6 Dec
2003
6 Dec
'03
10:57 a.m.
LinuxMedia wrote:
I'll share a short story. Recently I had the experience of setting up a
friend's computer with Windows 2000. It was an upgrade from a Win98SE
system that had become so thoroughly virus infected (it was on the net
with no firewall or other protection) that I thought the best thing to
do would be to upgrade the system. So I did, and with the help of a
Windows-savvy friend I spent *5 hours* applying M$'s suggested security
patches. When I delivered the machine it was working like a champ. Three
days later my friends called me to complain that "the computer was
bogging down again and didn't work". Okay, so I finally get over there
and discover the following items :
1. The virus protection had been disabled.
2. What they call a "computer" we know as a "browser".
3. The machine was fine, their network software configuration had
been changed.
4. The DSL modem needed reset.
Now, the guy who owns this machine can disassemble a Harley-Davidson and
put it back together blindfolded. He's not stupid, but he is, as you
write, totally ignorant about computers. When he says "memory" I now
know he means disk space; when he says "computer" I now know that he's
referring to the Web browser. And so on... Of course he has no idea how
things got changed on the system. It is hard to determine: there's so
much adware, spyware, and other crap out there, and I'm missing all of
it thanks to Linux. Geez, I didn't realize that Windows users *pay* for
programs to eliminate pop-up and pop-under ads. Mozilla just has a nice
little toggle in its settings, no cost at all !
So I went over two days ago and repaired the system again. It does seem
that the virus protection conflicts somehow with one of the M$ security
packs, but I'm damned if I can figure it out. My Windows-savvy pal is
going to help me out again, but this is the last time we're trying to
fix things. To say that Windows 2000 is something of a "bare" system is
an understatement. Few diagnostic tools, and even fewer real solutions
beyond the M$CE mantra : "Reboot, reinstall, reboot, reinstall, reboot,
reinstall"...
So I agree. The typical computer user knows next to nothing about this
device which has become so important in our daily lives, which sets them
up to become victims of their own ignorance. I can understand why you're
concerned about making the Linux experience as painless as possible, but
you've got a big task ahead of you, as I'm sure you know.
Best regards,
== dp
You
over-estimate the typical Windows user's technical self-confidence.
Putting a CD in the drive, figuring out how to find the icon for it and
double clicking on "SETUP.EXE" is adventurous enough to break out a cold
sweat for many.
Yea, unfortunalty, People who understand computers don't always
realize that the "average" Person understands *nothing* about
computers *other* than booting, clicking an icon and shutting down.
Seriously. These are the People I'm thinking about (constantly) when I
set My goals on setting up Linux Audio Studios.
It may sound odd, but I'm actually lucky that I'm not a "natural" at
computers. I struggle like hell to understand everything. But because
of this, I think I understand the "average computer user".