LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Richard Russell <richardrussell@mail.com>
  To  : Steve Nicholls <gl1500@chariot.net.au>
        <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 15:43:17 +1030

RE: Operating systems.

Try Debian (it's where APT comes from, and while it is harder to install and
doesn't hold your hand nearly as much, it solves the installing new programs
problem neatly).

Try plaintext email -- HTML is unneccessary and unpopular.

rr

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Nicholls [mailto:gl1500@chariot.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 30 December 2000 3:21 PM
To: linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
Subject: Operating systems.



I have thought about this post for some time and offer it as food for
discussion.

At the outset please note I am not a "WinTroll" or other childish put down
offered by some list members.

I love the concept behind Linux. A free open OS enables a huge diversity of
software solutions. I dislike the closed environment of Windows, I am forced
to do everything their way. Doesn't mean that is wrong but I like the idea
of choice.

Probably 12 months ago I tried RH 6.0 and it took me a few goes to get
everything set up but it worked and I enjoyed the experience. For whatever
reason I lost access to the Linux partition so went back to Windows. Under
RH6 I couldn't get printer access.

I did find the file structure intriguing but concede that it offers a
definite cure to the "teenage bedroom" syndrome offered by windows. It
really is a mess.

Recently I came across the pocket book with RH and MD so fired up Partition
magic and installed MD7.2 with no drama. Everything went very smoothly, the
only thing missing is my UMAX 1220s scii card.

This is my dilemma : The GUI of KDE or Gnome is great, excellent to work
with, the preinstalled programmes are very good but to download off the net
is a nightmare. I have a folder full of downloaded programmes [rpm's, tars
etc] and with few exceptions none of them work because something is always
missing.

if Linux is to be more than a hobby system it has to address the problem of
people like me that have reasonable computer skills but are not interested
in peeling back every layer of the Linux onion to reach the core.  Linux
does have an excellent graphic interface and it is simple to use BUT there
are not enough dialog boxes to tell you what is happening, where it is
happening and when it is finished. Take GNORPM a fairly straightforward
programme to use but doesn't tell me it has completed its task. It does tell
me it has failed to install because of dependency issues. The frustration in
downloading files only to have them fail is enough to drive people away from
the OS. I have looked at Connectiva 6.0 with its APT get function and that
may offer some help.

It seems to me that Linux needs some uniformity when it comes to basic
libraries concerned with compressed programmes off the net.

I realise I cannot use Linux for my business at present because of a lack of
a suitable equivalent programme to Quickbooks but everything else I need is
there and maybe soon Linux will have the small business issues handled. If
Quickbooks 7.4 was available tomorrow for Linux I would move to a Linux only
box but as it stands it can't offer me real life computing solutions for my
business, and the little I know of it shows me its superiority over Windows
in many respects.

In conclusion: I don't want to be a command line computer user but if all
else fails I will dig deep if I have to.

Steve Nicholls.



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