> -----Original Message-----
> From: Samuel MacDonald [mailto:smac at visi.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 12:19 PM
> To: TCLUG Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [TCLUG] Distro Advice
> 
> 
<Snip>
> 
> It would need to be small with a GUI that is similar to M$, 
> it would be 
> able to run "any" windows application [games, word processing, 
> spreadsheet, etc...] without doing any additional work. Upgrades and 
> Updates would need to be very few and very far between, at 
> least 3 years.

"any"? Microsoft forbids running some of it's programs on anything but
Windows.

> 
> Don't show them any error messages because they don't 
> understand error 
> messages.  I believe the vast majority of I/T professionals 
> can figure 
> out what an error message says.  How can we expect a consumer to 
> understand an error message. My wife is the greatest of 
> business of the 
> many business people I know.  I wont let here touch an error 
> message for 
> fear I wont be able to reproduce it.
> The only message that should be displayed is
>     "Your Computer Needs to be Restarted, it Will Run Better After 
> Restarting" and a button that is labeled
>         "Restart"

How many times do you have an error that doesn't require a reboot?  Having
the user to reboot to fix anything and everything is going to make your user
think it is unreliable and remind them of Windows 98.



> 
> <nutshell>
> I'd call the distribution a "car" like name because the 
> consumer would 
> only put electricity in to it to maintain it.  That is the 
> whole thing 
> in a nut shell.
> </nutshell>
> 
> Yes, it needs to be idiot proof, have a good price, and never break.
> 

There will never be an idiot proof, never breaking operating system.   

Not to be a wet blanket, buy I see 1x10^-64 percent chance of this ever
happening.  To much scratching of there own itches to focus on a common goal
like this, or to even be able to agree on what goes in.  I mean come on,
your going to have to pick ONE window manager.  Look at the flack Perens is
catching from suggesting such a thing.  The man is totally right by the way.
Since when has the *nix community ever done anything besides bifurcate when
it comes to ways to achieve something?  Linux is and in my opinion will
always be a system that is mix and match with a lot of DYI capablilities
that works well for servers and techies.  Mix and match and DYI are polar
opposite to what most end users want and I don't think the Linux community
cares enough about end users to ever cater to them enough.

Ryan

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