ordinary computer user

Tony Pursell ajp at princeswalk.fsnet.co.uk
Sun Feb 27 13:16:44 UTC 2005


On 27 Feb 2005 at 8:56, Norman Silverstone wrote:
> At last, I have just read a most interesting report relating to the
> needs of us 'ordinary' computer users. These are very much in tune
> with my requirements and cover many items that I have been talking
> about for the last 4 months or so. I suggest a look at
> www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/WinningTheDesktop and let's have a rational
> discussion on behalf of the 'ordinary' computer user.
> 
I agree with you Norman.  There is an increasing opportunity for 
products like Ubuntu to break through into the Desktop market, if it can 
get it right.  

One area is the installation of new programs.  On Windows this is, by 
and large, very easy.  Generally you just click on setup.exe (or the CD 
autoruns and does it for you).  You don't need to be on line to a 
repository.  I suppose this could be got right in Ubuntu/Debian - CD 
autoruns - puts itself in apt-sources - gets apt doing the right things.

I had a discussion like this in my local LUG.  I pointed out that I was not 
averse to paying for good value software.  Two things I use are Money 
2004 and Taxcalc.  The latter is a UK tax calculating and online filing 
program.  (Tax was one of the requirement highlighted in the wiki 
article).  Both are very good value for money (about £25/$48/€33), so I 
don't mind paying for them.  I would buy them to run under Linux, if 
they were available.  But they are not, so I have to have a dual boot 
system.  Its a chicken and egg problem.  Until Linux has mass usage, 
its not economic to write low cost software for it.  And I cannot see 
anyone in the Linux community writing clones of either of these two 
programs and supporting them for free - especially Taxcalc, which has 
to be re-issued each year for new tax rules.

On the other hand I like the idea of not paying for M$ expensive 
programs such as M$ Office when OpenOffice.org does almost all of 
what I want.  The wiki article gave this as an a option for letter writing, 
but I need mail-merge from time to time.  In OO.o its very clunky.  In 
Word, its a dream.  I love Firefox - its my browser of choice under 
Windows as well as Linux - but a vital website that I have to access 
regularly wont work in it.  So I have to continue to use IE and Windows.  
Its getting very close to the point where Ubuntu will be my default 
operating system, but for now it cannot be my only one.

Tony Pursell

 




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