Total Joy of Ownership

["Atul Chitnis" <achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>> I am not sure how to understand this - you mean spending money
>> on Linux is bad? Given what you *get* for the money you spend?
>
> Yes, if one is spending 3500 ( Rs. 3600 - 100 for CD ) for  simply a
> printed manual which is available on CD. The 3500 can buy some excellent
> books on Linux. I am sure  more than half the people on this list will
> think more than twice before spending on official linux
> distribution.
>
> It is the beauty of linux that it available from Rs.free to Rs.3600 (or
> may be more) and choice may be just left with the user.

I hate myself everytime I get into debates like this, but why does one come
across the attitude of "it's bad to spend money on Linux because it is free
and you can use your money for better things" so often in this list?

Rs.3600 is not "simply for a printed manual". You also get the complete CD
set (install, source) and the superb Applications CD, which includes a
licensed, RH6 optimised copy of StarOffice 5, IBM ViaVoice and many other
packages that are worth much more than what you pay.

The manuals are an *excellent* reference, especially if you do not have much
Linux experience. The manuals on CD are no use during the installation
because you cannot access them. And no one is going to take the trouble of
printing them out, either, before the installation.

The package also includes email and phone support (the latter may be of
questionable value unless you are a corporate who doesn't care about phone
bills).

Most people in this list probably do not realise that the biggest problem
with Linux today is not the fact that it is different, but that people have
short attention spans and lose interest if they cannot install something in
a given period of time or feel that they are in control of the situation.
Most people who try things on their own and give up (never to try again) do
so because they did not have enough support available in those crucial 1-2
hours when they first try to install Linux. They form their opinions and
move on, carrying their first impressions with them to pass on to anyone who
asks.

Please - I know what I am talking about. I have never bragged about it on
this list, but I have been using Linux since 1993 and have been advocating
it since then. And I have found that nothing succeeds in convincing a person
that "Linux is Good" like a quick, successful installation.

People who can rapidly install Linux given proper guidance (which they get
from the printed manuals) and who can get up and productive quickly (which
they do when they are immediately able to install something like StarOffice)
are more likely to make the move to Linuxdom than someone who battles it out
on his own, with sporadic support from a mailing list that he can access
only if he gets through to VSNL and can send/receive mail - which is not
likely if this scene is at home, where the machine currently being installed
is the only one.

Please be careful on what exactly you advise a person on. There are wheels
within wheels. Let me illustrate:

In some country (I think it was New Zealand), they shot as many wild dogs as
they could, because they were a pest. But this resulted in the rabbit
population (which the wild dogs preyed on) growing uncontrolled, which
caused them to wipe out entire fields, causing a problem far more severe
than the wild dogs ever represented. No one has ever thought of that, but by
the time they realised what had happened, it was too late - the damage was
irreparable.

Linux cannot survive as a corporate contender if there is no money in it for
anyone. "Free" is the biggest ball and chain Linux has today - if vendors do
not find sustained commercial interest in Linux, they will drop it like a
hot brick. And that would mean (for us here in India) no GT Enterprises, no
PC Quest, no Linux in every book/computer store, no corporate interest, no
push by companies like IBM/Oracle/Intel/Compaq/Dell/Wipro/HCL/etc.

Also remember another thing (something that did *not* prompt me into writing
this note!) - it would mean that companies like mine would find no interest
in Linux anymore since as consultants, we get paid for our advice and time.
We don't get paid by vendors (not even Linux vendors!), we get paid by
clients for advising them on implementable solutions. If the corporate world
loses interest in Linux, we cannot advise Linux as a solution anymore
because our clients find no corporate/commercial presence and therefore
would be uncomfortable with our advice - and dump us.

Money is not always the most important thing - sometimes it makes sense not
to spend 1000 bucks on a dinner with friends and buy some good, solidly
documented/supported software instead.

As for the statement "I am sure more than half the people on this list will
think more than twice before spending on official linux distribution" - I
will give you another analogy:

I am a gigantic Star Wars fan. I own all three movies as legal Video
cassettes - and even bought a second set when the "improved" versions came
out some time back with extra footage.

I have not been to a cinema theatre since May 1987 - I see all movies on
VCD/DVD/LD/cassette. Seeing something on the small screen costs me 10-15
bucks as video-cassette  rental.

Yet I will *not* see the new Star Wars movie on the small screen first - I
will wait until it comes to a theatre in India, and then go and see it
there. Why? Because spending any amount of money (for me, my family, my
friends) to  see it on the big screen gives you something more, something
value added, something undeniably different. It will give me an experience
that simply cannot be replaced with "great, I saved money seeing it on the
small screen".

If one was to take the proposed argument of "The 3500 can buy some excellent
books on Linux", one could say "why bother? It is the same movie on the big
screen as on the small screen, isn't it? The money is better spent on buying
yourself a new VCD player".

Have you heard of the term "Total Cost of Ownership"? Well, there is another
term I like better - it is called "Total Joy of Ownership".

When you walk into my den (because of its perpetual state of "post-cyclonic
mess" no one calls it my office), you see my array of Linux software boxes
stacked up on the shelf along with other legal software I own, and you
cannot help but see the pride I feel looking at them. More than once, it was
enough to arouse the interest of a client who visited, and one thing led to
another....

I apologise for this long note, but if I cannot talk to the Indian Linux
community through this list and say what I feel, I wonder where I could...

Atul

- ----------------------------------------------------
Atul Chitnis     | achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
C&B Consulting   | http://www.cbconsulting.com
Bangalore, India | +91(80)3440397 Fax +91(80)3341137
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