Arun Khan wrote:
On Friday 20 Jun 2008, Rony wrote:
Dinesh Shah wrote:
H!
Rony, how about you putting forward your experience as GNU/Linux Service/Support Provider?
My experience with promoting FOSS has not been very positive. Nothing to talk about.
Nonetheless, it would be worthwhile to hear your experience. There is something to learn from every experience. :) Please reconsider.
FOSS is a different game altogether. In Windows you can simply be a service provider and the client is supposed to know how the software works on his own and he takes the initiative to do so. In FOSS, simply providing the software is not enough. The client expects training or will go back to Windows. I don't have the time to train people. For most people, FOSS will work more as a solution/package to a specific requirement rather than just a software for daily use, unless the user is self motivated. Plus many of my clients use web based services that run only in Windows, like share trading softwares. The package makers do not support GNU/Linux. Many have problems with OO not functioning the same way as M$ Office. Ultimately I have stopped bothering about making GNU/Linux work for them and I have stopped complaining too.