In article <d64a268.0306260127.1e0060bc@posting.google.com> , MarkK wrote:



DING DING DING DING DING!!

We have a loser!! Do not passwd, do not collect knowledge! On your
way out you may pick up your free gift certificate for the
never-to-be-released Wendy Whiner Linux distribution.

:\

Hey look, pal ...if you want to learn linux, YOU ...not "they"... are
gonna hafta knock off the sniveling and put in some effort. Linux IS
technical! Linux DOES require you to learn technical terms and
concepts. So, quit your whining and get to it. If it's too much
trouble, buy a Mac.

nb

notbob <notbob@nothome.com> wrote in message news:<OnHKa.25315$Fy6.8071@sccrnsc03>...
Get a life.
I gather you hate MS as much as I do. If you want to stick it to them,
I thought your main aim would be to make it easy for non-techs who
have a different life (the vast majority of present and future
computer users) to change to Linux.

Actually, I'm busy learning knowledge little to do with Linux, you
ought to try that one day.
Here's one lesson:
If you have a design problem, ask someone non-technical for their
opinion.
Their answers may not be the direct solution to the problem but they
often trigger a whole different trail of thought in your own head that
leads you to a much better solution.
You might be pissed at me criticising your baby, but try to suss out
why.


I would have thought "they" would get a great deal of satisfaction
from creating a distribution that's a real hit around the world and in
becoming the heroes of the casual PC user (and creating a huge heap of
well paid jobs for the whole Linux fraternity in the process).

So you are saying that it's impossible to plug together a distribution
that works from the box at least as well as *&^&ing Windows. OK,
thanks for the info. As far as the non-tech user is concerned then,
Linux is comparable to windows 3-11 in effort, when you had to learn
some dos. Are people motivated enough to dump windows for that?

So you actually want the vast, non-tech majority of computer users not
to change to Linux?

Mark K.

MarkK wrote:
I doubt many Linux users really care about "sticking it to Microsoft".
For me (and a lot of other Linux users I know) it's simply about using
an O/S we like. We don't like Linux simply because its not from
Microsoft; we like like it because it suits our needs.

If Linux doesn't suit a non-technical person, then they have other
options. What is so wrong with Linux staying the domain of the
tech-savvy users who currently use it and like it just the way it is?

[snip]
"They" generally take more satisfaction from having something that meets
their _own_ needs. If it happens to appeal to others, so much the
better. Of course, the open source developers who create this stuff for
their own use are technical types. (They are programmers after all.)
That probably means it is more appealing (and useful) to other technical
types, but that's simply the way it works.

[snip]
Every so often, somebody will ask how to make Linux behave more like
Windows, run all the same apps, etc. Invariably, the response from this
newsgroup is "just run Windows". There's no point in trying to convert
a Windows user to Linux if he's happy with Windows. It'll just cause
the user too much frustration.

The point is: it doesn't really matter what the "vast majority" of
computer users use. Linux is available for those of us who want it. If
Linux doesn't appeal to everybody, that's fine. (Nothing ever will.)

In message <d64a268.0306261545.104a6958@posting.google.com> , MarkK
<markkzoom@hotmail.com> writes
I don't believe anyone's used the "K" word yet.

Find a magazine with a Knoppix CD on the front (or buy from a low-cost
Linux source), stick it in your machine and boot (Assuming it's recent
enough to boot from CD. If it isn't it probably doesn't have the power
necessary to run Knoppix or Win 2000 or later. Set the BIOS to use CD
before HD if necessary.)

OK, it's not actually installed, but it's certainly ready to play with.
It's not too much harder to install to hard drive. You'll never find a
version of Windows easier than this.

A certain Mr Knopper in Germany has taken Debian, a
definitely-not-for-beginners Linux distro, and produced this. Yes, it
can be done. Instant Linux, on almost any hardware with enough power,
minimal configuration. It hasn't swept all before it because different
people have different needs, but it's there for those who do want it.
--
Joe