[Tfug] ubuntu (troll?)

Tue Apr 15 16:10:55 MST 2008

That's what I am figuring, OSX or some analogue will be the next jump. 
Actually,
though I don't care for Windows, I have been using it for so long that 
I do know
abit about, not that I particularly want to. I currently have a dual boot with
Ubuntu. Someone else loaded it on my box (T61p), and it took them several
hours, fiddling around in some code windows. What was supposed to be easy, was
certainly beyond my capabilities. I had tried to do similar things several
times over the years, w/ Win98, w/ Win 2K, w/ XP, and finally got someone else
to do it w/ Vista.

Now that it is on this machine, the first big hurdle jumped, I haven't 
used it.
Why would I? I don't know how to mess around with the settings to get it to
connect to WiFi, or the cellular network. So it just sits there, taking up
space on my hardrive. I look at it every so often. Play Mines. Gotten pretty
good at that part of linux.

3-7 years ago people were saying wait 3-7years for linux to mature. Okay, I
waited. Been using windows, and as I get older waiting for these ease of use
improvements I have been getting stuck in the mindset of Windows. Perhaps you
can't teach a Windows educated dog how to learn a new OS.

I went to a TFUG meeting a few years ago and said that I wanted to do a dual
boot on an XP box. No one was real enthusiastic about jumping on that one,
which I can certainly understand, so I let it go.

I am really busy with writing and researching and meeting people and 
looking for
work and making money (the altar of modern life). My life revolves 
around doing
other things, not messing around with some OS. I simply can't devote myself to
learning another OS. If it were simple, then perhaps yes I could takea 
few days
out of what is left of my life for that, but it is not simple, and a few days
will not teach me that much. I would still be wondering how to connect to a
WiFi system, or trying to fiure out why the sound doesn't work, or how to get
the bluetooth functional, or any number of other little things.

Again, let me say it. I don't care how little functionality is 
involved. I only
want something that is simple and it works. That's it. Just that. Linux could
be that, but it won't, not in the forseeable future, not even in 3-7 
years. And
that is too bad, cause the open source model would fit my own social
machinations so nicely.

m

Quoting Jim Secan <jim at nwra.com>:

> Since this fellow took himself off the line I'll put up some defense for
> his cause.  I doubt that he "knows" Windows to the level you posit, but his
> point is that he doesn't think he should have to know Windows or Linux or
> JCL (God forbid) or whatever any more than is needed to get his job done.
> His job not being care-and-feeding of the OS.  This is why I don't use
> Linux on the desktop myself.  Too much fiddling to get done what my REAL
> job is.  I don't mind this for my heavy computing needs, because I need the
> OS access that Linux provides so I put up with the admin load, but only
> that needed for the guts, not Gnome or KDE or any desktop stuff.
>
> This doesn't make Linux "evil" or bad in any way, just unsuited, at this
> time, for the user who wants to work from the desktop with a minimum of
> hassle and doesn't want to take the time to learn how to spika-da-linux.
> Yes, Windows is a pain in the butt when it goes south on you, but with a
> minimum of care that can usually be avoided or at least mitigated.  The
> suggestion for this fellow to look into OS X and Mac is what I think he
> should do.  Linux may get to where he wants in 3-7 years, but not yet.
> Given an OS X background, when Linux gets the desktop to the point he can
> use it the switch from OS X to Linux will be a lot easier than the jump
> from Windows to either OS X or Linux.
>
> Jim
>
> At 02:33 PM 04/15/2008 -0700, Gene wrote:
>> On 04/15/2008 11:23 AM, sitkaa at email.arizona.edu wrote:
>>> I subscribed to TFUG to (yet again) try to learn more about
>>> linux.
>>>
>> Have you installed Linux? You say you need someone to hold your
>> hand to get a dual boot working. Have you asked any of us on the
>> list to help you? Have you considered responding to any one of
>> the hundreds of giveaway emails on the list, where people were
>> giving away or selling for the cost of a haircut, low end used
>> computers? How about going to Worldcare and picking one up?
>>
>> You can't learn Linux on a Linux group without Linux! You might
>> learn *about* it, but you won't learn it.
>>
>> Until you have tried one of the above suggestions, I think you
>> should stop your whining. And no, we don't care what your
>> complaints are until you have either tried or asked for help.
>>
>> On another note, you say you *know* Windows, but I bet you don't.
>> You know how to use it to get tasks done, but I bet that's about
>> it. How about troubleshooting driver issues? Virtual Memory?
>> Failure to boot; don't have the provided recovery media; what do
>> you do? Fix registry issues? Dual boot Windows XP with Windows
>> Vista? If I am wrong, I will apologize publicly on the group.
>>
>> Most of the people running windows bought it with everything
>> pre-installed. If you were to buy the newest hardware and attempt
>> to install Win 98 on it, you would have to go find all the
>> drivers and install them manually; and believe me there are a lot
>> more drivers than just video, network, and audio. And there's no
>> guarantee that you would get it to work.
>>
>> There is a stark difference between using an OS, and installing
>> an OS that did not come from a manufacturer with all the drivers
>> pre-loaded. If that's what you want, go buy a box with Linux
>> pre-installed.
>>
>> In my opinion, installing Ubuntu, PC-BSD, etc is normally easier
>> than installing *any* version of Windows; except maybe 3.1. ;-)
>>
>> --
>> Glen
>
> *---------------------*-------------------------------*
> | Jim Secan           | Northwest Research Assoc, Inc |
> | (jim at nwra.com)      | 2455 E. Speedway, Suite 204   |
> | (520) 319-7773      | Tucson, Arizona 85719         |
> *---------------------*-------------------------------*
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tucson Free Unix Group - tfug at tfug.org
> Subscription Options:
> http://www.tfug.org/mailman/listinfo/tfug_tfug.org