[SATLUG] [going OT] Future Of The Internet

[Borries Demeler]

> 
> As for the "steep learning curve", I must ask, what steep learning 
> curve? If you put a complete newbie on a linux machine, or a windows 
> machine, they have to go through the same process of learning to use the 
> system.

First, as most Linux users, I come originally from the Windows world,
so I had to relearn (that was in 1996, btw).

Second, many things don't work out of the box under Linux, and require
manual fiddling, google searching and downloading help from various
places, in particular, problems arise when you use specialized hardware
without OEM support.

The fact that Linux often doesn't have OEM support makes it harder to use,
no question about that. Another point is that Linux has a much greater
flexibility and capability than Windows. With this comes often confusion,
if you have too many options, you need to learn which ones apply to your
case. Even though I have never come across something I couldn't do with
Linux, many of the items required more effort to get them to work than 
it would have taken under Windows. That's what I mean with "steep learning
curve", (manually tweaking your IPtables firewall is not as straightforward
as clicking on options in zone alarm, for example, and there are lots more).

Nonetheless, in the end you have something that performs better than
windows, and that has me convinced, and is worth the extra effort spent
in learning. Spending time learning something useful is much better
spent than time wiping/reinstalling your harddrive over and over because 
of viruses, spybots, adware, degrading performance, or botched installations
of "upgrades and service packs" etc...

-Borries