Re: why linux?
Thanks for responding. Responses (rationalizations?) are in relevant sections of your text.
Rob Heilman <digger@digger.cc> wrote: Smart ass answer:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ama_XmSA8wflqkjrwiMowZAjzKIX?qid=1006031517403
Seriously, many people have already responded to this thread. Many have
made suggestions despite a lack of information from you: "apt-get
install k3b", "apt-get install supsys", "try Ubuntu", etc. I agree that
if you are having issues with Debian try an easier distro. I
particularly like to put new people on Kubuntu. (Insert Gnome/KDE
debate here.) Personally I think KDE is an easier transition for long
time Windows users.
In you defense print and sound issues can be a real pain. This however
is the usually more of a driver problem than OS
problem. Many of the
hardware manufactures do no release Linux drivers for their hardware.
This is starting to change, but slowly. In the mean time people in
their own free time are developing drivers usually without even the
slightest manufactuer specifications from which to work. The fact that
they get these devices to work is quite amazing.
Actually I know the pain-reward cycle well. In the early days of WordPerfect I got it to do a few things that I needed in spite of the fact that Orem, Utah (the original home of WP) told me it couldn't do them.
Additionally, many
printer manufacturers simply slap the same internal parts into a
different chassis, speed up some mechanical units, and call it a new
model (cough HP cough.) Similar things happen in the sound world. For
this reason you have to do a little reading to figure out which driver
you need to use. This is not dissimilar to finding the right driver
in
Windows.
I am guessing that this was not a serious attempt by you to get help,
but rather a rant / vent session. If this was a serious attempt at
getting help you need to learn a few things about how to ask for help.
Humbly saying "please help me" and "why doesn't this crap work" are two
completely different approaches to requesting assistance. Further more
saying "printing is broke" and "I can not get my HP 2170 to print
properly in Debian Etch via CUPS" are quite different.
Actually you are right and wrong at the same time. When I took writing training I was told that the first thing to do was get everything down and clean it up later. Unfortunately I was very tired and hit the wrong key sequence that sent it instead of stored it. I am awake now and twice in the last ten minutes have I hit the wrong sequence. Shift and Control are transposed. I'll get used to it. As a novice writer,
among other things, I am used to writing and then re-writing many times until it says exactly what I want it to say. As an example, were I ever to write "printing is broken", to use your example, I would then add "how do I fix it?"
Do you really get legitimate help from saying "My damn printer does not
work in Windows?" I bet not. People will want to know; printer model,
parallel or USB, Windows Shared or TCP/IP direct, Windows Version
I have been quite frustrated before with Linux, but I have also been
just as frustrated with Solaris, HPUX, IRIX, BSD, OSX, and the beloved
Windows. To vent your frustration in a "Linux sucks. It is only a
partial OS." is not only counter productive but also shows a lack of
understanding regarding the definition of an Operating System.
-D
S C wrote:
> For months now I have been trying to make Debian behave like a real
> OS. However, I still cannot print,
format/initialize a new cd or use
> one to back up files, get the sound working, watch a movie or read
> images from my digital camera. With Windows all this was simple. I
> downloaded the relevant program, set it up and it worked. Windows is
> supposed to be devilspawn and doomed, and maybe it is. It does,
> however, have one saving grace; it works. It works without expecting
> me to become a systems engineer.
>
> When I go to someplace like freenode/#debian I am ignored. Maybe I
> should say to Hell with Linux and sell my story to Microsoft.
> Obviously I don't really want to, but how much longer should I put up
> with a partial OS? I don't mind telling you I'm damned sick of it.
>
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