kurttrail said:
OK, you asked. Let's say one wants to install NVU.
Linux ... 2 steps:
1) open a terminal window, and type
2) urpmi nvu - the package is downloaded automatically, unzipped and
installed and link placed in the GUI menu
Windoze ...
1) open a web browser
2) go to the site that has it for downloading and find the file to download
3) download it your computer
4) unzip it
5) open explorer and go to the folder where you unzipped it
6) look for the install program and run that
Really? If it is just as easy, then why aren't they? I've tried and
continue to try to run Linux on my system. Have yet to find one yet
that will run all of my hardware.
So what's so unusual about your hardware? I have 4 very different computers
here (chipset, cpus, video cards, etc), all running Linux and didn't have
the slightest problem installing on any of them.
I'm above average. My test for separating out the average computer user
for intermediate or above average users is the ability to organize the
start menu. And mine is meticulous!
You have a very low benchmark in regards to an individual's computer savy,
that is for sure! The ability to organize a start menu ... indeed! That is
almost hilarious, but also sad in a way. If you're an intermediate or above
average user and that is what you've been able to accomplish, I guess I am
starting to understand your inability to get all these different distros
you say you've tried, installed on your computer.
LOL! What can you do in Linux that I can't do in Windows, and I mean
something constructive.
Sigh. It's too bad that you are really so clueless. Up to now, I've only
touched on the strengths of GNU/Linux vis a vis it's security features and
the good possibility that the OP with his emachines computer shouldn't need
to scrap the whole damn machine because he's having probs with Windoze. So
you want some examples of constructive use of a Linux box, do you? OK,
here's just a taste of what one can do ...
1) Run a complete LAMP server for development of web sites both frontend and
backend development
2) Run Samba to open access to any Windoze shares one may have in his
network
3) Rdesktop and run a remote Windoze desktop within a Linux window.
4) Run other Linux boxes remotely using SSH and running their GUI apps on
your desktop
5) Run your system for months without a crash or the need to reboot
6) Have access to multiple desktops right out of the box. A real helpful way
to get work done and even better if one has a dual monitor setup
7) Have incredible configurability in terms of the look and feel of your
desktop, being able to change all aspects of the GUI. Again, right out of
the box without need to go and purchase something like WindowBlinds.
8) Use a journaled file system, that never fragments and in the event of a
power failure, brings back everything in the file system to a working
state.
9) Ability to mount and access many many different file systems, whereas
Windoze can only talk FAT or NTFS.
10) Ability to upgrade your hardware and not have to reinstall the operating
system and wipe everything first to do so.
11) Each Linux distribution comes with hundreds and possibly thousands of
application programs included. This alone can save you thousands of dollars
for each desktop system you configure. Although this is a very small
subset, consider that the OpenOffice.org office suite is included as well
as the GIMP, a program similar to (and many people say more capable than
Adobe Photoshop); Scribus, a document layout program similar to Quark
Xpress; Evolution, an e-mail system equivalent to Microsoft's Outlook; and
hundreds more.
12) Have a relationship with the open source community that is community
based rather than customer based. We're users helping users, not users
paying money to developers as their customers resulting in the subsequent
antagonisms that result from that kind of a relationship.
13) Have the ability to install the operating system on any number of
computers in your home or office without needing to purchase expensive
licenses for each.
14) Have much more frequent updates that happen a few times a year as
opposed to waiting years for the next update from MickeySoft.
15) Have a TCP/IP stack that is nearly twice as fast as Windoze has. It's
like getting almost twice the bandwidth just because I'm running Linux as
opposed to XP.
16) Run something like Kopete, that let's me instant message with multiple
users from different providers: AIM, ICQ, MSN, etc. within one application.
Much like Trillian, only this ones free and comes with most distros.
17) Use K3b, which is every bit as good and easier to use than Nero and
again it's free and comes with every distro.
18) Run Inkscape that's as good as Coreldraw, but again it's free.
19) Run Amarok, which is the killer music app as far as I'm concerned.
Haven't found anything in the Windoze world that is as nice and it stores
its catalog within a MySQL database.
20) Have access to the very best of networking monitoring tools, again all
free.
21) Have the ability to setup everything from an email server, to a DNS
server, to a router/firewall, again all free. Comes with most distros.
22) Have the ability to run PHP, Perl and a host of other languages
natively, again at no cost.
23) Have exceptional net tools, like excellent IRC apps, ftp clients, ftp
servers, etc. etc. ... again all free.
24) Have the ability to control all aspects of my Linux box remotely using a
web browser and Webmin. That means everything, from setting up new users,
to installing software, to configuring dozens of services/servers, to even
rebooting the computer.
25) Having logs that show me everything happening with my system.
26) Having crontab, that let's me run all sorts of things at scheduled
times, including full backups of my system, automatic downloading/uploading
of files, etc. etc.
27) Having rock solid stability. My Linux boxes just work.
28) Having the ability to choose what kernel I feel like running when I boot
my computer.
29) Having the ability to do what Partition Magic does, but the Linux app is
free.
30) Having the ability to do anything a Windoze user can do in terms of
working with multimedia, but again, at no cost.
31) Have access to a number of shells and the power of shell programming
that is a 1000 x's more powerful than anything one can do with Windoze.
32) Having a choice in terms of what GUI I want to use.
33) Having to work with my clients' web sites as if they were local to my
computer.
34) Having the ability to get work done without worrying about whether I'll
get spyware, trojans, worms, viruses, etc. disrupting my system and causing
me to have to seek out fixes.
35) Having the ability to deal with everything about my system using a
simple text editor, even logged in remotely, as all configuration files are
simple text files. In fact, everything in a Linux system is treated as a
file.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. But the more I use and
learn about Linux, the more I'm blown away by the power it offers.
Linux is just an OS. It ain't perfection on wheels. You need to get a
little perspective.
Actually it isn't just an OS. It is in fact a system, that includes a
kernel, it's drivers, but also all of the other goodies that come bundled
with it in it's particular distribution. Mandrake/Mandriva comes bundled
with over 18,000 packages. So it's far more than just an OS.
I hope he does too! And you should give him your email address so you
can answer all his problems setting up and running Linux! I'd love to
see you do that!
There are many places on the Net where a new Linux user can get help and I
do what I can to help new users.
LOL! I am a computer user. I have yet to find it easy to setup and run
Linux on my computer, and I've tried many different distros.
That is unfortunate and I can't understand why you in particular have had
such problems getting it installed? You must have some pretty unusual
hardware there, or just need a bit of assistance getting up and running.
I'm glad to hear that you have at least tried and considered an
alternative. But, as I said in an earlier message, it is a different
operating system than is Windoze and sometimes it's easy to get stuck in
the Windoze way of doing things, that makes it a mite difficult for some
folks to wrap their heads around the *NIX way of doing things. In fact a
newbie computer user might be more successful at getting going, than a
diehard Windoze user, already caught in the MickeySoft way of computer use.
It really does get easier in time once the concepts are understood. But
really, out of the box with the latest distros, in particular the real
user-friendly ones like Mandrake or SUSE, can be accomplished by your
grandmother.
You have to understand one thing about GNU/Linux and that is that it is a
system being put together by thousands of volunteer developers around the
world as an open-source operating system. These developers do not have
access to the proprietary code of the hardware developers that offer their
own hardware drivers, mainly developed for Windoze. All these things have
to be reverse engineered by volunteers and there are some things that have
yet to be accomplished. But for most users today, the work has been done
and GNU/Linux is now ready for primetime on nearly every desktop. Like I
said, I haven't yet had a problem with the diverse hardware I've installed
it on.
--
ø¤º°`°ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°øø¤º°`°ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°ø
Windows is *NOT* a virus. Viruses are small and efficient.
Tired of the insecurity of your Wintendo box? Update to GNU/Linux
STOP the dummying down of America - Move to a REAL o/s.
