On Thu, 2002-02-21 at 12:47, Kevin McLauchlan wrote:
I bought the boxed 7.3 Pro set, and I tried to ask a support question. It seems I'm not registered.
Uhm, did you register your product? I don't think SuSE 7.3 shipped with the mind-reading module; that's for later. I'm being sarcastic. A more-helpful answer is for me to suggest you visit: http://support.suse.de/en/register/ Once your product is registered, I'm sure your experience will mirror mine - I was grateful for the tech-support that came as part of my SuSE 7.2 Pro purchase. Further down your e-mail, you allude to having tried to register your product; was it through this mechanism? If "yes", and it barfed, I too would be upset. This is a situation for justified anger...
you can't buy SuSE in Ottawa, ON, Canada anymore).
Bummer :-( I was born and raise in Ottawa (Nepean, actually). I find it hard to believe that *no-one* carries SuSE in the Nation's Capital, when I can get it in small-town White Rock, BC. (in my case, retailer != support).
A buddy of his wiped Linux, installed Windoze 98 and had him connected before they'd finished enjoying a couple of beers. No pain. No hassles. No cursing frustration.
There is no doubt in my mind that the user-installation and breadth of support for devices is very high in Windows. In part, this occurs because Microsoft is a front-line participant in developing emerging technologies (I'm personally familiar with their involvement in USB, right from the get-go). This formative involvement will *always* allow their products a running head-start. That is a fact of life. My choice is to live with bumpy initial support for my leading-edge hardware, knowing that the Linux community will catch up. In the meantime, I manage to side-step a lot of problems, like e-mail viruses, spy-ware, hidden files that track my every move, an OS that requires re-registration after I make 6 hardware changes, an OS which costs a truckload of money (particularly when you add in apps), a supplier that offers no contact/support. It's not a perfect world, and the choices aren't crystal clear. Windows and Linux occupy somewhat different spaces. Linux is getting better for non-geeks, but a bump or two *can* cause severe problems. What I find totally impressive is that Linux is so flexible and can do so much. Everything from embedded systems (Intrinsyc), to PDA's (Agenda VR3, others), to desktops, to servers, to Beowulf clusters. Linux is also customizable if I want :-) or not (as my wife wants). Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. At the end of the day, I completely agree with your assessment that the tool that works is the one to use. Some of us do need to do productive work with our PC's, and keep a roof over our heads. For a few, that "best choice" will remain Windows; for others (even non-geeks), Linux has a lot to offer. -Gord -- Gordon Pritchard, P.Eng., Member IEEE Technical University of B.C. - Research Lab Engineer mailto:gordon.pritchard@techbc.ca direct phone: 604-586-6186