On Sunday 14 November 2004 03:55 pm, David Feldman wrote: (The > > stuff was contributed by the legendary Stephen Kuhn. Evidently Apple Mail does not cite the previous author in replying to messages.)
> > I repair/reconfig/support all kinds of MS Windows machines - in home > > and > > corporate environments - I can't begin to tell you how many times I've > > experienced the exact same thing - but with MS Windows (all versions). > > Believe me, I know. Installing a clean copy of Win XP on the same > machine is no picnic either...it's pretty unusable until I do some > driver installs. Gee, my Linux installations work right out of the box. Even when some tweaking is required, I've been able to get onto the web and go looking for help. And I've never had to dive around in drawers looking for old CDs and floppies. > BUT, (a) few users install Windows themselves, Perhaps not, but sooner or later they do reformat and reinstall -- sometimes frequently -- often at the suggestion of MS tech support. Perhaps 2000 and XP are better in this regard, but it has always been the standard fix for the Win9x series. > and (b) > those drivers are on a CD that came with the machine. In the words of the old song, it ain't necessarily so. You are assuming that (1) the user has not changed any hardware since the OS was loaded at the factory, (2) the component manufacturers have not updated any drivers since releasing it to either MS or the machine builder, and (3) the user has the driver CD -- it didn't get lost, the cat didn't eat it, the machine builder didn't include it, the drivers were installed in a special partition on the original HD which just went belly up. Although it's been several years since I last installed Windows, I remember that once I had the system up and running, the next task was to go to each hardware manufacturer's website and get the latest drivers. (More reboots, too. Oh joy.) Then, as each bit of software was installed, I had to get the latest updates for them. Bit of a pain, especially on dialup. Many hours of totally unproductive time. And now you know why I no longer have Windows installed here. > Granted, most > Linux distros get most or all of the hardware working without > additional drivers, but getting those last few is tricky. Yes, Linux hardware configuration _can_ get messy, but it gets just as nasty in Windows -- hence those websites that specialize in Windows drivers and DLLs. The biggest hassle with Linux is when the user is stuck with some POS that is designed to work exclusively with windows. Sometimes workarounds are available, but sometimes they are not. What to do? Damned if I know. > I had NO intention of suggesting Windows was better. Just this: I'd > like to convince some Windows users to switch to Linux. To do that, > short of buying new hardware, they have to install it. If I can say, > "install this distro and you should be fine," and they can get the CDs > and have a good install experience, they might switch. If the install > doesn't work, or gets scary, they'll abandon the idea. It's anything > but a level playing field, but for today's non-technical Windows users > to switch to Linux it has to be easy to install (including partitioning > an existing Windows box to be dual-boot) in a way that Windows itself > isn't. Some thoughts: (1) Give them a copy of Knoppix (or Mandrake Move or whatever...). It's not only a quick and easy way of determining any potential conflicts between their hardware and Linux, but it is an excellent introduction to Linux. (2) Does the term "install fest" ring a bell? Yeah, it's a pain schlepping a monster tower and the other hardware clear across town, but they'll get some very smart people to get them up and running. BTW, there is no reason that install fests have to be run by a group -- perhaps you could volunteer to get them started. (3) (Here I play the elitist card) Their unwillingness to either take a chance on something new, or to expend some effort learning something new could be an indication that Linux _is_not_ the solution for them. You might get their interest aroused, however, by pointing out how little time we Linuxers spend defragging or chasing viruses, or how a Linux distribution includes a whole lot more that just an OS with a few accessories. You might also point out how much free help is available to them -- including this mail list. > > I can't stress enough about knowing your hardware prior to booting up a > > GNU/linux distribution - and at least having enough familiarity with > > the > > devices connected to the machine so you can MAKE proper judgements and > > have your installation go accordingly. Atta boy, Stephen -- that's the number #1 clue to installing Linux. Ya gotta do your homework beforehand. > Again, that can only go so far if novice users are to switch over from > Windows. If their core drivers - video, input, primary storage - are > supported out of the box and they have to find drivers for one or two > additional devices, that might be OK. But if they have to tinker just > to get a base level of functionality they will think Linux is too hard > at best, and broken at worst. Again, I'd like to find a distro that I > can recommend across the board as a good option and figure that 90% of > those who install it will get at least that base level of > functionality. As noted earlier, I've never had a problem getting a Linux installation up and running. The same cannot be said for my Windows experiences. > And in addition, it's not just that some devices aren't supported by > Mandrake on my test system - I simply haven't been able to install it > successfully, after multiple tries, while I have been able to install > most other distros. Curious -- Mandrake is generally regarded as easy to install. I've tried several different distros over the summer. The only one that gave me a hard time was Xandros. It decided that my my modem was a Winmodem and refused any attempts to change its mind. The modem, a Zoom 2761 serial external unit, was deeply insulted. Hell, even Windows was willing to use it, and without a driver. >>> snip -- cmg
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