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On 19/03/13 01:52, Colin Templeman wrote:<br>
<span style="white-space: pre;">> on 17/03/2013 20:44 Daniel
Reurich said:<br>
><br>
> > Conversely, I have successfully migrated a number of
users from windows to<br>
> > linux, and Debian at that with little more then a few
questions and a<br>
> > follow up phone call or visit.<br>
><br>
> Oh I have too (my 80 year-old father amongst them). I think
the lynch pin is<br>
> prior use of FOSS software like
Firefox/Thunderbird/LibreOffice which makes<br>
> the underlying platform irrelevant from the user's
perspective.<br>
><br>
> But in your reply you haven't actually said what the prime
motivator was that<br>
> made them want to switch to Linux? For the aspirations of
the LUG, it's<br>
> targeting these aspects rather than casting the net wide I
believe will be<br>
> more productive.<br>
></span><br>
<br>
<br>
I realise in your previous email that you weren't cribbing from me -
it's just that we're on the same page! :-)<br>
<br>
If there's no graceful way to have Windows users 'leap' onto the
alternatives, one can at least introduce them to the concept of
openness and port them to cross-platform solutions which will then
make the jump between OS's pain-free.<br>
<br>
I have always appreciated the freedom and flexibility that Linux has
given me, but the truth is that whilst i've been using it
server-side for specific applications since I was a teenager, i've
only been using it as a desktop for a few years. The reason is
that for a raft of reasons, i've had (or needed) Windows. The
reason I was able to move to Linux was a mix of general familiarity,
the support of the LUG's and some of the key players in answering my
questions and dealing to my headaches, the major progress Linux has
made in supporting Desktop hardware and Software in the last few
years - and the fact that I've been actively preferring 'open'
applications and formats for a long, long time (Netscape ->
Mozilla -> Firefox/Thunderbird for example. I used 7Zip? Instead
of Winzip. I use The Gimp instead of Photoshop or PSP (learning
curve as a former PSP user, but for my modest needs, i've
managed).). <br>
<br>
I don't have issues moving data from OS to OS, I don't have issues
accessing older documents because they're in formats I can still
read, I (generally) use filesystems that're universally readable and
writable. And I make use of cross-platform applications, such as
the likes of Firefox, Libre/OpenOffice, Pidgin. My UX is consistent
between Windows and Linux, excepting the nature of the CLI and some
technical configuration details obviously.<br>
<br>
Regretfully i'm still stuck with Windows for some specific web apps
I need to use (ActiveX or
Silverlight-which-doesn't-work-right-in-Linux) and some Games.
Steam for Linux is great. Now we need the major vendors to actually
develop for all platforms.<br>
<br>
Mark.<br>
<br>
<br>
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