[Am-info] FW: Perhaps unreliable is the wrong word...

[Jeff Wasel]

The Globe Replies...

My original note is included if you scroll through...

Cheers, 

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: gaither@globe.com [mailto:gaither@globe.com]
Sent: 29 July 2002 16:18
To: Jeff Wasel
Subject: Re: Perhaps unreliable is the wrong word...



Jeff,

Thanks for your note. Good to know people in London are reading.

I know Linux is being used successfully in many data centers. I wasn't
saying it was too unreliable generally, just for the average desktop user.
And I used the word unreliable in the broadest sense (not the five 9's
sense), which encompasses ease of use. But your point is well taken. I'll
keep that in mind for my next story.

Best,
Chris

Chris Gaither
The Boston Globe
West Coast bureau, San Francisco

Hi Chris,

Caught you recent piece in the Globe; on the whole, well balanced and to
the
point.

I would take issue though with your statement that Linux is "too
unreliable" - most of the Internet runs on a version of Open Source
software
similar to the Linux collaborative model called Apache, and hundreds, if
not
thousands of mission-critical apps are run on Linux by academics,
researchers, the government and large commercial entities as well. Perhaps
a
better term would have been "too nerdy" or not that user friendly, which is
a fair ding.

Linux is making great strides in developing UI (User Interface)
technologies
that are close to making it intuitive enough for the average user, but not
your grandma. That's a ways off; however not too far off. StarOffice, Sun's
Linux-based challenge to MS Office is expected to take at least 10% off of
MS' market share (Gartner Group) over the next year or so, so the UI issue
is not a show stopper for a lot of folks. People adapt if they think the
effort is worth it, and given MS' track record of bugs, crashes and just
plain sloppy code, there is a powerful argument to learn to navigate a
Linux
UI.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll hear more from the geeks in the street-

Cheers,

Jeff

Jeff Wasel
Department of Information Systems
Tower One, Third Floor
The London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE