I don't think it is a matter of perference as much as it is a matter of
what Linux really is. Linux is a networking os just like any UNIX or UNIX
clone. Whwn dealing with networking OSes, you need user groups, root
access, etc.
We can write to each other all we want about changing how Linux works, but
folks, Windows 2000 has its users, user group, administrator (root), etc.
Anytime you deal with an networking OS you will have all of that.
COuld they make a single user version of Linux? No. Linux is POSIX
compliant and it will lose that in the change.
Even though we are all newto Linux, don't you think we owe it to the Linux
community in general to read up on it and see what it is all about,
instead of just jumping in and then thrashing it because it isn't Windows?
On Sunday 01 July 2001 14:10, tazmun wrote:
> I echo Judith's concerns 100 %. I think there are many here who
> desperately want to keep Linux as sort of an elite OS(and free) status
> that eliminates many users simply because of it's complexity. To keep
> Linux where it is right now...maybe that works and maybe it
> doesn't....but to companies that are trying to promote Linux like
> Mandrake who eventually hope to make a buck somewhere along the line, I
> think they will fold their tent and go elsewhere if progress is not
> being made, and by progress I mean becoming a serious competitor for
> windoze. Not only for the OS but also the desktop. To do this we have
> to go with mainstream user concepts I think which I feel the other
> writer, Judith, is a fairly good representative of. But it goes beyond
> my preferences to just plain common business sense in my opinion.
> Unfortunately the part we all hate is hiding around this corner too,
> just like windoze it will be all about dollars. But with real
> competition at least it hopefully won't get out of control like
> Microsoft did.
>
>
> Tazmun
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Judith Miner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2001 3:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [newbie] curious ....
>
> > >> I'm wondering about FreeBSD .... or MAC OS X .... any potential
> >
> > competition there? ... any way to combat the OS monopolistic intent of
> > M$? <<
> >
> > I installed my first Linux OS about 10 days ago on a spare computer
> > (headed for my grandchildren soon) so I could try it out before I put
> > in a dual boot with Win 98SE on my "real" computer in my home office.
> > I liked it enough that I did install Mandrake 8 on my home office
> > computer a week ago. The spare computer will have its hard drive wiped
> > and I'll put back 98SE before the computer goes to the grandchildren
> > (ages 5, 3, and 7 months).
> >
> > I am a very experienced and proficient Windows user but have no
> > interest in doing my own programming. I dislike command lines and want
> > a well-designed, stable, flexible GUI that leaves me in charge of my
> > own computer. I am fed up with Microsoft, which becomes more and more
> > oppressive and aggressive, and I fervently hope never to buy another
> > Microsoft OS. However, I have work to do and any alternative OS has to
> > let me do what I need to and want to without a lot of hassles.
> >
> > I run a small nonprofit organization, so I have to do general office
> > things like maintain a small database, design new, small databases as
> > needed, manage finances through Quicken, use a small spreadsheet once
> > a year, do business correspondence, maintain Web pages, design posters
> > for publicity, and write and produce lots of publications, such as
> > newsletters, brochures, pamphlets, and booklets. For personal use, I
> > need an up-to-date e-mail client and a few up-to-date Web browsers, I
> > use Mastercook for my recipe collection, I do a lot of graphics work
> > with CorelDraw, Photoshop LE, Photoshop Elements, PhotoPaint, other
> > graphics programs, I have a serious greeting card hobby and have 11
> > greeting card programs for ideas and a source of graphics and verses
> > (I make the actual cards in CorelDraw). I have numerous other
> > consumer-type programs, several dictionaries and encyclopedias and
> > other reference works, over 2000 Type 1 and TrueType fonts, and a
> > large collection of photos and clip art. Unless I can run these things
> > or their equivalents under Linux, I'll always need a Windows
> > partition.
> >
> > I really want Linux to work out as a desktop system for me. I think it
> > has the potential, but so far my experience is that
> > Linux-on-the-desktop is incomplete, has rough edges all over the
> > place, and is desperately unfriendly once you have to get beneath the
> > surface. Its geeky origins are obvious and frankly, Linux will never
> > make it to the mainstream unless it is shepherded by developers who
> > comprehend and
> > enthusiastically embrace what "normal people" want in the interface to
> > their OS. From my almost-two-weeks of membership on this list, I am
> > seeing confirmed what I've noticed time after time on anything related
> > to Linux: its biggest boosters live in a world of their own, where
> > they expect users to become mini-programmers and system tweakers.
> > These folks revel in their beloved command lines, consoles, weird
> > editors like Emacs, odd names for system components, and an attitude
> > of "the more abstruse, the better and if you don't like it, TOUGH!"
> > This attitude is fine if you want to maintain your pure enclave
> > guarded by high priests of Unixland, but if you want mainstream users
> > to have a real choice that can make it harder for Microsoft to achieve
> > world domination, you won't get it with that attitude.
> >
> > Linux has a long way to go on the desktop. Example: I haven't been
> > able to so much as put a word processor to work because I'm still
> > trying to figure out how to get my Type 1 and TrueType fonts
> > installed, working, and actually PRINTING. I spent a whole day
> > searching through
> > MandrakeForum, Google, the User Guide and Reference Manual and came up
> > empty. Yes, I printed out the Fonts How To, but the information is
> > dated and didn't apply to Mandrake 8. It wasn't until I did a Google
> > search on type1inst (not available on my Mandrake CDs) that I
> > discovered KFontInst, which looks as if it should do the job. Setting
> > it up is not simple, though, and that's not the end of it. You *still*
> > have to set up your applications to use the fonts, and they all seem
> > to have their own minds about this. Frankly, this is ridiculous!
> >
> > Setting up printers is ghastly, too. I *thought* I had my LJ 4
> > PostScript and Epson Stylus Color 760 USB printers set under CUPS, but
> > I'm not sure what I'm actually dealing with when I give a Print
> > command. Plus, I wasn't able to print more than one page of a 5-page
> > HTML Help file under Konquerer. The computer was sending data to the
> > LJ 4 for *three hours* after page one shot out, when I decided to give
> > up. But where was the print spooler? I tried to cancel the process but
> > was unsuccessful. In Windows I can find all this easily and didn't
> > have to spend three days reading a manual. And what's this GhostScript
> > stuff? How about a clear explanation? I've already read the unclear
> > explanations and am still scratching my head.
> >
> > I also can't tighten up my security, which really worries me on the
> > Internet. My Windows system is locked tight with no ports open; my
> > Linux system has open ports all over the place, according to a couple
> > of port-tester Web sites. I tried running the Security thing in
> > Mandrake Control Center, but nothing seemed to happen. My ports still
> > test open. I tried installing the firewall and the wizard never came
> > up. So what do I do? It doesn't tell me! What "average user" is going
> > to search all over the Web for information that should be in a
> > context-sensitive Help file?
> >
> > I really want to get this working and think it will be okay once I get
> > my fonts and printers and security set up--assuming I do. I also need
> > to get my old ISA SCSI card recognized so I can try out my scanner
> > (which is supported). I have some directions, but don't understand
> > them. No, I'm not going to "compile my kernel." What a notion!
> >
> > Most people would have given up by now and just wiped Linux off the
> > drive. I'll be posting my questions on this list and hope I'll find
> > solutions for the problems that pop up every time I try to do
> > something. I see wonderful potential in KDE, Gnome, and other
> > desktops, but this thing is not ready for prime time. I hope things
> > will get a bit more polished and complete by the time Windows XP is
> > released because I think this may be THE moment of opportunity for
> > Linux on the desktop. --Judy Miner
> >
> > K6-2/500, FIC VA503A motherboard, 640 megs of RAM, IBM DeskStar 30-gig
> > drive
