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wIndependence Day Essay: For housewives . . .
by 'Tiji' (August 8, 2002)

As any other talkative woman, I begin with a prehistory . . .

The first operating system I have ever installed was, of course, Windows. I am a weak woman! When Windows began installing, I started to feel smart – at last I am able to do something with a computer on my own! But from the first steps, I seemed to be a complete fool. I simply didn't understand what it was doing when installing, first letting me know that it has checked the free space availability on disk, and then announced that there has not been enough free space! I won't describe how I gave up DOS.

Lots of things in my life changed. A ‘husband-linuxman’ appeared.

Almost Alien . . .

A second operating system appeared on my computer. By default, Windows started, you had to do something special to run Linux. But one wonderful morning our 4-year-old son came to our room and demanded, "Will you finally give me access to your system? There are games I want to play, and I cannot enter the system. I have already learned how to start Linux, I know your usernames, but I cannot guess the password!" Hello there. I asked whether we still needed Windows on our computer and the kid answered with confidence, No!

And lately . . .

I had to install an operating system for the second time in my life when one beautiful Sunday morning my beloved husband ran away on business leaving me with a hard drive as clean as a whistle and a Linux CD. Men have this smart word – ‘upgrade’. I don't know what wives have to do with this, but how do you start a day without a cup of coffee and e-mail? I went into hysterics over the phone, but he just gingerly proposed me to "Install Linux. It's simple." The phrase "It's simple" was very reassuring. Before that I thought that people who called themselves ‘linuxmen’ are more than smart and this has to be a more than 'smart' operating system to just simply install it. I am a weak woman! In despair, I turned on the computer and inserted the CD . . .

In two hours I was reading my mail and keeping the kid off the computer, who demanded to play games.

What was I talking about?

Oh, yes. Dear women! Don't be afraid of the word ‘Linux’! Look at the screen - everything is written there and there are all those things you got used to. It looks a bit different, but do we have to get used to changing costumes? And why it is more reliable and better - your men will explain. Of course, if they can recall simple words :) I was very pleased that with my change over to Linux, my husband doesn't shout any more that I am opening stuff with viruses. With Linux, I feel simply nice and calm. The most important is realizing that I am not a fool! I have Linux at home :) It's so wonderful when it's working and doesn't crash. Isn't it, my dear women? The only thing I still haven't discovered is how my son resolves his problems with games, but they discuss it with my husband. It's beyond my scope. My solitaire game is working and cards are placed automatically where they belong and clicking on them doesn't get on my nerves.


Talk back! Do you have comments or questions about this story? talkback here

Please note: The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the writer, not of the management or staff of DesktopLinux.com.
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Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.

Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.

Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.

Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.

Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.

Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.

Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.

Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.

 

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