Apple Store at South Dale is small, drab, but they have it all. Laptops, towers, and the sweetest displays you'll see today. Sam. Richard Hoffbeck wrote: > David Alitz wrote: > >> I have no love for IBM either. It's obvious that IBM and Linux is a >> marriage of convenience; but sometimes those arrangements work out. >> I'm afraid I don't see IBM and M$ as bedfellows. I would expect low >> end IBM servers to be running Windows if that were true. Of course, >> I'm finding it a bit incredible that RedHat would recommend Windows >> on the desktop. Maybe IBMs relationship is about getting RedHat to >> fall on their sword and make way for M$? It sounds more than a >> little far-fetched to me. > > > I don't find it all that odd. They have a fast growing core business > consisting of providing software, support and training to corporate > clients. This is fairly high margin because they can focus their > efforts much more narrowly than playing in the general market. They > also know that there is a practical limit on how fast they can grow > and still keep the wheels on the wagon. So you dump the non-revenue > stuff into a separate organization and give it some support to get > things going while you focus on the higher margin corporate > environment. As an end-user I have mixed feelings, but as a > shareholder I think its the right move. > > I keep hearing that Linux is ready for the desktop but my experience > is substantially different. OO still isn't real competition for Word > although I often use the spreadsheet, Gimp is nowhere as powerful as > Photoshop nor as easy to use as PictureIt or Elements, I've yet to > find a Linux MP3 app that is as convenient as Musicmatch Jukebox or > the new iTunes. I've used Unix for 20 years and run Linux in my > machines at home, but it is a real drag at times. If I want to use my > Rio 500 under XP I just tell Jukebox to download the necessary driver > and I'm set to go. If I want to use it in Linux I have to build a new > kernel and select a handful of obscure options in order for it to be > recognized and work properly. Which do you think my parents or > co-workers would prefer to do? > > Most people have something they want to do. Maybe its reading e-mail, > browsing the web, writing documents, processing some digital photos or > perhaps listen to their music. They don't want to compile an > application, build a kernel or learn a programming language - to them > a computer is a tool, not a lifestyle.. MS and Apple understand this, > but my impression is that most of the Linux community doesn't. Linux > is certainly getting more sophisticated but it certainly isn't getting > easier. > > BTW, I'm running into an increasing number of people that I knew use > to run Linux who are carrying around iBooks or Powerbooks. I expect > that my next computer will be a 12" iBook. After 20 years I've > compiled enough kernels and tracked down enough driver issues for one > lifetime :-) > > --rick > > > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org > https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > _______________________________________________ TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list