On Saturday 25 May 2002 04:28, Patrick wrote: [snip snip snip]
But that is not why most of us here use it either! We want to tweak, experiment and continually update things, which in turn allows Linux to be a dream come true. It allows us endless hours of tinkering, but for most casual users, they don't need that. I can attest to that just recently as I converted my wife's dad over to Linux. I put together a new computer for him and offered an even swap if he would agree to use Linux for a couple of weeks, just to prove to him his computer problems would go away! Doesn't look like I will have to wait those two weeks, as he is so pleased with his SuSE setup already. Oh, Peter Banks, he is near 80! The complexities of Linux are available to those of us that want to see them, but hidden to those that don't.
I cannot help but jump in here with my experience here. My sister was a faithful Windows user. She had the perception that Linux was for the computer nerds. SuSE8.0 arrived, and she saw how happy I was with it. Her older laptop (PII 266) was due for its 4 times yearly reformat and re-install - something she has had to do just to keep a stable and useable system. She had a choice... Win98 again with all it's miserable problems, or SuSE8. I talked her into trying SuSE8... just for a week. She agreed, and I helped her install and set up KDE3, Evolution, Moneydance, KICQ, network and even her 2 favorite old DOS games. Her first comment... hey this is faster than Win98. She is back in Canada now, and phoned me recently to proudly tell me that she figured out how to install and configure her PCMCIA 56kmodem, and was able to dial out to her local ISP. She commented on how easy it was to use YaST to set things up. She is very happy with how Linux works on her system, and she is about as non-techie as people get. That week we agreed on is long gone. And now my brother (an MCSE and huge fan of WinXP) is curious, and has asked me to bring along theSuSE8 disks when I go back for a visit this summer. C.