大家一起来翻译里面这篇文章吧，对促进Linux的桌面应用很有帮助

Sam1860

(2)
Linux on the Desktop, Page 1
Keep in mind, I am a linux user (yes, on the desktop) so you will DEFINITELY see some bias here.
I believe the points are still valid though, so think before you flame me.

桌面系统上的Linux，第一页

记住，我是一个Linux用户(在桌面系统上的)，因此你将清楚地看到这篇文章有一些偏见。
但我想我的观点仍然是对的，所以，在你想跟我争论前自已先想一想。


(3)
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed below are largely the author's opinion.
You may disagree, and we look forward to any debate.

免责声明：下面所表达的观点主要是作者的观点。
你们可以不同意，我期待一切的讨论。

Sam1860

(4)
Linux isn't as easy to use

Isn't it? How many of you used linux as your first computer? I'm guessing very few.
As we all know, "different" isn't "harder". I've been doing research on this topic,
and I've taught brand new computer users on linux (GNOME) without any trouble. But this is not the point.
The key thing to look at when criticizing open source is to remember that Open Source is still largely made up of volunteers.
As much as they want to help you, you have no right to demand ANYTHING.
For a very long time, people were still trying to get basic functionality in Linux.
Now that that has been accomplished, people are finally able to devote their time to "ease of use".
Linux is improving. I am a relatively new linux user (a year and a half),
and in the short period of time I've used linux, It's improved leaps and bounds in usability.
It's fine if linux isn't perfect for everyone yet, it's getting better.
These things don't happen in a day, and whining every week is just insulting to the developers.

Linux不易用
真的是这样吗？你们中有多少人是把Linux用作第一操作系统的（意为：首先接触使用的操作系统）？我想非常少。
我们都知道，“两者不一样”并不就是“一者比另一者难”。我曾经在这个问题上做过研究，
我曾经毫无困难地在Linux（GNOME）上教授过对电脑完全陌生的用户。但这不是讨论的重点。
批评开源时重点要考虑到的是要记得开源阵容仍然主要由志愿者组成的。
好象他们应该帮你似的，你压根儿就没有要求的权利。
很长的一段时间，大家都还在为在Linux上达到基本功能而努力。
现在那已经达到了，大家最终可以把时间投入到“易用”上了。
Linux正在完善当中。我是一个相对新的Linux用户（一年半），
在我使用Linux的的这短短的时间内，它的易用性突飞猛进。
就算Linux还不是对每一个人来说都是完美也好，它正在变得更好。
这些（改进）不可能一天就完成，不停地在抱怨只是在侮辱开发者。

Sam1860

(5)
It's ok to criticize, though. People's comments really do help,
but most of the articles simply say, "linux isn't as easy as Windows".
If you have a specific feature that you think would help usability,
submit a bug report to KDE or GNOME. You will be surprised at how quickly they may address your problem.
Remember, "easy" is subjective, so help us all out by being specific.

然而有批评也是好的。大家的批评(对Linux的改善)真的是有帮助的，
但大部分文章只是简单地说：“Linux不像Windows那么容易用”。
如果你有某个你认为有助于增加易用性的特殊功能，
提交一个错误报告到KDE或GNOME。你将因为他们处理你的问题的快速而感到惊讶。
记住，“易用”是各人而言的，所以，用明确指出(功能需要)的方式来帮助我们改进。

Sam1860

(6)
I would go into more detail, but I am still conducting research.
There are already lots of studies out there though,
and many show that Linux is very easy for completely new computer users.

我本想更详细地进行说明的，但我仍然还在进行研究工作。
(在这方面)已经有很多的研究，其中有很多都表明Linux对刚接触电脑的用户是很容易学的。

Sam1860

(7)参照前面的，将其中一些改成自己的想法
Linux isn't as polished

What does "polished" mean? In my opinion,
it means that the inner-workings of the OS are hidden from the user,
and a user is presented with an environment they feel is consistent.
This is against the philosophy of linux, or at least has been for a long time.
Linux is about being open, and letting the user tinker with everything.
Saying that Linux shouldn't do that anymore is a hard thing to convince people of.
Luckily though, this same spirit has allowed people to take linux,
and make it whatever they want; in this case, "polished".
Taking away "features" is a lot easier than adding them, and once again, I have to say, "patience".
These things take time. No one in their right mind would say that Linux isn't moving towards polish.
If you want to help, write something and give it to KDE, GNOME, or your favorite desktop distribution.


Linux不够精美

“精美”到底是什么意思呢？在我看来，
它意味着操作系统内部的工作对用户而言是隐藏起来的，
提供给用户的是一个让他们觉得一致的环境。
而这恰恰是和Linux的理念相违背的，至少在相当长的一段时间内是这样。
Linux是一个开放的，允许用户修改任何东西的系统。
如果说Linux不应该再这样做，那是难以服众的。
然而幸运地，同样的精神已经使得人们可以获得Linux，
并把它改成他们想要的任何样子；如此一来，Linux也是“精美”的了。
去除一个系统的某些“特性”，比加上一些特性要容易得多。我想再次强调一下，耐心点！
这些事情是很费时间的。每一个思维正常的人都会认为Linux是越来越精美了。
如果你想帮点忙，那就写点东西出来然后交给KDE，GNOME，或者是你最喜欢的桌面发行版。

Sam1860

(8)
Linux is fragmented

In my opinion, this couldn't be further from the truth.
Linux has one of the most tightly knit communities I have ever seen.
There are a few sub-arguments that go with this "fragmentation".
One is the oft-heard "There are too many distributions!".
All I have to say is, Why? Why are there too many distributions?
What is forcing you to use every single one? Nothing is.
All distributions ARE united, so its not like there are 100 different operating systems.
What unites linux distributions? For starters, they all use the Linux kernel.
They all use the GNU tools. They all use XFree86. They all use glibc.
You get the point. Maybe one or two distributions (embedded probably) don't use these things,
but if 95% of the distributions do, I wouldn't complain.
Linux distributions are united because they all use most of the same software.
The only "custom" software is installation and package management.
Installation is something few people will have to do, so it's not that important for compatibility,
especially if the "desktop" goal is to get it pre-installed on machines.
Package Management isn't that important either, because all package management systems do basically the same thing.
They manage packages. You just have to learn the new commands, and even then,
"apt" is a prevailing system among distributions, so learning that is usually enough.
Windows98 is different from WindowsXP. Things change,
and if it's only slightly (like between distributions), it's not hard to adapt.



Linux(开发者们或社团)很零散

我认为没有比这更不符合事实的论点了。
Linux社团是我所见过的最紧密合作的社团之一。
另外还有一些伴随“零散”这个论点而来的争论。
其中我们常常听到的是“Linux的发布版太多了！”。
对此我只能反问一句：为什么？为什么会有这么多发布版？
什么在强迫你每一种都去用？没任何东西。
所有的发布版是相一致的，这与有100种不同的操作系统不同。
是什么使得这些发布一致的？首先，它们都是使用Linux的内核。
它们都使用GNU的工具。它们都使用XFree86。它们都使用glibc。
这就是原因了。可能有那么一个或两个发布版(可能是嵌入式的)不使用这些软件，
但如果有95%的发布版用了，是我就不会再抱怨了。
Linux的发布版的一致就因为它们使用了很多相同的软件。
唯一由各发布版“自己定制”的软件就只有安装程序和软件包管理器。
安装这一过程只有很少人是非得去做的，所以它的兼容性并不是那么重要。
特别是如果这个“桌面版”是要准备预装在机器上。
软件包管理器也不是那么重要的，因为所有的软件包管理器基本上都是做相同的事。
它们管理软件包。你只要学会新的命令就行了。尽管各发布版软件包管理器没有统一起来，
“apt”是一个流行于各发布版的软件包管理器，所以学会了它很多时就已经足够了。
Windows98和WindowsXP一样是不同。事物改变如果只有很少(就像各发布版之间)，这不难去适应。

Sam1860

(9)
Some people say there should only be one or two distributions.
This is illogical. Linux has a wide variety of uses,
and its openness allows you to create specialized versions.
Off the top of my head, I know we would need a firewall distribution,
general purpose distribution, server distribution, embedded distribution,
intermediate-level distribution,"from scratch" distro, etc, etc.
It is ridiculous to say that I should use Fedora on a cell phone or Gentoo should be used by the complete beginner.

有些人说Linux只需要一两个发布版就够了。
这是不符合逻辑的。Linux有很广的应用，
而且它的开放性允许你去建立专用的版本。
不用想我都知道需要防火墙、
通用、服务器、嵌入式、中间层和“从零开始”等版本。
说要我在手机上用Fedora或让新手用Gentoo是很荒谬的。

Sam1860

(10)
Also, it makes no sense to believe that everyone would like a certain distribution.
People have different tastes, it's that simple. I believe most people realize this.
Many people do not like Windows, so why be like it and give people "one size fits all"?
It clearly doesn't fit all, and thats why many of you are switching, or looking to switch.

而且认为每个人都会喜欢用同一个发布版是不合情理的。
人们有不同的品味，这是绝对的。我想大部分人也了解这点。
很多人都不喜欢Windows，那么为什么还要像它那样提供一个“通用版”呢？
很明显它(Windows)并不是适合所有人，这就是你们中很多人要换操作系统或正在考虑换的原因了。

Sam1860

(11)
Now that there are "too many distributions",
people complain that it's impossible to get a package for your distribution of choice.
The only place this is a problem is in closed source applications.
The beauty of open source is that all the developer has to do is release a source tarball,
and let the package managers package it up for them.
An online download system comes included now in almost every major distribution.
Surfing to a website, and downloading by hand is becoming archaic.
Is this different than Windows? Absolutely, but it is better. I use a smaller distribution (ArchLinux),
and I have every piece of software I could want in the repositories.
This exists, even though I have yet to see a website that distributes Pacman Packages.

由于有“太多发布版”了，
人们抱怨根本不可能找到特别适用于自己所用发布版的软件包。
这个问题只存在于非开源程序。
开源程序的好处在于开发者只要发布一个源代码包就行了，
各种发布版上的打包工作自然会有人做（意译）。
现在差不多每个主要的发布版都伴随有一个在线下载系统。
访问一个网页并手动下载这种方式就快过时了。
这与Windows不同吗？这是绝对的，而且要比它的好。我使用的是一个比较小巧的发布版（ArchLinux），
但我想用的每一个软件都能在软件库里找到。
这是事实，尽管我还没看到有网页发布Pacman包。

注：
　　１.这里的repositories本有储存室或宝库的意思，这里可能指的是那些可以让开发者发布软件的网站吧，不知道怎样译好，暂时译作“软件库”吧
　　2.Pacman可能是作者前面提过的ArchLinux的专用包吧，我也不了解。

Sam1860

(12)
Then there are people who do not see the point of both KDE and GNOME, and programs like that.
They just say people should work together for the "greater good".
This is simply unrealistic. Not everyone can get along.
If society worked like this, we'd all drive fords (thank you to someone who made this comment),
and all eat Chocolate Ice Cream. Competition is good, even if it sacrifices compatability.
Because it is much easier to take two feature rich programs and make them compatible
(freedesktop.org) than to try to take a program and add lots of features while keeping it stable.

另外还有些不了解KDE、GNOME和其它同类型软件同时存在的意义的人。
他们说人们在同一个平台上工作会“好得多”。
这显然是不切实际的。不是每个人都能和别人融洽相处。
如果社会是这样运作的话，我们会都开福特汽车(感谢作这个注释的人)，
都吃巧克力雪糕。竞争是好的，尽管会牺牲兼容性。
因为要使多个只有一、两个功能的程序兼容比尝试去使一个很多功能的程序稳定运行容易得多。