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Logo and text
Jean,
Have mad some corrections and changed text around to try to make the
meanings more clear.
Bud
--------
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<BR CLEAR=ALL>
<H2>Independence Linux: The user's revolt</H2>
<BR CLEAR=ALL>
<p>We want Linux to become the dominant operating system. But this
will not happen if Linux remains a system for an elite, it will not
happen if Linux follows the steps of a system (Unix) that never made
significant inroads in two vital areas: the desktop and the personal
computer.</p>
<H3>A distribution belonging to us, the users</H3>
</p>
<p>
Independence is not just one of the regular commercial distributions that
have appearing daily for the last months. Its aim is to be a
distribution which allows users to make their voices heard in the
distributions design. It is built by volunteers who no longer accept
having an aristocracy of distribution designers providing solutions
that have little relation to problems faced by most Linux users.
It is built by people who don't accept present distributions to continually
neglect two areas vital for the future of Linux: the desktop and the
personal computer. </p>
<H3>Why do we revolt?</H3>
<p>
Year after year, version after version distribution designers have
been living in a nice little Unix world that has little relation to
the Linux world, where we are now.
<ul>
<li>Unix was never used at home so distribution designers have mainly ignored
the problems of the dialup user, and have made distributions that are basically
useless for a personal user by assuming that people would leave their computers
on 24 hours a day.
<li>Distribution designers still ship distributions that are
unforgiving of user errors and start far too many daemons by default.
<EM>each unneeded daemon is a potential security hole</EM>. In fact they rely
on the Unix model: an expensive system used in organizations that will
provide an experienced system administrator to fix problems.
<li>Distribution people still assume that Linux will remain confined
to the server role like its Unix brethren. Thus they didn't care
about manual mountings : <EM>a minor problem in servers, a sizable loss of
time in work stations</EM>, neglect productivity software and don't seem to
know that you probably need much more than Samba when interacting with
Windows computers.
</ul>
<p>
The problem is: Linux is inexpensive and that does not make it an
inexpensive Unix but a system that will be used for tasks Unix was
never used; by people who are different than traditional Unix users.
Linux needs to expand in those areas where Unix is absent and
presently neglected by traditional distributions. For
Linux to grow until it displaces Windows, we have to learn to
<A HREF="/thinklinux.shtml"><em>Think Linux</em></A>
</p>
<p>
We at project Independence are tired of seeing people asking for help
from Windows because nobody cares about the problems of the dial-up
user, we are tired of distributions that assume we don't have a life,
we are tired of unforgiving distributions built on the assumption that the
Linux user has a nanny to fix problems until he knows how to fix them
himself. When at our office we are tired of being unable to get the
messages of the NT print server and we are tired of the sardonic smile
in the face of Windows activists when they see us struggle with
smbmount. We are tired of waiting for a distribution designed for the
<A HREF="/thinklinux.shtml">Linux world</A>
</p>
<H3>The Independence distribution</H3>
Independence is a free distribution designed for the users by the users.
We built it because we feel that by ignoring those people who don't
fit in the classical Unix schema the distribution designers are treating
them like second class users. They are also slowing Linux growth
outside Unix ecological niche that is 95% of the users.
You can find more info about the distribution in the
<A HREF="/distribution/"> distribution page</A>.
Independence is volunteer work, we will make faster progress if
<em>you</em> participate. If you believe that the Linux user is
different and needs <A HREF="/thinklinux.shtml"> <em>Linux</em> solutions.</A>
If
you believe that we, users of the front line, are in the best position
to determine what is good for us, if you want Linux spreading
everywhere then <A HREF="/subscribing/">join us!</A>
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<STRONG> Project coordinator</STRONG>
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<A HREF="mailto:jfm2@club-internet.fr">jfm2@club-internet.fr </A>
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<STRONG>Web Weaver</STRONG>
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<A HREF="mailto:elflord@pegasus.rutgers.edu">elflord@pegasus.rutgers.edu</A>
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<STRONG>Mailing list subscriptions </STRONG>
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<A HREF="mailto:majordomo@seul.org">majordomo@seul.org</A><BR>
(put subscribe independence-l in the body)
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