OT: Siemens sees Linux desktops at 20% of market by 2008 --recommends GNOME over KDE

[George Staikos]

On Saturday 16 August 2003 01:14, M. Fioretti wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 15, 2003 20:23:41 at 08:23:41PM -0400, George Staikos 
(staikos at kde.org) wrote:
> > It sounds to me like this guy doesn't "get it".  Linux is about
> > freedom and choice.  OSS is a process, not a product.  He's falling
> > into the "Linux the Product" trap.  With those views, in the end
> > someone at Seimens is going to be disappointed.
> >
> > They should let their users decide what they wish to use.
>
> Speaking not to insult, just as a voice from the other side of the
> corporate firewall which sincerely wants to help KDE and Free SW, I'm
> afraid I must tell you that *you* don't "get it" at all this time.
> See also my answer to Navindra's post.
>
> First of all, medium/big corporations buy only products or turn key
> solutions, not processes. That's what they want to hear, whatever it
> means.

  That is the fallacy.  Just because they do it all the time doesn't mean it's 
right.  See: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20030814.html

   There are very many bad politics involved.  Politics that are very bad for 
the company.

> In the second place, they (both the legal entity and the great
> majority of their employees) DO NOT WANT freedom and choice. Not in
> the sense you mean it. They pay not be burdened with that. The only
> freedom and choice they want is the one to pay somebody else as little
> as possible to make the choices for them without disrupting daily
> business.

  This is not always true.  I have worked for businesses that let you install 
whatever system you wanted on your computer as long as the job was done 
efficiently.  All of those businesses were eventually bought out for quite a 
bit of money.

> Yes, they also want customization, stability, escape from vendor
> lock-in, etc... but they don't want to know how it happens. They don't

   That sounds like freedom of choice to me.

> want to know if what is on the screen is KDE, GNOME or what not, just
> that it works without employee retraining, and that it doesn't allow
> people being creative (eg compiling and installing SW).

  Sorry this contradicts what the article just said.  They explicitly stated 
that they want Gnome on the desktop.  They then went on to say that they 
wanted Ximian (R) Desktop 2 on their desktop.  Which one is it?

> Just don't be surprised if it never happens, because, again, your
> arguments, as valid as they are, simply do not apply to corporate IT.

   Not yet, but the idea of Linux doesn't apply to corporate IT yet either.  I 
spent hours in workshops at OLS 3 weeks ago discussing just this issue with 
industry leaders from government and big Linux corporations.

> *IF* you or KDE care about that world (and I'm not saying you should)
> you have to acknowledge the way they think, and come to terms with
> that, not wait till they bend over backwards to make freedom, choice
> etc... enter their DNA.

   We don't have that choice.  KDE doesn't have a marketing team, paid 
developers who will fix bugs and add features on demand, 24/7 phone support, 
and people with contacts to the CIOs and IT managers at business who can 
travel to their business, take them out for expensive dinners, and offer them 
discounts on software and a free weekend at the company condo on the beach in 
the carribbean.

-- 
George Staikos
KDE Developer				http://www.kde.org/
Staikos Computing Services Inc.		http://www.staikos.net/