Re: Is SuSe ready for me yet?

markzoom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:


Thanks, but I can manage my package just fine. If you mean
installing progs, then unless I can install 95% of Linux progs
off the net and have them running with a few mouse clicks, I
won't waste time installing Suse.

I suspect that you are a Windows user who wants Linux to behave
just like what you are used to using so that you won't have to
learn anything new, or that you are, indeed, flatty, regardless
of your denial. Nevertheless, there are many people that display
the kind of attitude I hear in your post, and it deserves some
attention. So I will proceed on the assumption that you are
sincere.

My suggestion is that you stick with whatever it is you are
using. I think that if you were to try anything different and
found that you had to follow procedures that were different from
what you are used to that you would become frustrated and
quickly disillusioned. And instead of gaining an enthusiastic
supporter, we would create a Linux bashing detractor.

I use SUSE 10.1 and haven't had to use the keyboard to install or
configure anything. But that does not mean I download Setup.exe
or Install.exe files from Web sites and click on them from my
desktop to install them. That's just not how it works. And
unless you can get over it, you are going to be unhappy running
just about any Linux distribution.

I've personally never had a problem adapting to different
procedures for completing tasks on computers, whether installing
software or operating it. So using something other than Windows
is no big deal for me. But for some, even many perhaps,
switching to an environment where there is no Control Panel, or
Start button, and where .exe files are non-existant and there is
no C: drive, the transition, or the thought of it, overloads
their circuits. I'm not saying yours would necessarily be
overloaded. But I can hear a complaint in your tone that demands
conformity to what you already know. And that attitude will not
serve you well in trying to move to a different system,
especially one intended to clone Unix.

Perhaps you are unhappy with your current system and are looking
for an alternative. Just be aware that there is no such thing as
a different operating system that operates exactly like the one
you already use. And you should consider whether the aggravation
of learning new ways to do things is worse than sticking with
what behaves as you expect.

If you insist on proceding with a transition to some sort of
Linux or other Unix-like system, then you would be better off
using a second computer that you don't have to rely on for your
everyday tasks. That way, if it doesn't work for you, you won't
be without a fall-back system to rely on. But I doubt this is
something you want to do, as you have already indicated that you
are not a computer hobbyist.

But as someone who is not a hobbyist, you would be better off
having someone else administer your computer for you, whether
you run Linux or Windows. In a case such as this, what you ought
to look for is not a Linux distribution. You should look for a
person who can install and maintain a Linux distribution for
you. Let them deal with the headaches of installation and
configuration.

And if your reply to this is that it shouldn't require someone
with more knowledge than the average computer user to install
and maintain an operating system, and you think Microsoft makes
it easy for the average computer user to do that with Windows,
then put one in front of a computer with no software on it and
tell them to install Windows and all applications and hardware
drivers. I think you will find that even that system is not as
easy to install and configure for the average user as you expect
Linux to be.
--
regards
.

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