On Thu, 2004-06-10 at 08:50, Billie Walsh wrote:
Just weeks before 9.1 was released I finally broke down and purchased SuSE 9.0. The decision to buy SuSE was made after talking to just about everyone I could find for over a year. I had been told by numerous people that SuSE was the best. I have to admit that installation was an absolute breeze. 9.0 found, and installed, everything in my box way better than Windows ever has.
Now I'm no computer idiot. My computer experience goes back to TI 99-4A and CoCo days. CPM and DOS were the operating systems of the day. However, I'm not a "programmer" and I think therein lies my problem with Linux. IMHO, for at least the foreseeable future LINUX will primarily be an operating system for "programmers".
I go back that far as well, Timex\Sinclair though. I liked the basic.
When I was using DOS I spent an incredible amount of time writing complex "bat" files to make running different programs and keeping things going the way I wanted. If I still wanted to use a command line interface to interact with my computer I would still be using DOS 6. GUI's are just much simpler to operate.
Now don't get me wrong. I like Linux. It does things incredibly well. Most of the package applications work better than Micro$oft products. The problems I have/had are with adding things that I want that are missing from the package, and maybe a couple things that are included.
"So far" I haven't found any genealogy programs. I would like to use my Window$ program. For that I need Wine, or something equivalent. Wine comes packaged with 9.0 but there is no "intuitive" way to make it operate. By using KDE to search through every directory on the hard drive I did find something dealing with Wine. [A "search" using Yast couldn't return one hit for anything dealing with Wine.] There was also a "html" manual for it that I bookmarked for later. I went to the website and looked for detailed instructions. They talked about the versions that were packaged were sometimes not the latest and greatest so I downloaded and installed the "latest and greatest". Well the manual that I had bookmarked is GONE. Things are scattered all over the hard drive and I can't find anything that makes it run.
Look for, and download, and install, winetools. It will go a long way, if not all the way in the direction that you are looking.
I absolutely abhor graphical HTML editors. They make pages that are FAR larger and bulkier than needed. I think I have found a Linux application that does things the way I want them done. It's called CoffeCup. No problem, just download and install right. WRONG. Download fine. Install???????? It comes with an installation utility that does nothing. It runs just fine. BUT it doesn't do a thing while it's running, then says installation went just fine. HUH!!!!
Unfortunately not all programming is created equal, or even intelligently. It is possible that someone on the list has experience with CoffeCup.
Right now I just don't have the time to spend trying to figure all this stuff out. We are moving and setting up a new house on our acreage. It's just more trouble than it's worth right now so I'm back to running Window$ for the time being. *<[:o( In a while, when life settles down and I have more spare time I will get back to fighting Linux.
You're not fighting Linux, you're fighting the GUI, and other assorted add-on software.
IMHO Linux has great potential as an everyday operating system. BUT, until it becomes much more intuitive to use, applications become much easier to use, and there is less reliance on "command line interface" it will NEVER become "everyman's" operating system. As a workstation in an office system where someone keeps it up and running, Fine. As a home operating system for everyday use, Ain't happenin'.
Sorry - Just my $0.02 worth.
I don't find it that difficult. Most of the time it does what I expect and behaves ever so much better than my WinME install on the other hard drive. On those occasions when it doesn't, like getting the 3d acceleration running on an older nVidia graphics card, I realize that if nVidia had produced an RPM for 8.2 like they had for 7.3 life would be a lot happier, but this isn't the fault of Linux, it's a problem with Xwindows and the graphics card, and I've seen Windows fight hardware just as much. That's why there are sites like WinDrivers.com. Fortunately right now Windows is doing for you, what you need done, that's great, use it, get your other work done and come back to GNU\Linux when you feel you have the time, and I'm sure someone will be able to help you sort out the niggles with CoffeeCcup. If you e-mail me off the list, I might actually have the time to go over an install of that software with you. I have been meaning to get it, but haven't had the time for it.
Sorta PS - Someone needs to write a book Linux For Dummies with just BASIC information on how to operate it. Step by step in baby language.
Well I seem to recall that there is a Red Hat Linux for dummies. Take Care, Mike