Interesting. Very common set of problems. The real problem is this:
What the heck is a newbie doing attempting to install a complex operating system? Many new distros, particularly Red Hat and Mandrake, have very nice GUI installation programs that work wonderfully, and install automatically WHEN THEY WORK. The end result is a completely installed OS that can now be used by the newbie to learn Linux (Mandrake puts many links on the desktop to get help, from help files for the desktop environment, to help on the web, to browsers for man pages.) But when they DON'T work, you're screwed unless you know what you are doing. The real issue is that the newbie COULDN'T INSTALL the OS, not that he couldn't use it. What happens if a Windows installation bombs? Well, if the GUI doesn't work because of a bad configuration or screwy drivers, guess what? There IS NO COMMAND LINE to fall back on. He is dead in the water (maybe he starts in safe mode, which is a waste because NOTHING WORKS in safe mode and you can't see any of your configuration settings in safe mode.) OK, what if it boots, and you can actually see a desktop, but some piece of hardware like your modem or printer doesn't work? You think Windows Help system is useful? It may be THERE, but there's nothing substantive in it, so what good is it? You still either a) need to be an expert, or b) need a book, or c) need to call your computer geek friend to help you. If every computer came with Linux installed, and the Windows users had to wipe the disk and install their favorite OS, the tables would be turned, I assure you. My solution: get someone to help you install the thing at least! Rich Cloutier President, C*O SYSTEM SUPPORT SERVICES www.sysupport.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Dawson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 3:30 PM Subject: Interesting Newbie article at CentraLUG.org > What appears to be a rather frustrated newbie posted the following > article at the CentraLUG web site: > > http://www.centralug.org/article.php?sid=37 > > > ***************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body. > ***************************************************************** > ***************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body. *****************************************************************
