Femme, As you said Linux has come a long way, but I do not think that it is that far away from being an option for the desktop. Keep in mind that Corel Linux OS (before Corel spun it off as Xandros (http://www.xandros.net/)), hid virtually all configuration behind the scenes (including partitioning) and featured a desktop that looked very close to MS.
Mandrake also is very close. Just about everything you could possibly want to configure can be done via GUI programs. Want to install something? There is rpmdrake (specifically created by Mandrake), as well as Gnome and KDE equivalents. Want to browse the web? You can choose from Netscape, Mozilla, Konquerer, etc. Want to configure your system? You can do it via Mandrake Control Center, Linuxconf, or any one of a number of "GUI" based configuration tools. Want to read e-mail? Try K-Mail, Evolution, or any of the other GUI items out there. This is a far cry from Slackware 2.x and 3.x, which pretty much required you to hand-compile everything, and which had no way of knowing whether a dependency was installed or compiled without running a configure from the command line. Heck, the default kernel in Slackware 2.x and 3.x did not include networking by default, so if you even wanted to access the internet you had to recompile from scratch -- configuring it via a text based question / answer. In mandrake (as well as several other distros), the dependencies (for the most part) are take care of automatically. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. But, believe me, things could be a lot more "tech" oriented then they are now. Michael -- Michael Viron Project Manager / Primary Developer, General Education Online Core System Administration Team, Simple End User Linux At 03:44 PM 5/29/2002 -0600, you wrote: >Tom Brinkman wrote: >> >> On Wednesday 29 May 2002 11:13 am, Dave Conroy wrote: > >> It's only a matter of time before lot'sa people will need to >> unlearn Windows, and learn somethin else. Specially with M$'s new >> fangled SA programs (price gouging scams), and the horrific security >> holes that all M$ OS's and software feature. >> -- >> Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas >> > >a) won't happen soon enough > >b) won't happen. > >Why? Because linux will never be a desktop OS for the masses IMO. >Requires too much tech knowledge and most just want their machine to >work. Shrugs, My opinion. I know its come a long way but its still got >a longer way to go yet. >-- >Femme > >Good Decisions You boss Made: > >"We'll do as you suggest and go with Linux. I've always liked that >character from Peanuts." > >- Source: Dilbert > > >Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? >Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com >
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
