Re: “KDE For Windows 10 Exiles” Campaign

On Wed, 4 Jun 2025 21:17:15 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote in
<101qr6t$158p2$1@dont-email.me>:
 

On Wed, 6/4/2025 8:41 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

“Your computer is toast
>
“Running Windows 10 on your computer? On October 14 Microsoft wants to
turn it into junk.
>
“It may seem like it continues to work after that date for a bit, but
when Microsoft stops support for Windows 10, your perfectly good
computer will be officially obsolete.
>
“Windows 10 will degrade as more and more bugs come to light. With
nobody to correct them, you risk being hacked. Your data, identity, and
control over your device could be stolen.
>
“New versions of your apps will not run, but Microsoft will still block
you from upgrading to the next version of Windows until you buy the new
computer they decide.”
>
Scary? Yes. Exaggerated? No. Because that’s what Microsoft really wants
to do. Just like it has done so many times before.
>
<https://kde.org/for/w10-exiles/>
>
>

Was that a picture of one of the KDE staffers computer room ?
>
Maybe that's their build server ? :-)
>
Seriously, I scanned the page and I don't see an action plan.
How exactly will the software climb onto the PC ?
>
That's what is missing from the Year Of The Linux Desktop,
is the Concierge service.

 I've written about this before.  Someone could start a business along the
lines of "Geek Squad" that caters to Linux.
 Because when you get down to it, what is the "concierge service" for
Windows?  Seems to be Geek Squad, or any number of local establishments.
 For Linux, one might be lucky and find a local establishment that knows it
  -- or a friendly LUG.  I know one elderly lady (who posts as "Bliss") who
got help from SFLUG.  I know another grandma who uses Linux _and_ Usenet,
who has a daughter who is Linux-savvy.
 

Remember, your average user is not a C.S.
graduate, and with the sorry state of Google searches these days, even
the best-prepared website is never going to show up in a search.

 You know as well as I do that you don't need to be a "C.S. graduate" to
use Linux.  It's not 2015 anymore.  I daresay Linux is easier to install
and use than Windows.
 "But what about MS Office?" someone may ask:  For the most part,
Office 365 works on Linux.  (Alas, Access doesn't.  That's the only
reason I haven't moved my parents to Linux.)
 

How do I put the ISO on the USB stick ?

 Beats me.  How do you do it for Windows?
 

Some of the people,
just a few, will remember trying one USB stick tool after another,
and ending up with nothing to show for their trouble. And those are the
people who will be offering advice.
>
A few of the users, will try to download the ISO onto a FAT32 partition
for temporary storage. Say, a 6GB Ubuntu DVD.
And you know what happens when you do that. I've done that *several*
times by accident. Today, there are no more FAT32 partitions in the
active computer room. When the WinXP machine died, the interest in FAT32
went with it.
>
I looked at gstatcounter today, and I saw some strange patterns in
there. What's weird about the patterns, is there are real world
events... and the patterns in gstatcounter are delayed by two or three
months. Nothing seems to "align immediately" exactly. It's my suspicion,
that Microsoft is winning by playing this game. But it's a natural
outcome. The path of least resistance is being followed. I've already
heard one USENETter say the fateful words,
"maybe I should buy a Win11 machine". Not many would have the balls to
admit something like that. Normally that sort of thing happens silently.
>
That's why I'm telling you that Concierge service is the only campaign
that will work. Unless a loaded USB stick shows up in a mailer on each
users doorstep, it's not gonna happen.
>
Google has an offering for the Chrome Book OS, and the offering is a bit
more friendly than the competition. Unfortunately, their GUI is not very
expressive. When the installer boots, it should just say "um, we don't
install on desktops, hey, try your laptop".
Instead, the interface just freezes... as a status code. When I booted
my laptop with that installer USB, I finally made it past the first
screen. But had no intention of installing it on my laptop.
>
If it's one thing I know about helping users, it takes *forever*
to get one of them tipped upright. It's like herding turtles.
How this is a recipe for the Year Of The Linux Desktop,
escapes me. The above web page isn't helping.
>
If you were serious about your campaign, you'd send 100 serialized USB
sticks to each Public Library. Then, on the KDE web page,
when everything is staged, you'd have the users sign out the stick at
the library, and bring it back later. Or, be charged a nominal fee
(similar to a late book charge). Libraries do not enjoy being dragged
into every crazy assed scheme, but they were the point of contact here
for FreeNet. You could fill out a FreeNet sheet, show your drivers
license to attest to the details, and the sheet was then forwarded to
FreeNet.
There isn't really a FreeNet here any more, but that's how they got some
people hooked up on an "hour a week" dialup plan.
The local FreeNet modem front end was donated by a high tech company.
>
Pressed DVDs would be cheaper, but the instant response in the audience
would be "hey, I don't got a DVD drive". That's why I can't utter magic
words like that.

 Thanks for the history lesson, but I'm just as frustrated with the
"Freenet" model as you are.
 Back in 1994, our enterprise wanted to be a "Freenet".  Turns out there
was a licensing fee: $20K, IIRC.  Uh, no thanks -- so we became a
"paynet".  "Freenet" seemed like a scam.
 With careful cost accounting, we figured we could break even with a
reasonable number of customers at $2/mo.  That became our "charter
member" fee, and we set it up so that folks could pay up to a year
in advance before we raised the fees to $12/mo.  These were fair
prices for a BBS community that was itching to get on the Internet.
 "Support forums" were Usenet groups, and we had one especially for
Linux.  Today, forums like alt.os.linux and alt.os.linux.mint exist, and
are fairly active.  No reason that someone on Usenet couldn't get
themselves running on Linux, as long as they can write to a USB drive
and boot it.  Linux Mint also has web forums for support.  It's no
different than most people experience with Windows.
 I will say one thing:  I once contacted Microsoft Support about getting
a download link for Access.  (I was going to try to run it on proton, on
Linux.)  They were courteous and helpful.  If someone started a service
like that for Linux, they'd be sitting on a goldmine.