Orginal thread on my old forums
Someone quoted this to me yesterday and it really pissed me off. This is one of the dumbest statements that I have heard.
Linux is not anymore difficult to use than anything else. If someone didn’t know anything about computers, and I mean had never even touched one before, and they walked up to a Linux, Windows or Mac machine they would have no idea what was going on. No matter which one they were at.
If they spent a couple days with any of them by the end they would be better on that one than the others. So why do people think that just because they cannot walk up to a Linux machine and instantly do everything that they can on a Windows box, that Linux is hard to understand?
Linux is actually quite simple to use in a desktop situation and once you get used to how it works easy to use in a server situation. It is only when you try to use Linux like other operating systems that it become complicated.
You have to get rid of the bad habits that other OSes have forced you to pick up and learn the new slicker way to accomplish things. The new freedom that you get by being able to control and see the things that are happening on the computer, not just trying to track them down and find the little demons that are causing you problems.
When/If I have kids I plan to start them out running Linux on their computers, not because I am a pruist who thinks they will never use Windows, but because I want them to look at Linux and all operating systems with cleaner eyes than most people. Eyes that aren’t clouded by habits formed from any one specific OS.