On Wed, 15 Jan 2003, Colin McElhatton wrote: > > This is very unsettling news, I really would not want Mandrake to go away > any time soon. Of all the Linux flavours I have tried this was the one > that I could install without a hitch and whose minor flaws I could fix > thanks to this mailing-list among other things. I wish there was more > overt support to this distribution as I really think it is work using as > a Windows substitute. > > The only way this OS is going to gain more support is by having > applications that install painlessly all the time, that don't use gzip or > tar to unpack them but have proper self-executing installers instead. > That the Linux Configuration Centre is streamlined further to allow > computer-users vis-a-vis computer professionals to carry out the > neccessary day-to-day tweaking without having to know what's happening > beneath.
Um...thats what *rpms* are for. *self extracting installations* as I see it the biggest reason that folks have a problem with the way things install under Linux is because they go into it with the expectation of the system *being* like windows. It is not. there are different rules and ways of doing things that actually have a history in Linux and it is necessary that the user learn and bend to these ways in order to make things work. Not the other way around. There really isn't anything wrong with .tar and .gz file formats - they are tried and true methods of archiving and file compression that have a lot more history and success behind them then does .zip. Having said that I can tell you that there's a fine tool in Mdk 9.0 that allows a user to use these file formats AND the beloved .zip file format *painlessly*. Its called File Roller. It works just like Winzip. > As for me I am happy with what I've got even though I would welcome any > improvements...which brings up other considerations to mind, like how > about having periodic self-extracting OS improvement packs that take the > hassle out of upgrading (say the KDE interface if a newer one comes out). > I'm talking off the top of my head here, but I would really like to see > the day when opting to go Linux ALL THE WAY will be really easy and full > of possibilities even for those who just USE a computer to play games, > read email, write a document and maybe use their webcams to communicate > with others over the net. what you're asking for is a computer that works like a car and _that_ will never happen. Computers will always require its user to possess some knowledge of the OS and it's programs. All it takes is a little learning. Since I've started with Linux almost 7 years ago I've seen huge improvements in the amount of knowledge that is required to install and operate a Linux desktop. I've used all of the major distros at one time or another, and without a doubt Mandrake is King. The single BIGGEST problem for end user to this day remains being able to "find" the information that will get them going and *their* willingness to avail themselves of that information and learn it. simply dumbing down the interface and the core processes of the system will _never_ make a better, more usable system. It only makes one weaker and far less stable. I believe windows is perfect proof of this. -- daRmaTTeR Reg. Linux User #186492 "Stupidity has no moral high ground...it can't see that high!"
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