Sorry, but the say that Linux becomes like Windows is the day i go back
to windows, i dont want it to be simple! wheres the challenge in that?
--
Jamie Adams
Housing Assistant
41 Castle Road
SCARBOROUGH
North Yorkshire, YO11 1BJ
Tel: (01723) 507543
Fax: (01723) 355862
>----------
>From: Sridhar Dhanapalan[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>Reply To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Sent: 16 June 2001 03:15
>To: Wendell Gragg; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: [newbie] Wow
>
>On Sat, 16 Jun 2001 06:11, Wendell Gragg wrote:
>> I think that you have hit on the crux of the problem for Linux...it
>> still requires a fairly high degree of technical proficiency to
>> install and run it. As long as this is the case, MS and MAC will
>> have an advantage in the consumer market. Granted, this platform
>> has come a very long way with the improvements in KDE and Gnome just
>> in the last year, but it is still full of glitches that will hamper
>> it being widely distributed and pre-installed on home machines.
>
>UNIX (including GNU/Linux) *can* be made ready for the desktop. MacOS
>X is proof.
>
>> For example, I have had a number of problems getting printing to
>> work correctly since I installed LM8. It turns out that I had to go
>> in and change some settings in a cup.conf file to get it even half
>> way reliable. I also have had problems upgrading as the RPM manager
>> does not seem to have a list of update sites except in the security
>> tab. This can be confusing (and still is to me) because when one
>> sees a tab for security, he/she will assume that this is for
>> security related updates only. What if I don't want that kind of
>> update? Where do I get them?
>>
>> Burning CD's is another problem. I have tried to get the two cd
>> burning programs installed by default to burn cds. Gcombust finally
>> has, but I can't get it to make a bootable copy of the install disk
>> 1 for LM8. There is no documentation I can find and the it
>> certainly not self explanatory.
>
>Is your CD-ROM drive actually bootable? My friend bought a new
>computer only a few months ago and he found that the CD-ROM drive
>wouldn't boot with any bootable CD. If you burn Mandrake from an ISO
>image then the resulting CD will be bootable.
>
>> My point is that unless one is very competent with OS's, Linux is
>> hard to use and understand. Even when one has been working in the
>> field for 27 years as I have, there is a steep learning curve. For
>> all of Microsoft's problems, their OS works most of the time out of
>> the box and is not that hard for the average consumer to use.
>> There are many sources of help for the non-techie as well as the
>> tech. Classes abound (both for free and for fee) on how to use
>> things such as Word and IE5. ( I know because I am the automation
>> coordinator for a public library system and we offer free classes.)
>> These are hard things for any OS to overcome. Can it be done? Yes,
>> but the platform will have to continue to mature and great emphasis
>> will have to be made on improving and simplifying interfaces and
>> insulating the non-technical user from the internals of the system.
>> Most users will not put up with what I and many others who have
>> posted here for help have had to go through. The difference between
>> them and us is that we have the mindset of not letting the computer
>> win and enough technical know-how to try different things.
>>
>> Perhaps, as world governments and more in business embrace the
>> concepts that Linux is founded upon, and time effort and money are
>> put into simplifying things, then the average consumer will be
>> willing and able to buy into it also. The next couple of years
>> should be interesting, especially considering what MS is doing to
>> combat piracy.
>>
>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>
>> BTW, I am a user who has installed Linux twice. Once about a year
>> ago and then abandoned it because I did not have time to learn it
>> and now, because I wish to get my feet wet into the "Unix" world and
>> because I don't like what MS is getting ready to do with its
>> licensing. They are not intended to bash anybody or anything, but
>> only to honestly express what I feel could hold up the revolution.
>> Before anyone flames me, please let me get my asbestos underwear!
>>
>> Wendell Gragg
>>
>>
>> From: "Solver" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>
>> >To: "Linux Newbie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> >Subject: Re: [newbie] Wow
>> >Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 21:32:25 +0300
>> >
>> >Well, for me Linux still is a secondary OS. I'm now going to start
>> > doing office jobs in StarOffice, but as long as I can't get modem
>> > to work, I can't
>> >do Internet stuff.
>> >Also, I have been writing apps for VisualBasic, and continue to do
>> > that in Win. But, I spend an even increasing amount of time in
>> > Linux. I'm proud with
>> >my OS knowledge:
>> >I have perfect knowledge of Windows 3.0, 3.1 and especially 3.11,
>> > as well as
>> >Windows 95 and 98. I know NT series (especially W2K Server), even
>> > though I really hate W2K. I know the very basics of BeOS - at
>> > least I can install it,
>> >install apps under it, and do some little job. I'm familiar with
>> > the Solaris
>> >OS, and am now gaining knowledge of Linux. When I get to interm.
>> > user level,
>> >I'll use my programming knowledge to recompile the source to suit
>> > my needs. Solver
>
>--
>Sridhar Dhanapalan.
> "There are two major products that come from Berkeley:
> LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence."
> -- Jeremy S. Anderson
>
>
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