Is Linux a desktop operating system?

[Kreg Schlosser]

Hey, Its cool... 
I wasnt in the best of moods when I replied to you either.
You speek of American culture and language, but along with that comes
American idiocy, stuborness and missunderstanding. (I am American just
so you know)
The biggest problem with the internet is the informalness, which tend
to lead to missunderstanding, especially when alot of forums are full
of "trolls" and flame wars. The American language being as dirty as it
is has to many meanings for the same words, and with out hearing
things like tone of voice and seeing facial and bodly expressions you
can only interpet things in your own mind. And online, being used to
alot of jerks, I guess my mind tends to default to "jerk".
Like you I also like a hardy discussion and debate. Maybe we(everyone
in general)  just need to think before we say things.
:)
I do commend you on the reply though, it shows you alot more
thoughtful and mature then a large majority of the people I have
encountered on the internet.

On 5/28/05, Paul M. Bucalo <ubuntuser at pmbservices.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 2005-05-27 at 20:08 -0700, Kreg Schlosser wrote:
> > > I think both of you are being a little narrow-minded on the U.S. end. No
> > > offense intended in saying this.
> >
> > Dont call people narrow-minded it takes away credibilty from every
> > statement you make afterwards
> 
> I was in a good mood from something happening around me here when I
> posted my reply. I guess I should have sobered up before replying. Come
> on, Kreg. Lighten up some. Look at the helper words I use, like "a
> little", as well as emoticons applied. The tempo of my reply was light
> and informative, not accusational and demeaning. I've seen far worse in
> this list, and from those who clearly demonstrated an intent to harm or
> foul.
> 
> As for credibility, who says I have any, anyway? I am just who I am,
> putting in my thoughts and experiences in my posts. I am not an IT guy
> (well, not anymore...) and I don't care to impress you or anyone with
> extreme Linux knowledge or superior wisdom. I do feel somewhat obligated
> to address what I feel are generalizations made about U.S. businesses,
> of this country's denizens, in regards to accepting Linux. Isn't that
> the whole point of a communal forum? Hey, you don't have to agree with
> me. That's OK with me and many others. Just, please, don't get defensive
> when you don't agree with me.
> 
> There is a distinct difference between telling someone they are *being*
> narrow-minded about a perception, which is a state of being or condition
> of the moment, and telling that same person or people that they *are*
> narrow-minded. I implied "a little" bit of former, not the latter. I
> don't know you. I couldn't possibly know if you are narrow-minded all
> the time, this once, or never and I was totally mistaken for saying so.
> However, in making my view point, as many I have seen on this list do, I
> ask you to take a look at your generalizations and compare them to what
> I offer in rebuttal. Any word by itself can be construed to be a
> terrible statement. Read within a sentence and it becomes a part of the
> concept. I think you took more offense to my choice of word than to the
> meaning of the sentence it was placed within. Sorry.
> 
> > > Red Hat is still one of the largest providers of Linux world-wide, in
> > > total in the U.S. I don't think Corporate U.S. is as slow to change as
> > > you may think. It won't happen overnight, to be sure, but it is
> > > happening. Let's not forget how *big* the U.S. is in both size and
> > > population. Comparing other countries that have moved over to Linux at
> > > the government level to the U.S. isn't a fair comparison, either. Heck,
> > > Texas is larger than most countries in the world. There's a lot of
> > > demographics to consider: millions of small, medium and large businesses
> > > to convert over to a good thing. Patience is really a needed virtue when
> > > waiting for the whole U.S. to eventually come to its senses. ;0)
> >
> > Well I dont think countries that are just now building infastruction
> > are as insignificant as you make make them sound, and Brazil, China,
> > Taiwan, India, many African countries and middle eastern countries and
> > not "smaller" then texas. These are the countries that WILL shape the
> > future economy of the world.
> 
> I don't see where I made all countries outside the U.S. look small or
> insignificant, Kreg. I only asked that you consider the size of the U.S.
> and its population, and that change on that scale takes time. The
> problem is much more complex than the generalizations I have been seeing
> here, as if our businesses are mesmerized by Redmond and unable to
> change when it's for their best. Businesses in the U.S. are
> conservative, by nature, and look at the cost of change in emotional
> values as well as dollars. Not so much at the enterprise level, of
> course. There's more politics and top-level bias to contend with in the
> enterprises environment. That's the hardest sell for Linux and why M$
> could really reap a lot of profit if they came out with their own flavor
> of Linux. At the small to medium size business level, the emotional
> element, how the people who will use the PC's will accept a new
> operation system, is as much a concern as the cost of that change. Heck,
> I deal daily with older people who don't own a PC and won't have it!
> Change with millions takes time. Change with billions, a little bit
> longer, is what I am saying.
> 
> I am very much aware of what other countries are trying to do with
> Linux...have have already done...and I am impressed and encouraged by
> this news. Why you would gather from my statements that I am just the
> opposite and would demean countries for these accomplishments is beyond
> me. I was addressing generalizations made about the slowness of the U.S.
> in adopting Linux, and that its size hinders its progress, not the value
> other countries have gathered in using Linux over Windows.
> 
> Bear in mind, too, that I address others on this list when I reply to a
> post, as do you, as I know others will read it, so I wasn't patronizing
> *you* when I spoke of patience. We *all* need to be patient on some
> matters. We *all* want to see things fixed, added or removed within the
> realm of the Linux world. In regards to the U.S., *in time* is all I am
> saying.
> 
> > > Trust me.
> > Why? becuase Im too narrow minded to have my own opinions?
> 
> "Trust me" is an American colloquialism and was meant to be a light
> farewell. Nothing more. I can see that if I am guilty of anything in my
> previous post, it was for my light-hearted Americanisms. For that, I
> apologize to you and this list. This is an international community,
> after all. I can't expect everyone to understand such colloquialisms,
> especially when they are not familiar with American culture. That's why
> I shouldn't use them here.
> 
> > And yes I am getting defensive... dont talk down to people, it does
> > not make you look more intellegent.
> 
> I am not afraid to voice my opinions. I love a good debate; able to
> argue either side regardless of my beliefs. You read into my reply what
> wasn't there. I don't know why you did, but I am sorry that you had
> reason to believe you should. I have no ill feelings for you or anyone
> on this list.
> 
> I will say this once that I really don't care what anyone thinks of my
> intelligence and have no desire to prove that I have any to anyone here.
> My intelligence level is dictated by what is within me, not what others
> perceive is there. Since I make a living conveying my intelligence
> level, as well as trust and understanding, to people who meet me for the
> very first time, and I do it very well, I'm inclined to think I don't
> have a problem in this respect. I do get misunderstood, though,
> especially with 'the written word' the only thing between me and someone
> I wish to communicate with. We all get that from time to time. I like to
> think I am big enough to apologize when that happens because it is my
> fault. So, I apologize for whatever misunderstanding you derived from my
> post.
> 
> To everyone else on this list, I will caution you all that by the very
> nature of its design, a forum encourages a sharing of knowledge,
> experiences and beliefs, which therefore beckons for debate and
> disagreement. This is not a bad thing. It just means reading carefully
> before taking offense. In most cases, offense is never intended or meant
> to be implied. I can assure you that it wasn't in my case.
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
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