On Thursday 11 Sep 2003 6:56 pm, HaywireMac wrote: > On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 11:44:15 -0600 > > Heather/Femme <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> uttered: > > Have to agree with Anne. Till linux becomes more pervasive, ppl > > who can only turn the comp on & nothing else (and most don't want > > to know more) won't use linux nor is it feasible for them to be > > using it. They have (often) no one to call if something goes > > wrong. INcluding tech support @ a local Future shop who won't > > toucha comp if it doesn't run windows. Ditto ISPs & other > > vendors. > > http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030731.gttwtico31 >/BNStory/einsider/?query=Linux > > Quote: > > "Myth: Linux is painful to support. > > Reality: Ordinary humans -- as opposed to nerds -- don't want to > mess with it. Even for nerds it requires special savvy. Not to > worry. Today's computer science faculties spit out Linux mavens by > the bushel. And tech-services firms are now ready and able to take > such problems off your hands." > Wish I could agree. I did an MSc in Information Systems, ending just 3 years ago. For one module we used the Sun lab. They put us in front of those unix machines without a word of support/training, and told us that we would need emacs. I quickly learned a few very basic commands, but I never got the hang of emacs. I used to struggle, frustrated for the whole session and was lucky if I managed more than 2 lines of code. I would then come home and write the rest on TextPad under windows, an editor that could line number, write windows or unix line feeds and even compile/run the code. I got good grades for the module, based on the work I turned out, but they never figured that I had no confidence at all in my ability to use the unix machines.
> Also, keep in mind that for the average user who just wants to read > e-mail and surf the web, they will very likely *never need > support*. All the applications, stability, and security are already > there. > Remember I stressed hand-holding more than support. The most basic tasks are hard to remember when you start. If there's anyone here of a literary bent, a get started book that looks attractive and has lots of screenshots (probably in kde, since that is where most will start) would be a great help. Anne -- Registered Linux User No.293302 Have you visited http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org yet?
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