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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    Re: Licensing (Was: [kde-promo] What's the community up to?)
From:       Tom Chance <lists () tomchance ! org ! uk>
Date:       2004-12-09 10:49:35
Message-ID: 200412091049.36217.lists () tomchance ! org ! uk
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On Thursday 09 Dec 2004 03:21, Alex Nordstrom wrote:
> Ordinary users panic when confronted with new programs, but they do get
> used to them. Confront them with a full set of new applications, an
> entire new desktop environment, and a different underlying operating
> system and they *will* hit a wall. Smooth migration is a must for
> mortals. (And I include myself in that. Firefox, Thunderbird, Gimp, and
> Open Office helped me switch to Linux. I now run KMail and a lot of
> other KDE programs, but I'm happy that I could choose not to make that
> adjustment as well at the same time.)

But the point is: who will switch to a different OS once they have Firefox, 
Thunderbird, The GIMP, Open Office, maybe VNC and Zinf?

Why will people switch from Windows to a Free operating system? Either because 
they're technically minded and appreciate all the various benefits (perceived 
security, price, freedom for techies, etc.), OR because a friend or family 
member switched them, OR because they bought the computer with that OS on.

I don't know very many people who would let me switch their copy of Windows 
for, say, GNU/Linux once they have Firefox, Thunderbird and VNC installed. 
What will they gain? They already have enough security in their net apps, and 
the features they need. Now imagine if you bring the whole application suite 
over... why would they bother? Bear in mind that I have very few techie 
friends; the majority of my friends find it amazing that web sites are hosted 
on real computers somewhere ;-)

Conversely the only thing that keeps my parents and brother happy with having 
made the switch, given that some little semi-replaceable proprietary apps 
don't work, is that they have Digikam, amarok and (since I switched them 
before I was around to put it onto Windows) Firefox! They didn't need the 
convenience of app continuity because they only had to move from IE->Firefox 
and MS Office->OpenOffice. Maybe a _little_ continuity would help in a big 
office with lots of apps, but let's not fall under the illusion that it's 
necessary.

Aaron is absolutely right: if you remove the application advantage, you remove 
all the big reasons to switch, unless you're technically minded.

IMO we are better off working on, and promoting, technologies that really will 
help us migrate people from Windows. I'm talking about things like Exchange 
connectivity, proprietary format compatability, letting development shops use 
Qt+MinGW to develop Windows apps under GNU/Linux, and so on.

Obviously we shouldn't stop people from developing Windows ports. But I think 
it would be a massive mistake for resources, especially from kde-promo, to go 
into a porting effort. It would completely undermine us.

Regards,
Tom
 
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