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On Fri, 2007-01-05 at 18:22 +0000, George Parker wrote: > Having followed this thread, and as a relative newcomer to Linux, > sorry, GNU Linux, I thought I would put in my 2 pennyworth. I have to > say that if I hadn’t been around computing since 1980, I would have > been a bit put off asking for help by some of this thread. A touch of > condescension here and there with an assumption of quite a lot of > knowledge in some of the answers, albeit clarified in others. The > base of this thread was attracting people over from Windows to the > brave new world and I think that what actually came out would have put > off a lot more than it gave comfort to. > > > > IMHO the average person who has Windows on their computer is a pretty > sophisticated user. Forget the person from the mid nineties who > thought that being familiar with Office apps was the bees knees. Word > processing, spreadsheets, even presentation packages are a given with > anyone who has ever worked in an office or on a shop floor. The > person who has a computer now has: > > More than one computer requiring networking > > Printer > > Scanner > > Camera > > MP3 player (or Ipod, certainly not Ogg Vorbis) > > Card reader, > > TV and TV recorder > > Video > > Music generator > > Personnal organiser/phone/camera > > Etc., etc., etc. > > > > And whatever you may think about Windows, these users have got their > bits and pieces running under that operating system even though there > may be a few warts with it. To transfer to GNU Linux is a major > operation which requires that you change from being a competent > computer user to being a computer technician, a bit of hardware savvy, > a bit of software savvy and a damned lot of patience. > > > > I had a main Win desktop connected to a secondary desktop via a > wireless ADSL router. I decided to convert the secondary unit to > Linux, sorry, GNU Linux, with a view to complete transfer. I wiped > Windows and started installing from Linux Format discs. But nothing > recognised wireless on install. I now know, or think I know, that > this is because there are no open source wireless drivers, or at least > a grave, shortage, but it is irritating that all installs warn you > that they may be rubbish because they can’t access the net. I > eventually got Mepis and PCLinuxOS to work. Not Suse, Redhat or > Ubuntu, but I may have another go at them. Printing only cost a > pinprick of blood. Cameras easy peasy. MP3 player a lot of manual > reading. File transfer between computers a pint of blood. Wine a > tortuous half work around > > > > By this time I am only continuing out of bloody mindedness and I join > the DLUG. And what do I read there? I must only use Open Source and > be flogged as a sinner if I use some of the not quite Kosher drivers. > So I look at what Mepis says about GNU Linux. They seem to think that > it is an overwhelming burden that Open Source insists on having the > source code with every distribution. And my other goer, PCLinuxOS, > doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of Open Source. > > > > I must install Debian and redeem my sins. And therein lies madness. > One comment on the thread was that the manuals are generally dreadful > and I agree. You cannot work with Debian without a passing knowledge > of Bash. Having got into man bash, I ended up climbing the wall > finding out how to get out of it. And having finally got back to the > command prompt (ah, a nice familiar DOS term) I can’t remember how I > did it. I am now ploughing my way through Rute which seems to be a > nice sensible tutorial, so far. > > > > So what would the Windows man, the man on the Clapham Omnibus, have > done by now? Forked out in advance for his copy of Vista I suspect. > The battle for the server is going very nicely thankyou but I suspect > that the desktop user is back about where we were with Windows 3. > > > > And a happy New Year to one and all. > > > > George > > > > PS KDE over Gnome any day Hi George, I am also fairly new to Linux and not techie. I have found Ubuntu / Kubuntu the best. Ubuntu 6.06 was better (the older version). I have had various problems but, am gradually sorting them out. I would admit that it has not all been plain sailing but, my impression is that once something is working under Linux, it stays that way. I can't say I agree with you that a Linux desktop so only as good as Windows 3. I find much of the functionality superior to that of XP (which I use at work) while my machines run much faster and don't seem to be slowing down over time, as they did running Windows. The options for customising the user interface to your exact requirements are really very extensive - Windows just seems plain boring and clunky when I have to go back to using it. I also have mp4 players, external usb drives, a card reader and various other items that I need connected - in the main, everything just works. Also, I am not a purist either. Whether open source or not, I will use whatever I need to to get my machines working in the way that I need them to. Therefore, I have the MP3 and DVD support that I need. You may want to take a look at 'Automatix' as that makes it much easier to install some of the non open source extras. Coming straight from Windows, I actually found Gnome easier than KDE but, now I use both. KDE is prettier but, I still find Gnome faster and more intuitive - that's the point - with Linux I have that choice - it's not made for me. While Linux does require me to get my hands dirty, every so often, I would not go back to Windows. Using Terminal is not something that I enjoy but, since it is possible to run graphical programs such as Krusader in root mode, I don't find it necessary to use it too often. I guess that everybody's initial experiences are going to be different as it depends on which distros you try and how well they work with your particular set of hardware. Viv > > -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html