[KLUG Advocacy] What users want from Linux?

[Robert G. Brown]

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:04:56 -0500, Adam Williams <adam@morrison-ind.com> wrote:

>Here is a supposedly positive (overall) article on Linux adoption.  It
>starts out with saying that the biggest hurdle is probably FUD -
>
>http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1020linux.html?docid=8139
>
>- then goes on to reveal itself as so hopelessly unresearched that it
>itself might qualify as FUD.  
Clueless cheerleaders?

>I just want to know where they find these experts?
Actually, they make themselves available. When experts don't have full-
time work experting, they have to write articles to keep the wolves 
from the door, so we get these things. Sometimes those who can't do, 
write.

>Half the people at a KLUG meeting are more knowledgeable than
>these twerps.
Maybe we would do well to get them to write articles!

Overall, Adam has provided great comments. I'll mostly add to them, and in
general, I'll point out that general perceptions lag reality by AT LEAST 
18 months, and twice that isn't unusual.

In the interest of brevity, I'm deleting anything I'm not commenting on....

>1. Lack of monitoring tools.
>
>You've got to be kidding!  From OpenNMS to Trivoli, everything supports
>Linux if Linux isn't the tools native platform.
Lack of research, maybe they don't know where to start (glossy sales
stuff from IBM, maybe freshmeat.net?)

>2. Reliability
>
>I like the quote "Commonly used applications such as OpenLDAP need to be
>made cluster-aware.". &*&^(@ *$&*(@ $(@*$)@@#$_$%@ #$*@*#$&(  Can't
>these "experts" even bother to subscribe to the Linux Journal which has
>covered High Availably LDAP at least twice.

They read something about openLDAP two years ago, didn't bother to 
come back (might be a good percentage play, given the pace of change in
commercial software of comparable size and complexity). The pace of OSS
is different, they're not used to that yet...

It's easier to write than it is to do research... those darn search 
engines are so user-unfriendly, and who needs 'em when the author 
"just knows" the truth?

>6. Cohesiveness
>Whatever this even means.
Is this the same as "Integration"?

>7. Applications
>"Support for Windows-based applications would be a definite plus," God,
>No!
This is one of those ideas that seems simple and obvious to the user.
The devil is in the details of course, and it's another symptom that 
people simply don't want to see any alternatives.

One thing people who make this claim do not understand is that there are
a LOT of ideas and behaviors that are not and never have been part of 
the Windows API and environment, and only a subset of that has made it 
into recommendations, coding standards, and style guides. Making this
claim effectively shuts out all of that. I will leave further commentary
on the behavior and performance of "Windows-based software" as an
exercise for other participants in this thread, or for the reader.
Frrankly, there are a lot of things about X-based desktops that I prefer
over the way Windows works, because they save time and allow me to be more 
productive. There's room for imporovement, but for me, the race has been
won.

>8. Skilled Developers
>"Many universities just teach students how to program on Windows, and as
>a result they don't get to learn much (if anything) about how a computer
>really works.
Hogwash! Places that "teach people how to program" are called "Trade
Schools". I don't care what they call the credentials given out on
completing the coursework. There is a deep misunderstanding of what
higher education is supposed to do for people...

>Then when it comes to debugging race conditions, network programming, or 
>library code they don't have a clue about what to do."
Good university software engineering and CS curricula teach principles,
recommend programming environments, and expect students to pick up the
many of the details. I'd like to see CSE folks on this list write some-
thing more about this.

>Yes! Yes! Yes!  But what does this have to do with Linux?  They can't
>program worth a crap on Windows either?  
My general sense is that a lot of low-level programming instruction has
been deprecated... relegated to trade schools and community colleges,  or
really special courses where thingslike assember and fairly metallic C
is required to handle the content, for whatever reason.

On the whole, competent programming is a skill-set that is to a great 
degree independent of platform. That said, good craftsman prefer better
tools... and the incompetent generally could care less.

>How to you graduate from a University with a developer focused program 
>AND NOT KNOW HOW TO USE VERSION CONTROL SYSTEMS????
Well, there are not a whole lot of "developer focused programs", instead,
you have a rather large number of places that teach these things bit-by-
bit.. one class on understanding and creating algorithms, another on 
optimization, others on I/O systems and economics, others on human inter-
face design, and so forth. 

Again, this is a good place to read some comments from CSE practitioners.

One approach I've observed is that some programs are doing more role-
play in senior classes, where the goal is NOT "study the characteristics 
of these algorithms" but rather "Deliver the application". This leads to
a lot more holistic experience, putting together the diverse skills needed
in the real world, like writing specifications, communicating with users,
and going through collaborative development, which tools to match. Perhaps
this practical approach as the final layer of a good education in soft-
ware engineering will deliver people into the industry with a better 
understanding of what they must do to be productive.

>9. GUI
>http://www.ximian.com
18-36 month lags, maybe more. The drumbeat of "Linux is CLI-only, like DOS"
is silly and harmful, regardless of the merits of a particular desktop.

>10. Consolidation
>http://www.ximian.com
>Who can't come up with ten problems that plague Linux?  But this is a
>list made by people who don't know what they're talking about,  and it
>gets printed, and they get paid.  What a crock.
It does keep them from doing more serious harm, although this stuff
seems bad enough....

							Regards,
							---> RGB <---