Re: This FOSS Thang :-)

-hh wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

On 3/22/24 2:11 PM, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

-hh wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:
 

I read it and I wholeheartedly agree.  I'll try to remember to elaborate
more on that thread, but the jist of it is that the "go it alone" aspect
of Linux is a barrier to marketplace adoption for new customers, which
would be referred to as a point of "friction".  Similarly, what you
reference as 'lock in' would also be referred to as how customer
retention to a product is (or isn't) "sticky".  For maximized success,
one wants one's product to be low friction and sticky ... easy for
people to adopt, and once they do, they never leave.  That takes work to
be able to accomplish in the marketplace.

 
This falls under the rubric of "no shit, Sherlock".
 

>
Indeed it does, yet there's so many Linux fanboys that fail to
comprehend just how much friction Linux has which therefore limits its
appeal to perspective adopters/buyers.  It seems that they believe that
just because they've crawled across a mile of sharp glass, others should
too.
>
And FYI, if you don't like the industry term of friction, perhaps you
could envision it as a 'moat' that keeps new customers out, although
that's actually a different industry term:  it commonly refers to
elements which keep competitors from poaching your customers.

Yeah, I remember when the eeePC (see rbowman's posts) came out, with Linux.

IIRC the CEO of ASUS ended up apologizing to Microsoft about it.

Part of the Microsoft "moat".

Apparently the eeePC was a "mote in Bill's eye".  :D

--
When you are about to die, a wombat is better than no company at all.
-- Roger Zelazny, "Doorways in the Sand"