“If Linux is to have an appreciable place on the desktop, it
will have to please the average desktop user. Here are two letters
to Nicholas Petreley — representative of many LinuxWorld receives
— from would-be Linux desktop users who were repulsed by poor
support and cranky software.” “…We have all paid our dues in
the DOS (Novell and Windows) world. We are fairly knowledgeable,
honest, and very busy consultants trying to find a better solution
for our customers. We need help if we are going to make the switch
to Linux. I have spent in excess of 40 hours with very little to
show for it. RTFM is not an acceptable answer. Paying for a higher
level of support with Caldera or Red Hat — especially when they
won’t answer the basics — is not a palatable solution since we
haven’t yet done enough testing to be sure we want to go with them
in the first place.“
“The Linux community seems to enjoy thumbing its nose like a
little child at professionals trying to learn.”
“Linux distributors really need to deliver a finished
installation without having to RTFM. Installations will always
require fine tuning and knowledge of the product to get the most
out of them. I’m talking about the basics. I’m talking about a
straightforward procedure list to follow to accomplish the desired
result without spending hours on the Internet, tracking down how-to
articles.”