-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hey gang, Got my latest Langalist letter in today, and I'm still fuming a little bit. I've been at it with Fred about his statements about Linux for about a half a year now, and he just don't seem to want to listen. This latest letter though, sort of got to me, because as *I* see it, he's still naysaying Linux, plus he's really misleading the readers of his letter about what should and shouldn't be used, *especially* for newbies to Linux. I wrote him a letter before making this one to put in here. I offered to send him my 4 CD's from my 8.2 *and* a 10GB HDD, so he can actually see what a Linux desktop is and how easy it is to use and that 'grandma' *can* use it. I'll let the list here know if he takes me up on my offer. Meanwhile, here's the part of his letter dealing with Linux. Make your own conclusions. [langalist] LangaList Standard Edition 2003-05-05 From: langalist_standard_edition@langa.com To: Yonaton You are currently subscribed as: Yonaton ADDRESS CHANGE / OTHER PROBLEMS: See info at the end of this note. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156. Advertising rates and info available at http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm . Questions about the advertisers? See the end of this note. Please also see the legal info at the end of this note. Please email the LangaList to a friend! See http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm ! Want the HTML edition (and more) delivered right to your mailbox? See <a href=" http://www.langa.com/plus.htm ">this.</a> To read it online, click <a href=" http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-05-05.htm ">here</a> The LangaList Standard Edition 2003-05-05 A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, Software, and Time Online Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free! Contents: 1) Getting the Right Linux Footprint 2) Failed Updates 3) Amazingly Tiny, Free Bayesian Spam Filter 4) Where To Put The OS In 2-Drive PCs? 5) Web Pages Not Updating? 6) Is This Information Useful? 7) DVD Alphabet Soup 8) WebRing For Code-Loaders 9) More Free Software for All Your Needs 10) Just For Grins 11) Plus! Edition Highlights: Tons Of Free Spellcheckers Admin Tools Shortcuts Free Windows Media Player Alternative <snip an ad> 1) Getting the Right Linux Footprint For all its advances in other areas, the Linux setup process has long been a major obstacle to the operating system's wider acceptance. In fact, until quite recently, installing Linux was like a trip back in time: Forget graphical interfaces. All too often, a Linux install was and still is either fully or mostly a text-based operation, although some of the screens might be dressed up a bit with colored backgrounds or multicolored text. For example, Slackware 9.0--- the most-current release of that popular Linux distribution--- sets up entirely through myriad screens of DOS-style colored text, like software from the mid- 1980s. Primitive? You bet. Forget auto-detection of hardware. Despite the fact that today's hardware is capable of identifying itself fully and openly to any software that knows how to ask, Linux still often requires that you know, in advance, the brands and models--- and sometimes, even exact model numbers--- of the video card, network card, audio card, (etc.) in your system. If you pick the wrong driver, you might end up having to perform the entire installation over, from scratch. (In my office, you can tell the Linux boxes: They're the ones with the hardware cheat sheets taped to their sides, so I won't have to try to remember minutia such as which subspecies of network card is in a particular PC.) Yes, many current Linux distributions now at least take a shot at identifying your hardware, but the installation routine often still will stop--- unsure of itself--- and ask for confirmation that its guess was correct. For example, even the most recent version of Red Hat--- 9.0, "Shrike," which otherwise has one of the most-polished installation interfaces there is in the Linux world--- still does this. Primitive? You bet. There are other items, too, including this: In most standard Linux setups, one of the earliest stages of installation is the repartitioning of the hard drive and the fundamental altering of the way the system boots. This isn't a problem in the sense of something being wrong--- almost all OSes want the hard drive partitioned in the OSes native format--- but this step alone prevents many potential Linux users from ever trying the OS because it puts the user's current setup at risk. We've covered some alternatives in recent issues--- Linux distributions that can install into a working Windows setup without gumming up the works; complete setups on single, self-activating CDs that likewise change nothing on the host systems; and so on. In fact, I've practically melted my cable modem to slag, what with all the downloads I've been doing of various Linux distributions, looking especially at "small footprint" (almost nothing copied to the hard drive, no or minimal system changes) and "zero footprint" (nothing to the hard drive, no system changes at all) options. They're interesting in themselves, but they're also important because these "zero/small footprint" Linuxes also have *great* installation routines, some of which work with absolutely no user intervention required at all. When this becomes common in the Linux world--- when you can just pop in a Linux setup CD and automatically have a working, fully-configured system ready to run a few minutes later--- the last major obstacle to Linux's wider acceptance will fall away, and we'll have a whole new ballgame. I've picked the top three small- and zero-footprint Linux distributions from among all I've seen so far, and made them the focus of a new InformationWeek column that's available now at http://www.informationweek.com/938/langa.htm . I'll go into those three in some details, and also provide links to literally dozens of others you can try--- all for free. Come check it out! - -- A butterfly is: Pretty,soft,harmless...and useless, just like M$N. My Penguin eats butterflies. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2-rc1-SuSE (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+tn8kH5oDXyLKXKQRAg47AKCAeL7I0zNsfnwyWLLkwDq9fvwvoACfQycr spg0FzJqmP7OcSdxcK7LnVk= =io5H -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Monday 05 May 2003 16:11, John wrote: <snip> Nowdays, I just ignore comments about Linux being difficult to install. Having used SuSE Linux since version 5.3, the installation has been automatic and gui driven. There are greater challenges in installing Linux and it was these challenges that have me addicted to linux. I have tried to run a small network at home using the darkside. Costs apart, the platform is far too unstable to this task. The software is very expensive. Using Linux as server has been a revelation. I once left Linux running for 90 days as a server and used it as a workstation daily. After this length of time, what more evidence of stability is necessary? LW999
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 John wrote:
Hey gang,
Got my latest Langalist letter in today, and I'm still fuming a little bit. I've been at it with Fred about his statements about Linux for about a half a year now, and he just don't seem to want to listen. This latest letter though, sort of got to me, because as *I* see it, he's still naysaying Linux, plus he's really misleading the readers of his letter about what should and shouldn't be used, *especially* for newbies to Linux. I wrote him a letter before making this one to put in here. I offered to send him my 4 CD's from my 8.2 *and* a 10GB HDD, so he can actually see what a Linux desktop is and how easy it is to use and that 'grandma' *can* use it. I'll let the list here know if he takes me up on my offer. Meanwhile, here's the part of his letter dealing with Linux. Make your own conclusions. Hello John,
I to get the Langalist and have for a couple of years because I work on windoze units. At least now Fred is mentioning linux in his articles and with this latest article he does give what I feel is good credit to SuSE and its live -evaluation program. Before this came out I had already downloaded the live-eval and burned copies of it to give to my customers, I have had more than a few show much more interest in linux since and this has only been about 2 weeks. Maybe this is what more of us should do to show people that linux can do what they want. As to grandma using it, yes she probably can, but to do a install I doubt it. Hell I have been a tech for years and I had problems with 8.0 and some of the accessories attached, ie printers, modems, scanners, etc. If it were not for the good people on this list and others I might not have switched. With each version it becomes easier to install as more and more hardware is auto recognized and configured. this is not to say that windoze works out of the box all the time either, for if it did I would not make a living. Yet I see the time soon when linux will give M$S a real run for the money and I want be betting on Empire Maker. Last thing I will say is that I wish SuSE could flood the market with copies of live-eval like AOL does so that more people would at least give it a try. David Het Troll -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQE+tsMi3VVncqMjOZsRAopbAJ9yL3tucKnli1EzMYOLzY+li9LkWgCfaUaV nqIGz2xqCVAmO+0X9ogE+aY= =RH0M -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (3)
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DB Troll
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John
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LinuxWorld999