Re: SEUL: Is it too soon for me to comment?

["Erik Walthinsen (Omega)" <omega@sequent.com>]

Reply-To: omega@seul.org

On Mon, 5 Jan 1998, Paul Anderson wrote:

> I think most of you will agree with me when I say that Linux isn't ready
> for primetime moron-usage quite yet.  Many people have commented on this
> list as to the fact that Lnux lacks a number of things to go out and
> directly thwap at Win95's market.
Again, the goal of this project is to change that.  I know precisely where
Linux is right now, it's where it's going that I want to worry about.

> A newbie running Win95 on his computer WON'T buy SEUL or any other Linux
> off the shelf and put it on his computer.  Why?  Because he knows Win95,
> and it works for him. So, our best bet is the client/server market. 
Initially, yes.  As people use SEUL at work, they realize, "hey, this is
easier than my Windoze box at home, maybe I should install it there."
Soon people are doing this en masse, and pressure mounts on computer
manufs. to actually sell them pre-loaded.  Optimistic, yes, but that's a
possibility.

> You can store windows programs on a Linux harddrive, and grab them over
> the network and have the windows box run them, thus solving
> compatibility issues.  E-Linux could be the server, and SEUL could be
> E's client companion, coming preconfigured to work with E-Linux. 
Couple things here.  First, people grab Windows programs off the net (via
samba) right now.  The Linux machines are run by sysadmins who already
know what's going on.  This isn't our target market.  Second, e-linux
appears (very little on their site) to have roughly the same goals as
SEUL, but intends to use KDE (and thus Qt).

There was a project started (now defunct) called Linnet, which would be
the server you're talking about.  If this group can be resurrected, and
SEUL and Linnet can cooperate, we can develop two systems that work
seamlessly together.  You have the Linnet "workgroup server", and SEUL on
"client on a diet" machines that cost half of what Windoze is requiring
these days.  A decently sized server per N clients (for reasonable values
of N), and you can set things up so the client can run certain apps from
the server.  X is wonderful, don't you think?

If there is interest in a Linnet-type system, we can organize a small
group to go and revive the Linnet concept.  They have had some pretty good
ideas, which both Linnet and SEUL would benefit greatly from.  It would be
good to share them.

TTYL,
    Omega

     Erik Walthinsen <omega@seul.org> - SEUL Project system architect
        __
       /  \                SEUL: Simple End-User Linux -
      |    | M E G A            Creating a Linux distribution
      _\  /_                         for the home or office user