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Re: [LUG] Was: - Free Offer ...



On Friday 17 May 2002 7:32 pm, Aaron wrote:

On Fri, 17 May 2002, David Bell wrote:
I have boxed editions (with manuals) of SuSE Personal 7.0 and 7.1,
Mandrake 8.0, a set of Debian 2.2r3 and Caldera Desktop v2.4 discs
destined for the skip ......

I was thinking about this.....
 ..... After all - how many of teh books you see in computer sections of
libraries are less than 5 years old? 

An interesting muse Aaron.  I prefer to buy the boxed versions, being 
attracted by their appetizing blurb on the outside, and being able to RTFM. 
However, on the subject of (distro) books, I have found that the latest 
versions of SuSE (7.1-7.3) contain poorly compiled/written handbooks, 
particularly the Applications sections, which appear to be written by hackers 
for the cogniscentii and would deter any average would-be Windows convert. I 
have recently spent long frustrating hours trying to set up Susefax, K 
Sendfax and Printfax from the book and ended up having to delete several 
spurious versions of /etc/printcap.xxx  files and reinstall my printer.  
Still can't fax ......  Perhaps being a cyberkrinklie at 63 has something to 
do with it :-)

As a mere home desktop user building my own boxen I like Linux and use it a 
lot, having played around with various distros over several years; but could 
not recommend Linux to a home desktop user without the promise of some 
loooong term "expert" help at hand on call - and a warning that "off the 
shelf" applications a la Windows don't exist.  However, if that user merely 
wanted to bash out the odd letter, browse the web, online banking etc. and 
send e-mails I would strongly recommend Linux - if their PC hardware were 
compatible.

Personally I feel that Linux has a very long way to go before it becomes a 
real contender against Windows in the home use arena, as long as the 
instructions/guidance/description of application setting up and configuration 
continue to be given superficial attention by the various distros.  Taking 
for example my Susefax failure.  If I go out and buy Winfax Pro I get a 
magnificent manual which tells me all I need to know and a shiny CD which 
installs smoothly and works.  Ok it costs, but what use is free/cheap 
software that is a headache for the (non-technical) user to understand and 
install/configure themselves?

The main distros have come a long way in the past year or so in addressing 
the ease of installation and its documentation, SuSe v7.3 or Mandrake v8.0 
for example are a dream compared with Windows.  Saying that, I then find a 
magnificent collection of programmes/applications - very poorly documented, 
if at all.  No I don't want to go on-line/ buy expensive periodicals and 
spend hours grubbing around.  I want a decent users manual, not the poor 
glossy offering in the box provided, which I paid for.

End of rant.

David Bell
Hatherleigh

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