don't know...

ve

Take a look at this: (appologies if many of you have seen it before, it's several months old)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3ID2CbtnKk

I don't know if this surprises me or not, but in here there is definately an issue that isn't tackled that often (well that's my opinion). For the record I am a Linux user, I use Linux much more often than Windows, but I do like Windows 7.

What has really come to the fore in my head is that a lot of casual computer users evaluate Windows as a superior desktop operating system and do so based purely on visual clues. In the video above, clearly eye candy was the main selling point and just re-enforced their decision to agree that it's also "easy to use", despite none of them actually interacting with the presentation.

Yes of course there is the whole issue of driver availability for Linux compared to Windows, but on the subject of application availability and administration I don't think Windows has the competitive edge it once had. E.g. if I use a particular program on Windows to complete a task it's probably because that program was an acceptable solution to the problem in my opinion. Just like Internet Explorer is an acceptable solution for many, providing them with the ability to browse the web. Not the best choice IMO, but something that convinces them to be a solution (god help us all). The problem is that people who are not techies and have been using Windows all this time, come over to Linux and often get annoyed at the fact that the same programs are not available on Linux. Instead they should be thinking, "are there any programs that offer the same solutions?", to which they will probably be met with more choice, better quality solutions and nearly always for free. They are just not the same "branded" solutions. So I think casual users just get too bogged down with following brands instead of thinking of solutions to problems. I also see countless power users, who have not yet switched to Linux go to lengths to avoid paying licenses for software solutions that have alternatives available on Linux for free.

If I want to detect a virus on my PC, does that mean I get Norton (god forbid), No!, it means I get a virus scanner, whatever that may be. At the end of the day especially with something like security software, we're just investing in confidence.

On the side of Administration, I don't think the majority of end users are able to administer their own Windows systems to any desirable effect. Installing Linux on my PC and doing general maintenance chores is no more difficult than Windows, certainly the way distros like Ubuntu have gone. Yes you have the powerful shell, but for what most will be doing, GUI tools will keep them afloat. I see countless ads in local papers with technicians offering to remove viruses/spyware and the general gunk that crops up from lacking maintenance. Instead educate people, that's what I do. I know it might mean less business (not what I do for a living btw), but at least you would have a compeditive edge over your compeditors who know that they will have to go running back to fix the same problems over and over again. Christ that way we might actually be able to positively impact the proliferation of viruses and throughout the web

Personally I think that in the near future a nice portion of traditional Windows users will switch to Linux, and although that will have an impact many tech industries, I think the notion of users selecting a platform based on what it "offers" will take much much longer.

Sorry for that little rant - but what do you think?

Overheal

If I want to detect a virus on my PC, does that mean I get Norton (god forbid), No!

You had me. I thought you were somebody who really gave some thought to the products he uses on a case by case evaluation rather than someone who just tugs the party line. I was so ready to consider what you had to say. Almost even put a linux distro in.

Then you crashed the jenga tower with that obsolete remark.

I didnt finish reading the rest.

Cuddlesworth

I don't know what that proves. I can hand a casual user a laptop for thirty seconds with a fluffy kitten flashing intermittently and tell them its a new homoeopathic therapy and most for that first minute or so will smile and nod their heads and say yes its great. Its all in the sell.

Leave them with it for two hours and see what happens. And Windows is the King in this regards, Mac second then Linux. The marketing is only a small part of why Windows dominates the market. Its the Huge overwhelming business share coupled with the thousands of custom Windows apps that is going to ensure they will remain number one for so long.

PogMoThoin

RoadKillTs

That video proves nothing. See how much they like it when they cant play their favorite game or use their wireless adapter!

ve

@Overheal I'm not sure if you got what I was saying or that I'm not getting you.

When I said:

If I want to detect a virus on my PC, does that mean I get Norton (god forbid), No!

I was referring to the fact that to some Norton provides a virus scanner that solves a problem. To some Norton is akin to Hoover, a solution instead of what it really is....a brand. No I don't like Norton security software because I consider it bloated and slow compared to other tools that give me the same level of confidence that I'm looking for. If Norton has in the last few months sorted this out completely then I hold my hand up and claim ignorance, however I don't see why I would put Norton on a pedestal that deserves my periodic attention to see if they have resolved what issues I had with them. In the mean time I found what I was looking for and that was my point.

@RoadKillTs I did mention already that driver availability is still a concern. However I'm posting this on Linux through a wireless driver that seems to be working fine, but I do accept your point that drivers are still an issue for many. That's where it stops. Gaming and other specialist fields of usage can come with harsher platform requirements and that is to be expected. If you play Crysis @ 1080p or "need" a solution that targets a smaller market segment then Yes! Windows is probably going to be your promise land, but in the video above and the title of this thread is regarding "casual users". You know...the sort that when asked what do you need from a computer? you get: "Ah sure all I need to be able to do is book flights, browse the web, send emails, type a letter, etc", then we've got a much better platform and range of solutions IMO over on Linux.

If I had yanked my mother's laptop off her on the day she bought it (not that long ago), installed/configured Ubuntu on it and gave it back to her with a tutorial on how to use her new computer, she wouldn't have given a sh1t if it had Windows or not. To her Windows meant nothing, it was a word that she had heard me mention many times before. What she needed was the ability to do the things she asked me "can computers do?" previously. Now the fact of the matter is that I didn't bother that day, and I left her to suffer Vista. She doesn't game, she is not a hardcore graphics designer nor the lucky customer of some unknown peripheral device manufacturer. What I am sure though is that if she was on the likes of Ubuntu and downloaded apps via the newer package managers from the main repositories by her own choice/doing and subsequently removed again what she didn't like, she would still have a well performing system that wasn't filled with gunk.

The amount of times I have sat in front of my Windows PC and though, I want to be able to do (X). I'll give google a belt to see what are my options for software to download. Then I come on the likes of here asking "what do you recommend", because god forbid I would install anything and everything until I found what I was happy with. Not to mention how I might also end up battling with the restrictions associated with a commercial licensing regime. In the end does the application I finally choose to download solve the problem, most of the time yes!, sometimes no!. In the times that it's a No, I curse baby jesus because now I know that I have to rely on some uninstaller to gracefully remove all traces of this unwanted binary from my machine. Does it do it to my satisfaction, rarely!. No wonder so many people are forced to perform clean installations of Windows periodically. I actually tell people all the time, "Don't install software on Windows, unless you are absolutely certain that you will use/keep it". All it takes is one ugly app to turn a useful system in to a pain in the @ss.

This thread is start to degenerate in to a reflection of my own personal tastes, which was unintentional....apologies. I do however stand by my original sentiments.

@PogMoThoin /slap, my girlfriend is an IT professional and very good at her job.

RoadKillTs

I was referring to the fact that to some Norton provides a virus scanner that solves a problem. To some Norton is akin to Hoover, a solution instead of what it really is....a brand.

I understand the point your making.

my girlfriend is an IT professional and very good at her job.

Im jealous! Where did you find this rare female IT professional?

Bob_Harris

What are you trying to get across in this thread? That everyone should use Linux?

Casual users buy PCs from a PC store, which has Windows pre installed without adding too much to the overall cost of the machine.

Why should they switch to linux?
What can Linux do that windows can't? Very little.

What can Windows do that Linux can't? A lot to be honest.

P.s. Using Tv resolution shorthand in regard to PC game is really annoying.

Overheal

my girlfriend is an IT professional and very good at her job.

I too know the inescapable attraction to gorgeous blondes who can fix compiler errors. Hmmm

Thats the thing of it though: Theres never been anything to compel me to try out a linux distro. Windows has always been there. Handy. I know it like the back of my hand. Switching is like driving someone else's car: its incredibly awkward and you're pretty sure you might die.

If you wanna turn the thread into a seminar of sorts, I'd love to be shown the more powerful aspects of using linux.

,-- re-read with James Bond theme

swirlser

Overheal wrote: »

Thats the thing of it though: Theres never been anything to compel me to try out a linux distro. Windows has always been there. Handy. I know it like the back of my hand. Switching is like driving someone else's car: its incredibly awkward and you're pretty sure you might die.

Trufax, Linux kills "*Booo*, down with that sort of thing"

Ok, seriously... I get the point your making OP and for what its worth, I dislike MS. Even their ads bug the **** out of me, always have and probably always will. And I agree that for certain usage there isnt much between the OSs aaand Id happily admit that MS is shoved down peoples throats given many PC distributors supply machines with MS OS installed as standard. BUT, yes Im a windows (mostly) user! (But I am a gamer, need I say more?)

I think at best Apple will continue to nibble into MSs market share as it has been doing (at least a little more prominently) since the launch of a certain popular little non-PC related device.

PogMoThoin

If I wasn't a gamer I'd be running linux on my main pc. My home server, laptop and netbooks run linux, wouldn't dream about putting anything else on them

Overheal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNanKfY5T9A

AlmightyCushion

Microsoft did the exact same thing with vista about a year and a half ago. It was called the mojave experiment. They showed a load of people vista and told them it was their new operating system. They got loads of the "zomg this is way more awesomer than that crappy vista" style responses. At the end of the day though both these experiments are useless in the grand scheme of things. All they do is show us that vista and kde are great if you're only going to use them for 10/15 minutes. They show us whether either are any good as an everyday os.