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This post is part of a series of posts about stuff that can be done to make Linux a more formidable competitor in the consumer computer world.
Part 1 introduces the problem, and covers some points, including more innovation and designing better UIs. Here are some more:
- Make restricted formats (like
MPEG2, MP3, AAC) easy. I know there are legal issues (as reverse-engineering MP3 is
illegal in some countries, and the GPL doesn't allow binary-only package
linkages),
but as a consumer - I don't bloody care. Don't try to educate me, its not my problem. If
I can't play my MP3 music collection on Linux, why would I switch? If I
can't play my DivX movies or watch digital TV, why would I switch?
This
is one of the most asked questions on the net, but there's still no easy way on
any distribution I've tried (no, searching the net for the right page, deducing the jargon in the instructions, then
finding & installing some packages is not good enough). And by doing so,
does that make me a criminal? Other OSs don't make me feel like a criminal for
listening to my music or watching TV (yes, there's the Microsoft and
WGA/Activation issue too if you want to argue but its irrelevant
here).
The best proposal I've seen so far is the Ubuntu
solution.
All desktop distributions wanting users should have something similar if they
can't work around the problem otherwise. And no OpenSuSE, including RealPlayer is not a
solution as it can't manage my music, and limits me to using RealPlayer only.
Installing Helix Banshee to add music management functionality is a pain, and
woefully underpowered, not to mention slow.
While we're at it, if you want people to use your F/OSS stuff, get rid of stupid, arrogant
attitudes like this (from Theora's FAQ):
Q. Why use Theora?
It's
open and free. Do you need more reasons?
- Include binary-only drivers
like the official nVidia and ATi drivers (not included as their source is
not open, hence not GPL or compatible). Again, as a consumer - I don't
bloody care.
It's especially bad if my graphics card is crippled as a result, e.g. the
F/OSS nv driver does not support the 3D features for my 7300 GT. I don't mind an
'encourage F/OSS software' attitude, but if you're crippling my hardware just so you can uphold your belief, you've lost me.
- Put a GUI to anything a user
is likely to have to use more than once. Average people should not have to deal with terminal only apps.
Some argue that that's just the Linux way of doing things. Geeks like it
because its powerful. But its stupid for average people. Many studies have
shown that most people generally interact better with graphical interfaces
rather than command-line interfaces (the extreme being vi - yuck). Mac and
Windows (well Mac did, then Windows copied) worked this out ages ago. Don't
get rid of the terminal, just make GUI alternatives. It has and will
continue to get better, but GUIs need to be factored in during the
planning of an application, not as an afterthought.
Also start promoting the GUI alternative in HOWTOs and forums. That
way people are more likely to remember what to do next time or when
there's a similar problem. - Adopt the Ruby on Rails
philosophy - convention over configuration. Most users just want something
that works. They don't want to fiddle around for hours just to get it
working. They couldn't care less about being able to tweak the tiny
details. If its really necessary to be able to configure every last detail
(which nerds love), don't make that the first configuration stop. Make it
the last. Hide the tweaks.
Here's a nice comment from a blog post I was reading that's
representative of the current Linux situation: "Remember folks, linux
and other complicated "free" solutions are only free if your
time is worth nothing." - Users need hand holding.
Create wizards, tours, guides, tips etc. Hide error message details and
give instructions on either how to fix the problem, or what the best
recovery route is (unlike this from Vista/Expression
Blend). As geeks, we hate them and think they're an obstruction - give us
a way to disable them. But for others, make it default. Wizards,
especially wizards with good explanations of the options presented are
scarce in Linux. Firefox and the GIMP are good examples, and to a lesser
extent, Evolution.
The GIMP
| Evolution
|
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- Connect the web browser to
repository applications like Synaptic. The web is ultimately a much better
way of promoting an application than in repository applications. Create a
new protocol (like skype, emule etc. did) and when a link of that protocol
is clicked in a web browser, the specified package is automatically added
to the repository application's download list (adding the repository to
the list of sources if needed).