Re: A home windows users take on trying linux
From: Davorin Vlahovic (A-Burn_at_fly.srk.fer.hr)
Date: 09/03/03
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Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 14:38:25 +0000 (UTC)
In article <t9ablvch2molbfc2vpfias2tmv0l1863nc@4ax.com>, chas good wrote:
> To start with totally lost.
Don't worry, there are still nice people around ;)
> Reading this group and a forum I find that Linux is not at all ready
> to take on Microshaft for the home user.
If you don't want to learn, you're right.
> I don't care to learn
> programing just to install a new program and niether does most
> computer users.
I'd disagree with you. Please, speak for yourself.
> Installing Mandrake 9.1 only reinforced that thinking. Sure it
> installed without any real trouble. Configured all my hardware with no
> trouble. Nice. I liked that. Much better than XP.
;)
> I use Total Commander formally Windows Commander to do all my file
> chores in XP. Don't care for win explorer or the kde file manager.
> Found a linux program that is similar to TC and downloaded it. Then I
> found out it is only source code. I have no idea where to begin.
The source came with a file named "README" or sth. Don't say it didn't,
because it did.
> I just want to download and either upzip it to a folder and run it or
> let the self installer do its thing.
Believe it or not, there is a self-installer. It's called "make". The
"make" should be on your system. What came with your source is something
called the "makefile". It contains data needed to
configure/compile/install your downloaded source...you use it like this:
cd wherever_you_unzipped_the_stuff
./configure
make
If everything went ok (the "configure" step sometimes doesn't exist. If
it doesn't, you'll see a "command not found" or sth. like that), now you
have the stuff compiled.
To install it, you must be root (because of permissions). You install it
simply by issuing the "make install" command.
Of course, you can make an alias, or a function to do it all
automagically ;)))
alias install-source="./configure ; make ; make install"
> From what little I know RPMS are not much better than source code.
> Plus you have to subscribe to a service. Right?
Wrong on both accounts. If you compile the source on your own machine,
you have an optimized app.
RPM is the package system for Red Hat based distributions (like
Mandrake). It has it's own problems, like dependencies hell.
> In another thread in this group a newbie was called a (luser) for
> asking how to compile a program he was having trouble with. At least
> he is trying. You can't promote Linux with that kind of talk.
You're absolutely right. But, what would you call a person that asks a
question and 13 minutes before you've answered it for the 15th time, and
it's only tuesday?
> Another thing is command prompts. When Win95 came out I was glad to do
> away with it. To many tasks in linux use prompts. Not for me.
A big mistake.
Of course, if you just want to surf, you can click the mozilla
interface, you've got KDE||GNOME||WindowMaker||whatever.
> I use my computer for fun and entertainment. I don't care to have to
> learn how to do all that stuff. Windows PC sales took off when the
> command prompt was not seen anymore as in win95 and up.
Nope. It was because of the biggest market campaign ever seen for a
piece of crap.
> I got my first computer 10 years ago. It came with DOS but not
> Windows. I didn't use it much for several months because I got tired
> of staring at a dumb command prompt.
Perhaps you should've gotten some games? The best games ever worked on
MS-DOS.
> It took win 3.1 to get me really
> using my system. I hated a lot of things about win 3.1 but it was
> better than nothing. Win95 was a big step forward. I liked everything
> about it except the bugs.
Aha, so you've hated more than 60% of the OS?
> Many of you Linux users take pride in being able to use that prompt to
> change and configure the OS to work the way you want it to. That is
> fine. It just isn't for me.
Ah, ok. That's why Windows exist. Just for people like you.
> What is up with mounting and unmounting drives? I just want to click
> on a drive and view it from the same file manager window.
Google for automounter.
> I double clicked a pic on a vfat partition. A viewer was run and
> showed the pic but I wasn't able to view the next pic within that
> viewer. Sure it might have done so if the jpg's were on the the linux
> partition. It just didn't seem right to me.
Well, now, you can't do it on windows either. You have to select a group
of pictures, not just one. Or, at least, select the directory you wish
to open, just like in windows.
> Onboard help is sparse.
Uh, oh, you're a paper-wall away of being a troll...every linux system
comes with at least 50MB of documentation...just for the record, Harry
Potter 4 - The goblet of fire is 1.1MB in size. Can you imagine how much
help you've got on your system? At least 50 Harry Potter books. On my
system, I've got over 200MB of texts, tutorials and so on...
> Linux is a strong powerful OS. Seems geared for business use mainly.
> Not ready for home use.
I don't think so. My younger sister uses (a very carefully set-up) Linux
(slackware 9.0), and never had any problems with anything. Once set up
properly, there are never any problems.
> So will I continue to use Linux? Not sure. If I can be talked into
> trying another distro maybe.
If you hadn't made it with Mandrake, the easiest ever, better stick to
windoze.
> I got the bootloader off so XP loads without LILO right now. Couldn't
> get it to start XP by default even after setting it as default in the
> boot manager. This took me hours and many 4 letter words to do because
> there was no help file I could find on how to use it.
Erm, "man lilo", "info lilo", /usr/doc/HOWTO/Linux+Windows-HOWTO?
> I am sure this post will be flamed to death but this is how I feel.
Your post was correctly written without spitting at everyone else, and
with a lot of arguments. That's why you shouldn't see any flames (of
course, brain-dead people are always around).
-- Oh Lord, won't you buy me a 4BSD? My friends all got sources, so why can't I see? Come all you moby hackers, come sing it out with me: To hell with the lawyers from AT&T!
- Next message: Davorin Vlahovic: "Re: Is there a Linux distro, which...."
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