Chuckaluphagus wrote:just brew it! wrote:whm1974 wrote:One myth I keep running into is Linux is hard to learn or use by non-geeks. My dad and stepmother use Linux just fine as did a few friends I introduce it to who pick it up real quick. Of course I had install and do some configuring, but I would have to do that for Windows anyway.
Well, you've got the Linux evangelists promoting the myth that "there's a free equivalent for practically every Windows application", so I figure we can call that one even. You need to have a pretty flexible definition of "equivalent" to be OK with that one...
There is a type of person is certain that world really does work like that: "GIMP looks like Photoshop, so therefore they're equivalent. I don't actually have any experience with image editing or processing, but how is that relevant? No, I have no idea what CMYK is, so it must not matter." *
In my experience, these people seem to find ways to insert themselves as roadblocks into the procurement process, with an astonishing amount of self-confidence and -righteousness. I once had a functionary tell me that I was not allowed to have image editing software (of any stripe) anymore for my job, because the default user image included Acrobat Reader. He was determined to not understand why that wasn't acceptable.
* I say this as someone who uses GIMP professionally, by the way.
It's highly dependent on the user. I myself use a mixture of FOSS and proprietary software. I rather use Linux with proprietary stuff then not being able to use Linux at all. And yes I'm a realistic, I know fully well there isn't always a FOSS equivalent to closed source software.