Re: Linux for the "computer-challenged"
spike1_at_freenet.co.uk
Date: 05/14/04
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Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 11:49:59 +0100
Daniel Haude <haude@physnet.uni-hamburg.de> wrote:
> So there's no question about Linux being good enough, but can it be made
> usable for THEM? I can set up pretty much anything; what I need is this:
> 1) "Connect to the Internet" icon right on the desktop, executable for any
> normal user. So far I've only been able to run the ppp stuff as root,
> and of course only from the console. Opening a terminal, becoming root and
> typing "pon provider" is NOT AN OPTION for them!.
kinternet has a small "connect" icon in the taskbar. click once, it dials
out, click again, it asks if you want to disconnect. (or just does,
depending on config, I think)...
> 2) Meaningful error messages: I've tried out KDE a bit and found it
> annoying that when you launch an application, the cursor changes into a
> little bouncing something but if something goes wrong it just changes back
> to normal without anything else happening (much like the "Modules" menu in
> fvwm: Nothing ever happens if I click on any of them). Opening a terminal
> and viewing a logfile is NOT AN OPTION!
After installation, drop to init 3, startx, test each menu item.
Anything that doesn't work should report an error in the terminal screen you
startx'd in. Anything fixable, fix, anything unfixable, remove the menu
item. Anything that works will just continue to work.
> 3) monitorable network traffic like the little "blinking screen" icon in
> Windows. Just a reliable indicator of what's going on.
xosview, very pretty, keep the kids amused for hours...
:)
> Is Linux ready for this yet? I'm sick of these "30 seconds after getting
> on the Net the computer reboots" phone calls to which I can answer nothing
> but: "Yeah, it's a known Windows problem. No, there's nothing YOU can do
> about it" (and I live three hours away).
> My dream is to be able to set up a system for them whose use is somewhat
> limited (meaning that I don't expect them to be able to install a
> scanner) but which I won't have to worry about ever again.
> Is it possible? My favourite distro is Debian.
I'd recommend suse for total newbies. It's a dream for things like hotplug
autodetect hardware stuff, and it's got a very nice default kde setup.
(not checked gnome on it yet)
Personally, I use blackbox.
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