You must be inseine.

Only if he falls in

There is another problem with Linux as well. The freedom agenda has meant that, instead of having one tool that does one job well, we have ended up with a lot of tools that show potential, but very few that are fully functional.

I'm all for enabling choice but not if it means that silly basic things don't work out of the box and confuse the user/developer. For instance, Gnome apps still don't skin properly under KDE and vice versa and KMix functionality is still variable. We still have several packaging formats and buggy/incomplete configuration tools that work fine one minute and then randomly bork core files.

Worst of all though, worst of all, the command line still hasn't died. Unless the function being performed involves an engineer, a priest, a chicken and a stone altar, the end user should NEVER ever see or require the command line. Instead of being able to install basic things by a single point-and-click action and then having the damned thing work, end-users have to trawl forums to find the correct phrase to type in. You daren't ask a question and if you do some self-righteous tit jumps down your throat. Oh and you can't copy and paste it into Konsole because there might be non-printing characters that'll stuff it.

GTK/Gnome fanboys argue with Qt/KDE fanboys over whose is better, raining down fire and brimstone on anyone that disagrees. Little do they realise that most users (and potential users) simply don't care. I'll repeat that: most of us simply don't care. What I want is for the bl**dy thing to just work! I really don't give a toss what toolkit or which GPl version was used. If it works I'll use it, if it doesn't I won't.

And the old "if you think you can do better do it yourself" cr*p doesn't wash either. The vast majority of users simply cannot, repeat CANNOT, make their own applications.

Frankly, there are a myriad of reasons why serious software companies are avoiding and will continue to avoid Linux. Chief amongst these is that Linux is the IT equivalent of the Church of England. Too many voices, too many little empires, too much factionalism, too many precious Marys ready to get offended, no clear overall direction, no clear overall leadership, no unity and total confusion for those on the outside looking in.

Linux needs to start making hard decisions:

1. Which ONE body is in charge?
2. Which ONE body is answering technical questions?
3. Which ONE packaging format is to be standard?
4. Which ONE Sound API is to be standard?
5. Which ONE Graphics API is to be standard?
6. Which ONE set of configuration tools is be standard?
7. By what date must all the major GUIs be fully interoperable?
8. When is X going to get a kick in the bum?
9. When is the GNU toolchain going to get a kick in the bum?
10. Which location(s) for system, app and config files is to be standard?
11. When will we stop moving the goalposts?

Choice and Standards are not mutually exclusive; it is strong standards frameworks that promote real choice by making things easier. At the moment we pretend to offer choice, but in making things so technical, involved and difficult, we force non-technical users to stay with Windows and hence, in the real world, we offer no choice at all.

Yes we can solve some of the technical issues (such as bugs and API shortages) in the same way we do now. If, however, we want to make a serious OS that really is right for the innocent non-technical end-user, we need to make root-and-branch reform to our hierarchies, our methods and, most importantly, our attitudes.

We need to stop living in cloud cuckoo land

Something I posted on another site:

Complete and utter common sense that I wholly concur with

If you have had a fire then you can start again and switching is a lot easier.

...hope you're not planning anything...

Worst of all though, worst of all, the command line still hasn't died. Unless the function being performed involves an engineer, a priest, a chicken and a stone altar, the end user should NEVER ever see or require the command line. Instead of being able to install basic things by a single point-and-click action and then having the damned thing work, end-users have to trawl forums to find the correct phrase to type in.