Re: Desktop productivity with Debian GNU/LINUX
On Tuesday 21 January 2003 12:31 am, Kent West wrote:
> John & Peg Pickard wrote:
> > As I didn't have time to keep playing with LINUX, I gave up.
>
> Linux, being an OS by geeks for geeks, up until just recently, needs a
> geek to get it set up properly. Mandrake and others have made vast
> improvements, but it's not automatic. If you expect it to be, you'll be
> disappointed. Wait another couple of years. Until then consider yourself
> a consumer; as a general rule, consumers get their computers
> pre-installed with an operating system and don't do their own OS
> installation (although they might do a "restore" using the System
> Restore disk that came with their computer).
At the risk of sounding like a troll, I have to take issue with this. To be
even more blunt, this paragraph is, in my view, an example of some of the
worst geek snobbery and elitism I've seen online.
I also have to ask how long it's been since you tried Mandrake last. I found
Mandrake 8.0 to be great at detecting EVERYTHING on my system. There was
basically NO post-install to deal with. Printer drivers were there --
everything I needed was there.
This is a user who obviously wants to learn more about computers and Linux,
but does not have the time to mess with selecting the necessary kernal
modules or with spending hours online tracking down drivers. This does not
mean he is not ready for Linux.
I would STRONGLY recommend trying Mandrake. While I have not had any problems
with Mandrake 9.0, I have heard of some people who have. I found Mandrake
8.2 to be solid and stable. It's basically your choice -- I would think
either one would work fine. One nice addition or change to Mandrake 9.0 is
that it does not require the user to mount/umount cd-roms when they are put
in or removed from a drive.
I have seen HUGE strides forward in desktop Linux in the time since I've been
working with Linux (which was somewhere around mid 2000). Mandrake,
especially, has changed and improved quite a bit. While I hate to say this
on a Debian mailing list, Debian still has quite far to go before I would
consider recommending it to anyone who does not work with computer
professionally. I started with programming in the late 1970's, grew up
putting together Heathkit short wave radios and other kits, and used to
program in assembler on an Apple //e as a hobby. After about 10 years of
using a computer as only a tool (which is what they basically are, anyway), I
started doing more with it. While I found Mandrake Linux easy to use, I have
not found that to be anywhere near the case with Debian. While the people
here, on this mailing list, are about the most helpful you can find, there
were still install issues that nobody here was able to solve.
While I don't think Linux is just for geeks anymore, I do think Debian is.
And, to be honest, I think the Debian developers and maintainers (and
administrators and others in charge) prefer it that way -- sort of a last
retreat for geeks as the Linux world goes more and more mainstream.
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