M Harris wrote:
On Monday 11 December 2006 21:54, Billie Erin Walsh wrote:
Just wanted to say "Hi", and a few other things to. Hi, and welcome.
Thank You.
I've been seriously trying to use SuSE for about a year, so I'm still VERY much a newbie. I tried a few other distro's before I settled on SuSE. For the most part SuSE does a superb job of setting up. Which other distros did you try, and why did you stay with Suse?
Well, I tried SuSE 9.0, just about the time 9.1 came out I think it was. I don't know. Just got depressed trying to figure it all out so I quit it for a while. Joined some mail lists and did a lot of kibitzing. Mepis, Simply Linux, really quite nice. Of Debian decent I believe. Not sure why I didn't stay with it but I was experimenting so I moved on. Some of the configuration stuff isn't/wasn't quite as slick as SuSE. Mandrake/Mandriva. Don't recall what version, but it was about the time of the name change. SuSE 9.3. Liked this one. Used it for a while. PCLinux. It's nice but I wasn't terribly impressed. Ubuntu Genealogy Live Disk. Never "installed" this one. You really can't get much of a feel for something from the live CD. Seemed ok, but again I wasn't all that impressed. SuSE 10.0. Actually downloaded this one on the night it was posted. Pretty unusual for me because I don't usually jump in on the "newest and greatest" of anything. Let it set for a while till they get some of the bugs worked out. Stuck with it. SuSE 10.1. Downloaded it on about the last few days it was available. Over Thanksgiving weekend. That's what I've got running right now. Seriously contemplating 10.2 after New Years Why did I stick with SuSE. I don't know really. I guess it just impressed me more than the others. I like it. It does what I want, most of the time *<[:oS and it really "WORKS" for me. Actually, when I first started thinking serious about breaking free of Mr. Gates empire I was told that SuSE was probably the best to start out with. I REALLY think it was pretty good advice. If I remember right Red Hat was the second choice. I never got around to trying Red Hat.
Now for the downsides of what I'm having trouble with: ... ok,
Home networking. [Four+ windows computers and my SuSE 10.1 ] You have my sincere sympathy... I struggled along in that mode for more than
Three of the Windows machines aren't "mine". Two are Tracie's, my better half, and the other is my mom's. Then throw in the various laptops, and computers I'm "fixing" for the kids..................Sometimes there's eight or ten running somewhere in the house.Until I get MUCH better with Linux I wouldn't think of trying to migrate any of the others over. Besides Tracie HAS to have Windows for her work at home job.
When I can get the other computers on the network to see the Linux box
You will probably need to configure Samba... until I made the complete switch-over I kept archive documents on my XP box and shared them across the Linux boxes using SMB (works well).
I did "something" right for a change. It now works just fine. Not sure what, but...................... Take 2. I just flipped over to the other desktop and tried the network thing. Samba says there's nothing there. It was working before I left for work this morning. *<[:o( Looks like my setup isn't "sticking" for some reason. Have to work on it some more.
SaX2 Should be renamed sUx2. Whoa, not so fast... SaX2 is actually very impressive... all things taken into account. What you will really want to do... one of the things you will really want to indulge in... seriously... is learning how xorg.conf is setup and how to make manual changes with either emacs or vim, or some other cool editor. SaX2 will get you into the ballpark... and much of the time its just right on the money too... but if you need to do some tweaking... well, you have control over xorg.conf. (... not going to happen in XP... or, Vi$ta...)
In 9.0 and 9.3 the setup screens had much more information on them. Much easier to change the configuration settings. Resolutions, refresh rates etc. Now with these generic settings I have a distinct flicker. I think the refresh rate is now about 60 and it should be about 75 for this monitor.10.0 I think I noticed the change in the SaX configuration utility. It would ALWAYS set this monitor up wrong on the install, but no biggie. Just pop up SaX from failsafe mode and it would pop open it's little low res screen and come back with the proper settings. Hit the "Okiedokie" button to save that configuration and it was up and running. In 10.1 it tries to use the "bad" settings to run in. Not much help there if all you get are squiggly little lines back and forth across the screen, or a black screen.
I lost my system Saturday night trying to change the resolution on my monitor. These poor old eyes just ain't up to those super high resolutions. I was having to go to 22 and 24 for font sizes to get them barely big enough to see. heh. me too. I'm forever hitting Ctrl + in Firefox to make the text about 1st grade scale... I just quit fighting the problem... had the Doc make me a pair of reading specs for 27" and then I make those fonts huge... works very well... being 50+ is so cool... B--)
Yeah, right. *<[:oD
Suggestion to whomever We just bought a couple new eMachines at <snip> half of my boxes are e-machines... they take a little patience (they are optimized for windoze) but they do work very well with Suse... (haven't tried 10.2 yet....)
It's just that @&%$(*&!@##$^&$#(*!@ ATI video card that's the problem. The drivers don't work. If I could use the settings for the setup screens.........................those don't look half bad...........
On the subject of the eMachines Stupid damn things have ATI Radion Xpress video cards. ... sounds like its time to build yourself a system... seriously... its fun, relatively inexpensive, and you can put whatever hardware you choose in it...
Up until these last two box's we usually did do our own. Just made to good a deal to pass up on them. Bought them for less than we could build them.
Why can't the instructions be "SIMPLE". There are people out here that aren't geeks, nerds or guru's. I'd like to take a stab at this... in the spirit of good will and the advancement of computer science among the masses... An over-simplified viewpoint finds two kinds of personal computer users in general... 1) those who see their system as an appliance (like the phone, toaster, DVD player, electric toothbrush... you get the idea), and 2) those who recognize and appreciate that their personal computer is an infinitely configurable system--- a veritable wonderland of opportunities for adventure, discovery, conquest, and just plain fun... hence Suse's, "Have lots of fun!"
I'm sorry to say that most of the time my computer is more in the appliance mode.
So, the system needs to satisfy both of those users... Linux does that very well, and Suse does it even better than that. See... windoze has the appliance aspect of the system down... except that the user typically has to live with application constraints that are less than desireable. Suse Linux also has the appliance side of things well in hand... but under the covers the user... (the owner of the system) still has the raw control over anything and everything they care to learn about. In other words, for them, the system is still a general purpose computer capable of being transformed "freely" into whatever our hearts desire.
A friend of mine once made the statement that AOL is the Internet with training wheels. Taking that one step further I guess Windows is your computer with training wheels.
The instructions will "become" easier for you the longer you work with them. Very shortly you will be far enough along the learning curve that things will start making sense and the instructions will become surprisingly easier... hang in there and don't give up... it will be a rewarding experience... really.
I do need to spend more time on the CLI side of things. When I got my first computer, PC rather than some of the others I've had, I found a rather simplified "dictionary" of DOS commands. Printed it off and spent a LOT of time just trying everything. For some reason it seems like I had more time free back then. Anyway, something like that would be nice to find for Linux CLI. Something not written in "programmer" but in plain English.
Permissions These things are driving me nuts. Again... stay with it... permissions in *nix are one of the primary reasons that Linux does not require anti-virus and spy-sweep software... there are other reasons too, of course, but the permissions of *nix are beauty babe... pure beauty.
I understand the why's and stuff. It's just that every time I try to do something I run face first into the "permissions wall". Then it takes me a while to figure out what needs to happen to get access to something. Thanks to a LOT of helpful people it's getting better.
Enough of a rant for now. I DO like SuSE. After a year+ Excellent.
Geeez, I didn't intend to write a book. BUT, I do want to say thanks to all those really super SuSE/Linux people that work so hard to try to help newbies like me. I do appreciate it. I'm not JUST posting. Google Linux is my friend also. -- (o:]>*HUGGLES*<[:o) Billie Walsh The three best words in the English Language: "I LOVE YOU" Pass them on! -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org