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by jhall1468 2409 days ago
> So what are they going to do when they encounter a problem on windows? Pretty sure MS hasn't yet figured out how to directly install a Window manual into their userss brains, and the thousands of unanswered windows troubleshooting questions online can attest to that.

They call an 800 number to get help or send it back.

> your own technical ignorance and laziness?

That, right there, was exactly what the person was responding to. This attitude of "piss off and learn" is incredibly prevalent in the Linux community, which is exactly why it is (and will remain, for the foreseeable future) irrelevant on the desktop.
2 comments
excursionist 2409 days ago
> They call an 800 number to get help or send it back.

So they either attempt to get a solution from the same kind of service you get by buying a commercial linux desktop (or just the support), or they 'send it back' - which was exactly your complaint about Linux. You're contradicting yourself.

> That, right there, was exactly what the person was responding to.

It was actually a question regarding the need to tell tales about 'crusty basement-dwelling kids now in their 50s'. What was the point of that other than to make yourself feel better?

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caspper69 2409 days ago
> It was actually a question regarding the need to tell tales about 'crusty basement-dwelling kids now in their 50s'. What was the point of that other than to make yourself feel better?

I told the story. And it is a relevant one. There is an element in the community, not as pervasive as it once was, but it is not insignificant, that is and behaves exactly as I set forth. And I know it to be true, just as you do, and every other person here on HN knows it to be true. I lived through it.

That "attitude" is one of the major things holding back Linux on the desktop. Sad, but true. And it doesn't have anything to do with my technical prowess (or that of any HN reader for that matter). It's for Joe down the street. Jen who can barely turn a computer on, etc.

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excursionist 2408 days ago
> And I know it to be true, just as you do, and every other person here on HN knows it to be true. I lived through it. That "attitude" is one of the major things holding back Linux on the desktop. Sad, but true.

Maybe you should stop assuming your anecdotal experience is representative of the entire community.

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TheGrassyKnoll 2409 days ago
> "piss off and learn"

  Sounds like a great name for a new distro...
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