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Re: [LUG] Do other LUG Members find X a pain to configure ?



 --- "Brough, Tom" <Tom.Brough@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > 
> These are just some of my thoughts on the subject of X
> 
> Recently I have been contacted by potential users of Linux who have
> taken
> the first step towards using it by attempting to install distros of
> their
> PC's. I have installed many different distros, on many different
> machines
> ranging from 386 - Athlon 1.8GHz machines, although my primary
> experience is
> RedHat. For the most part I have been able to get X running without
> resorting to having to download drivers and compile them. 
> 
> However these users have had problems which have required them to
> download
> and compile drivers, or have exhausted all their efforts / options in
> terms
> of configuration. Some of these user, while new to linux are very
> "technically minded". I am very curious to know if other members of
> the
> group have had similar problems with getting X to work, or heard
> similar
> stories from new users, since this seems to be (IMO) an area that
> would put
> most "non-technical" people off and hence inhibit the potential
> growth in
> user base. Unfortunately we live in a world where if it aint pretty
> it wont
> sell. While I would agree with anyone that linux as a whole has many
> advantages over other proprietary operating systems, if users cant
> see the
> GUI interface without serious configuration fiddling they will
> abandon it
> and go back to something else.
> 
> Even to myself it seems a poor show if you need to download source,
> compile
> your own kernel and additional drivers in order to get a GUI
> interface. Is
> it just me, or are we complacent people who tell others to go and
> Read The
> Manual or say "well it works ok on my machine" ? Is there anything we
> can do
> to make X "smarter" ? Do we need to lobby Graphics Cards
> Manufacturers ? Is
> it time to admit that X configuration is a serious problem that
> (while
> improving) needs to be resolved ?
> 
> I only ask these questions because while I know that linux is not
> just about
> GUI interfaces, to many users thats what they want, without any fuss.
> 
> (constructive) comments please
> 
> Tom
> 
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> addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the
> sender,
> and please delete the message from your system immediately. The views
> in
> this message are personal, they are not necessarily those of Torbay
> Council.

While i tend to agree in the most part, there have always been issues
with installing, for example Windows 98se on a machine that has an
nVidea gForce 2mx graphics card (my setup.. old setup.. ;-) ) it still
needs the "user" to install the drivers...

I have found that a lot of systems will work just find with the "vesa"
drivers for X, some don't like it a huge ammount. Those that don't tend
to work with the vga server.

I just remember that all systems need the right drivers to access the
hardware correctly.

I do agree with your point about the non-graphical nature of the driver
installation. but how else is it going to work ?


Neil

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