Re: Making Linux Easy for Newbies

scotaron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi folks I have dabbled with various linux distros for a few years
Impressed with some of Them Mandrake,Suse mostly. But whatever version
i use they all seem to be made as difficult as possible for new users
trying to move to Linux from Windows.

Even finding the hardware works well most of the time But in nearly
every version I come up against Mounting hard drives Why can they not
just be there like all the other hardware,or even if they are access
can be blocked to them for some reason passwords etc.

Also installing software is a nightmare nothing like installing WIndows
software Trying to install Tar files etc Why tar can it just not be a
zip type file.

I do realise it is a different operating system but i think Linux
software writers/developers delight in making different parts of the
system with the weirdest names Just to distinguish it as far away from
Windows as possible.

It has got easier but I cannot see Linux being a great challenge to
Microsoft until hardware and software installing is much easier..

I dont think i have explaining myself very well But there must be some
Linux newbies with similar views.

Ron


Regardless of what the other posters have said, software OTHER than what's included in a distrubution is USUALLY more difficult to install. As a recent convert, I still have some difficulty getting programs to work. And then there's the dependencies to deal with. Oh, ya and kernel mods. Like it or not, with most Windows software, you just throw in the CD and click "next" a few times. It pretty much always works. Even downloaded software usually always works with no hassles.

BUT (you knew there was a but!), My Windows box, excluding the price of the hardware, probably cost me upwards of $1500.00. I had to tinker with my Fedora Core 5 a bit (as I'm sure I will when I upgrade to FC6) to get everything working. But aside from the cost of the computer, the price of my Linux box is a big fat ZERO. And I can set up another one for the same price any time I want. Open Office ain't bad. MPlayer plays files that Windows Media Player won't! I can burn an iso by just right-clicking the filename and choosing "burn image". Linux distros are really very sweet. On decent hardware, what comes in the major distros is enough for most task-oriented users. And things are getting easier. Go to adobe.com and download Adobe Reader. Select RPM install (it's distro neutral). When the box pops up, choose to open it with your package manager. A few seconds later you've got Adobe reader installed - complete with a main menu shortcut and set to be your default pdf viewer. Just like Windows!

....kurt
.

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