On Wednesday 12 November 2003 02:33 am, Melissa Reese wrote: > Questions: > > 1) Why would the PowerPack ship with so many things missing, while > the download site would have the more complete package?
I don't think that I saw the post that prompted this but the Powerpack edition should have all of the installation files and some extras not included in the download edition. Of course, there have been a lot of patches to the original final release of 9.2 and that may be what you are referring to. If that is the case, you will be fully able to download all patches without joining the Mandrake Club as a paying member. No worries. > 2) Why was this issue not presented to those of us who decided to go > to the MandrakeStore and purchase our packages directly? N/A > 3) Is it really "fair", and indeed in keeping with the "Linux > philosophy" to charge those of us who did purchase the PowerPack > even more just to "complete" our installation packages? After all, > even if I join the "club" at the lowest rate, my final purchase > price will be more than if I had joined at the $120 USD "Silver" > membership rate without purchasing the PowerPack. In fact, it will > be just a few dollars less than if I had purchased the PowerPack > "subscription" package, with the next two version upgrades > included! The Mandrake Club is different, in that it provides ongoing support, ongoing RPM's that are not available elsewhere and the benefit of knowing that you are supporting the next version of your OS. Think of it this way, with Windows, you pay ~$150 for the OS but then you have to buy Antivirus software, firewall software, email client, CD Burner software, etc. ad nauseum. You can join the Mandrake Club for much less, get all of the same software and help installing it on your system. Or, you can not join Mandrake, download the software yourself and compile and install it yourself. You are essentially paying someone to do your research for you and figure things out so that you don't have to. Not a bad deal if you have more money than time. > Apparently, in addition to the LG based CD ROM/CD-RW problem, there > are several other possible unhappy issues listed on that site that can > cause other problems during and after installation. Some of the issues > don't seem so minor. Welcome to the world of running a non-Windows OS on Windows designed hardware. By definition, much of what we do is not intended by hardware manufacturers and not supported. We have to figure things out through trial and error. That is the nature of Linux and the price that we pay for freedom. Well worth it, IMHO. > I'll be reading up and trying to understand all these issues more > thoroughly, and about the installation patches mentioned, but my > impending installation is making me a bit more nervous as the time > draws closer. Forewarned is forearmed and the fact that you are doing your own research puts you miles ahead of most Windows users. There is always an answer if we look long and hard enough. > A few more questions: > > 1) Are these sorts of problems just "the way it is" with this > product? Or is it just that this particular version release is > especially troublesome? Either way, I'm not feeling exactly > wonderful about all this. Just the way it is. The exact same sort of things happen with Windows, the only difference is that you never hear about it because MS doesn't publish their bug reports. Think of it as being like Neo in the Matrix movie once he was told that his entire life had been a dream. It is certainly unsettling but the unsettling truth is still preferable to blissful ignorance. Windows is the blue pill, Linux is the red pill. > 2) Does any of this mean that my soon to arrive "PowerPack" is > expected to be kind of a "lemon" out of the box? Absolutely not. I am still expecting my package and expect to upgrade to 9.2 using that software and then judicious use of patches where necessary. Thanks to all my more adventurous brethren who have gone before me and helped to blaze my trail. I salute you. > 3) As a total "newbie" getting ready to perform my first Linux > installation, should I be concerned enough about these various > issues that I should perhaps pay my local computer tech to come > over here and hold my hand as I go through this process? It would possibly provide more certainty but you would be robbing yourself of a prime learning opportunity. The question is, do you want to remain dependent upon others or gain the knowledge for yourself. Doing is the quickest way to learning. > I don't want to sound like a whining Windows wimp, but I really want > to get this right, and at this point, I must say that I'm not feeling > quite as optimistic as I was just a few days ago. Any ideas and/or > encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Well, given that 98% of most Windows users would have already given up and gone right back to Windows, I don't think that we could compare you to a Windows wimp. It is completely normal to feel uneasy given the massive change. I know career IS guys who would break out in cold sweats thinking about making such a change given how much they have invested in gaining some Windows knowledge. It is so much easier find and get answers about Linux problems. It is so much easier to learn how things work because everyone tells you when you ask. There is no proprietary software, no trade secrets, no non-disclosure rules, etc. If you keep an open mind, remember that you are learning as you seek answers and invest a little time and brain power, ask the community when you are stumped, things will work out for you and you will be so much happier than you would have been with Windows. Just take it one step at a time and work on one problem at a time and you will be surprised at how quickly things will get fixed and be working fine. -- Bryan Phinney Software Test Engineer
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