Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 18:47:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Dru <genisis@istar.ca> To: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com> Cc: advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: desktop, was linus on BSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9905081825510.22924-100000@genisis.istar.ca> In-Reply-To: <41922.926049456@zippy.cdrom.com>
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On Thu, 6 May 1999, Jordan K. Hubbard wrote: <snip> > I was more than willing to fight a two-front war for the > server and the desktop, but I also became rapidly disillusioned of > this when the guys who were supposed to be fighting for the desktop > never showed up. > > I should not have been particularly surprised at this, I suppose, > given that since this project's inception, it's been driven by user > demand and our users have, by and large, come from ISP and "old Unix > guard" demographics. Our users have been people who's primary > interest lies in FreeBSD machines sitting in server rooms and > essentially doing network-based rather than desktop-based services. > > Seeking to change this, we've had desktop contests, we've had logo > competitions, we've done all sorts of things to try and interest > people in desktop-shaped things but, with a few notable exceptions > (the bt848 folks, Luigi, etc), we just haven't been very successful at > it. At some point you simply have to declare a losing strategy for > what it is and that's what I was eventually forced to do with the > desktop; I didn't start out with that opinion, it was simply one > forced on me by pragmatism. > > That said, I can still see this changing as more and more people start > getting more involved at a technical level (seeing someone actively > working on adding MIDI support to our current sound driver was, for > example, a very encouraging development) and that's essentially what > it's going to take. Being credible on the desktop has never been > something held up by marketing, believe it or not, since you first > have to have something, anything, to market before you can start that > phase and we've never gotten that far with FreeBSD on the desktop. > > Do I see people out there who are finally willing to *do the work* of > making FreeBSD a credible desktop solution or do I simply see the > usual array of faces wondering when it's going to happen by sheer > magic? :-) Please don't shoot me for my newbie enthusiasm, but I've personally never encountered negativity regarding FreeBSD's desktop. I've found at the grassroots level, preferably with those who've never even heard of BSD, if you show them how to install and configure their systems, Windows and Linux soon go out the Window (excuse the pun). Windows because BSD does not crash, need to be rebooted every 15 minutes, and does not eat up valuable resources to accomplish a simple task. Linux because it is so hard to secure (nmap is always an eye opener) and the fact that Freebsd ports are so disgustingly easy to install; no RPMs (I think that's the 3 letter acronym that causes Linuxites to rip out their hair in handfuls) to coax into working. People who have never had an intimate relationship with an OS soon fall in love with and speak glowingly about FreeBSD. Once their desktops are happy, show them the advocacy sites and the bigwigs running FreeBSD, and they're hooked for life. We can all do our part at the grassroots level; seems to have worked out for Mr. Torvalds. We should also come up with a certification program for FreeBSD Administrators; those who know how to configure and push powerful and nicelooking desktops. Just my 2 cents worth. Dru To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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