Re: Brainless Debian Stable installation and usage?
On Sat, 2014-03-08 at 01:03 +0200, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> On Vi, 07 mar 14, 01:28:11, Steve Litt of Troubleshooters.Com wrote:
> > > What do your friends expect, if they switch from Windows to Linux?
> >
> > This is multiple people. Publishers and authors mostly. I'd imagine
> > they'd expect to run LyX, Inkscape, Gimp, LibreOffice, get and send
> > email, and browse the web.
>
> And you are of course aware that all these applications also have
> Windows versions so they can all switch before switching to Linux? This
> would make things much easier.
This is the reason for my doubts. If I would use Windows, I would use
the same browser, the same Image Manipulation Program etc., I'm using
with Linux. If people are using something from Adobe instead of GIMP,
they likely could run it using wine, but that already is the whole
point. Did the friends use FLOSS software with their XP installs? When
switching to Linux, would they like too use FLOSS software, or will they
run wine or a virtual machine and use all the proprietary software? JFTR
you might have payed for software with a dongle, but when running it
with wine, it's likely that not the payed version with a dongle does
run, but just an illegal cracked version.
I try to help newbies, especially in *buntu lists, where many people are
not naive *nix users, but people who started using computers with
Microsoft Windows. I also offered friends and employers (social work) to
introduce them to use FLOSS software on Windows or to use Linux.
In the end _all_ of them go back and used Windows. "Yesterday I bought
that all in one, fax, photocopier, scanner, printer at discounter A.,
but I can't use it. My friend using Windows foo bar just connected it to
his machine and has got fun."
Newbies are welcome! But to foist Linux on friends, doesn't help those
friends. Only the OP does know his/her friends, we don't know them.
Again, newbies are welcome, but the "brainless" approach is contrary to
Linux usage.
Everybody who want's to help people, needs to listen to the needs of
those people. Not everybody shares the computer needs we Linux users
have got.
Debian or any other Linux aren't competitors, aren't replacements for
Windows. Linux is something completely different. Especially Windows
users who prefer IE over Firefox, Opera etc. or who prefer Adobe over
GIMP etc. pp. ... IOW who already ignored good software when using
Windows, but preferred proprietary software, people who want to buy each
month computer gear at the discounter, those people never ever will
become used to Linux.
It's funny to read that some people claim they will help everybody, when
those people killed filed half of this community and those people are
the first who mention to read the fine manual.
Before recommending Linux to people used to Windows, I recommend to talk
to those people and ask them what their interests are, how much they are
interested in maintaining the software and taking care about hard ware
compatibility. Reading *buntu mailing lists archive first might
enlighten those who fake to welcome everybody. Especially those who
complain about broken threads, HTML etc. should not fake to welcome
every Windows user.
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