[KLUG Advocacy] Re: [KLUG Members] Sabotaging Linux?

[Adam Tauno Williams]

> > Stopping Linux desktop adoption sabotage, part two:
> > <http://searchopensource.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1134908,00.html>

1.) "To make this happen, however, the companies selling IT products to
the masses worldwide need to support Linux and OSS."

Actually there is allot of middle ground here.  If proprietary products
simply supported internationalization techniques like po files third
parties would easily be able to translate interfaces into other
languages.

2.) "If companies really seek to attract the largest number of potential
consumers, why are their practices so restrictive?"

Because this isn't the goal of companies;  the goal is to sell as many
computers as cheaply as possible.  Customers that must be catered to are
bad customers, they cost more to have as customers.  Dell shops around
to the point of the cheapest power supply connectors and capacitors for
motherboards.  This is a shave-every-penny industry.

3. "There are no certification or license fees for Linux drivers.
Assuming that Microsoft does charge a royalty or any type of
certification fee, why do vendors choose to pay for the privilege of
providing a driver for Windows, when there are no such costs for a Linux
driver?"

Simple numbers.  And vendors would have to employ two or three
developers to create and maintain the drivers,  these type of people are
not anything like free (they are also, I believe, pretty scarce).

4. "However, I am astounded that consumers know little about Linux"

I'm not.  People are not interested,  the last thing they want to do is
THINK about their computer or computer purchase.  I suspect that our
author carries a bit of myopia on this point as many people of his
genius do;  the average person is not curious,  about much of anything
at all.

5. "Major retailers are not interested in giving customers a less
expensive, more reliable PC platform"

It is unreasonable to think they would be interested in this.  Retailers
want to sell stuff.  American corporations do not believe that you get
more sales by selling better products;  and in some cases they are
correct.

> > Stopping Linux desktop adoption sabotage, part three:
> > <http://searchopensource.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1134909,00.html>
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