Re: Desktop productivity with Debian GNU/LINUX
Hal Vaughan wrote:
<snip>
I also find that seem to be contradicting yourself here. Your point before
was that this was way above the original poster's head. Now you're saying
any literate computer user can install Debian.
And, remember, your original response was to tell him to go away. It wasn't
to tell him to use Debian. It was to go away and get Linux when it was at a
consumer level and pre-installed (which is available through Wal-Mart).
<snip>
True there are lots of problems w/ any distro out there. But a newbie will
find it much easier to deal w/ Mandrake than any other. But, remember, you
weren't arguing for any distro. You were rather curt with him and basically
told him to go away and wait until he could get Linux pre-installed (which he
can -- in the US Walmart sells computers w/ Mandrake and Lindows
pre-installed).
<snip>
Nope. I've just found it works, and that was the whole point. Your
statements show that you haven't tried this recently, or have tried it and
not noticed a few things. My point from the beginning is that there are
options out there for this person who wants to try Linux. Your point was
that he should stay away. Based on my point that he should try Linux, my
next point was that he should try the easiest one to install. That's
Mandrake. Redhat comes close.
Hal:
When I read your second posting on this thread, I seriously wondered if
you had gotten Eduard's responses mixed up with mine (Kent), but the
evidence wasn't clear one way or the other. This posting makes it clear
that you have.
I would just like to go on the record to say that I (Kent) have not been
arguing with Hal, nor have I used profanity (I hate the taste of Mom's
soap, yuck), nor, I sincerely hope, have I told the original poster to
go away. I admit I may have been curt with my response; I have no
defense on that charge except that I have no social skills.
Nor did I intend to tell the original poster to "go away". What I
_meant_ to tell him is that installation of Linux is not yet automatic,
although Mandrake _et al_ have made vast improvements, and if he expects
the installation to be automatic he'll be disappointed. Wait a couple of
years and it'll probably be here.
I also admit I have not tried a recent Mandrake install, and could very
well be wrong about a Linux installation being automatic. But knowing
that there are lots of hardware out there that's only supported by the
vendor on Windows (external USB CD-RW, remote control on certain TV
video cards, etc) and lots of configurations that aren't automatic (his
ISA modem being on IRQ 8, for example), I suspect I'm more right than wrong.
My main point was that the original poster himself admitted that "as
[he] didn't have time to keep playing with Linux, [he] gave up", and my
response was that it's still necessary to "play with Linux" ("tinker" is
the term I used at one point) to get it fully functional. I did not mean
that he should "go away" and wait a couple of years; I did mean that he
will probably need to tinker ("don't expect it to be automatic") or to
wait a couple of years for a more automatic installation. If Mandrake
(or anyone else) can do it now, I hereby retract my claims.
I also pointed out that if Knoppix can't detect his hardware, which he
claimed it can not, then Debian probably would not either.
If you have any concerns/objections to my original post (or this one),
I'd be glad to hear them, but I wanted to make the record clear that
there seems to have been a mix-up, and some things I've been accused of
saying/doing are not my sayings/doings (except for being curt - I'm
supposed to be Kent, but seems like I'm curt - gotta learn some social
skills).
Kent
Reply to: