Integration is a part of QA. I explicitly held that QA was one of the two main drivers of Linux's failure. And don't kid yourself, it's definitive -- Linux evokes images of crummy half-baked software in most people's heads.
People who describe themselves as "young-ish" similarly evoke images of crummy half-baked ideas. Things grow. As you grow older you will learn to try to not discount the entity you are presented with now based on impressions made in the past.
Well, the blog is full of crummy half-baked ideas, not to mention weird rants written in panic while on drugs. My professional work is not described as something by a young-ish person.
The thing is, it's too late to change the average (intelligent, well-informed, willing to try new things) user's perception of Linux. For a while, people like classical musicians were trying Linux because it seemed like the better alternative. They gave up. The world gave up.
I never once mentioned in the blog post I use a Mac. It's just something in the background. I don't think about it. I use Windows at work, incidentally. The taskbar works differently, but I'm not playing OS freak anymore.
Oh. On growing older, I'm 25, soon to be 26, and actually trying to present me as younger. I wish I was younger, I wasted my teenage years and I'm trying to live it now while growing to be "serious" professionally in parallel.
It's an interesting thing. I have had two relationships with 30-year-olds who are in the same late-adolescence trip I am. Anyway, that's a personal rant.
Who are these 'most people' you speak of? If you mean people, in general, then you are talking about middle aged parents in suburbia, the elderly, or youth outside of the IT field. What do they know of software? But if you would like to talk about anyone in software engineering, scientific computing, high-performance computing, embedded systems, mission critical systems, server side development, etc., then most people will tell you Linux is integral to their work and not some half-baked piece of software.
1. you have your facts wrong. Linux is picking up in the consumer space, and many more people are starting to use it who aren't programmers. But, this has nothing to do with open source. HP, Dell and IBM all ship computers w/ Linux; which makes for an interesting definition of failure.
2. De Landa's understanding of open source is simplistic and wrong a movement that can be said to encompass both Theo De Raadt and Richard Stallman is not one given to unity of motive. One could say that there is no open source movement as such, merely individuals who use open source as a tactic.
3. Given 2. it is absurd to speak of "Open Source" "Failing"; it's like saying academia has failed because some people do not get advanced degrees.
wow, that is trollish and completely irrelevant, and basically tells me that you aren't here for substantive discussion.
A classically trained musician is operating in a field that demands perfect form and creativity, but allows for endless practice.
A good system administrator is like a Mississipi river pilot, he knows the environment and his equipment, and he is able to respond to changes quickly, on a variety of equipment under a wide variety of conditions. And he should also be able to foresee consequences and alternative courses of action.
If you think six months of training is enough to turn _anyone_ into a competent admin you are an ID10T.
I don't. My main expertises are technology-ish (in statistics, to be specific). It's just that these people seem to divide the world between "Joe Six-Pack" and "computer geeks". That's close-minded.
Yet you deny that anyone can be as masterful at managing and making computer systems work together as a professional violinist, and then claim that 'these people' have bias against everyone else. You also falsely state anyone can become a sysadmin in 6 months, ignoring the fact that the best sysadmins are ones that started in their teens and have mastered their field, just like classical musicians! Are you sure you aren't the one with a bias?
You are implying that art is somehow better than science and engineering! People can be good at something no matter what it is they are doing! They can hone a skill or perfect a craft or master a field of anything! At least realize your bias!
The point being, someone smart enough to play at an orchestra should be able to use a computer. Linux didn't fail just with Joe Six-Pack, it failed the vast majority of people intelligent enough to actually handle computers.
