Novice PC users more likely to embrace Linux

Ziff Davis Australia ^ | 06 April 2005 | Munir Kotadia

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

In a report published by research and analysis firm Quocirca, entitled "Migrating to Linux on the Desktop", the company found not only was it a myth that you had to be a power user to cope with Linux, the complete opposite is true.

According to the report, as users become comfortable with an operating system and start customising it, they are far less likely to want to change.

"The consensus amongst early adopters is that Windows power users are the most difficult group to migrate to Linux because of the breadth of applications they rely on and the advanced features they use within them," the report said." Replacing this richness with Linux-compatible alternatives, and at the same time dealing with their legacy data and home grown applications, is extremely difficult".

[polymuser]

Burnt the U Live CD yesterday and played a little on PI and PIII machines. Loaded and ran OK on both. Open Office and other packaged app's (graphics, web page editor, system tools) look pretty powerful at first glance. Has Firebird and Thunderbird, too. Can't really judge speed running from the CD. Definitely going to install U on an unused PI and learn it. Been having problems with an XPHome machine and fear the SP2 push, so it may well get U, too.

I need to check out moving user files: will U read Word, Excel, etc. files off a floppy or CD made from w98 and XP? I'm on the steep initial slope of a new OS curve; it's kind of cool actually, haven't played there for years.

[chronic_loser]

open office should read all these files. you mention, no matter what version of windows pushed ms office when u made them.

an added benefit of open office is that about once a month i get a popup screen from open office asking me what i want to do with a script file disguised as a .doc attached to an email. open office will run on your wintel boxes, too.

I actually PREFER the spreadsheet to excel.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

I have to agree with chronic user. OO.org is better me thinks. And it is very much inter-operable with MSoffice files. Before you switch download the win32 version and see for yourself.

OO.org 2.0 is supposed to have even more interoperability.

What distribution you planning on installing? Just curious.

[polymuser]

What distribution you planning on installing?

Heck if I know! I'm just getting to know Linux as we speak. Like what I'm seeing so far. I'll check out the W32 version -- thanks for the suggestion!

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

good luck. :-)

[Bogey78O]

I installed Libra this morning. Didn't have a chance to get on it before work.