[svlug] Community Centers and OS Choice

[dfox@belvdere.vip.best.com]

> The pros for Windows, as demonstrated from our discussions:
> 
> o	Designed for less computer-savvy users, which the target audience will be

This is at least partly true. Maintenance isn't something a newbie can
handle on Windows that easily -- or on Linux, for that matter. The
situations and their solutions are of course different, but one isn't
necessarily any easier to solve than the other is.

As I stated in another mail, KDE may make things easier for the novice,
but what happens if Windows crashes and you get lost clusters etc? That's
something for the administrator to address.

> o	Generally speaking most Windows maintenance can be summed up as rebooting 
> the machine [the Windows cure-all for problems]. Also most community center 

Sometimes rebooting helps. Reinstalling helps better :) at least in 
some situations. Someone new to Windows will think that in general
that's just how computers are *supposed* to act, and maybe even get
frustrated if it happens too often. In my experience observing
computer students, beginners often overgeneralize.


> (e.g., If I know very little but I learn MS Word, I can possibly get a job 
> as a typist or something immediately, getting me in a better position to 
> learn other things and get off the streets, etc. The learning curve before 
> possessing "job-practical" skills from an Open Source OS is longer.

True. I probably know enough running Linux to be a junior sysadmin, but
without practical job experience, that door is pretty closed. But I've
gotten experience using MS apps at work, so even though I don't have
them at home (apart from SO and Corel WP 8) I can do well at least on
the temporary agencies' tests.
 
> The cons:
> 
> o	Non-Free, both in terms of beer and speech
> o	Piracy issues - People stealing copies of software off the machines, etc.
> o	Viruses
> o	Security - (alleviated partly if NT is used, but not entirely)
> 

Most of these can be addressed by switching over to Linux. Piracy might
be a problem (students bringing in CD's of software and ftping them to
other people) even if they can't execute the apps directly, or if the
apps themselves on the system are freely copyable. (One wonders if
Linux might just get a bit more success in the marketplace if its
components were posted on alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc :)
 
Viruses are, of course, not an issue. People with very restrictive
ideas about what programs can be loaded (e.g., MIS departments in
corporations) can have their fears about viruses eliminated simply
by refusing to run DOS or Windows.

Security is a major concern. I've often (until recently) visited the
'unattended' computers over at Fry's from time to time, often noticing
missing files and so forth. I'll bet handling that was a nightmare, at
least until someone decided passwords on a Wintel box was a good
idea (wonder where they got that idea from :). Not only that, but
with the loose / nonexistent security on Wintel boxes, anyone can
type fdisk or something like that and ruin everything.

NT alleviates some of those concerns. For instance, you could run one
server on NT containing all the programs that you'd normally use, and
control access to those programs with access lists or something. But
then you run into additional cost factors like per-seat licensing
issues. Most organizations alleviate that by just getting a site
license, but that cost might be prohibitive, and that's where open
source can really be considered. 

> D
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