The next OS?
IDIOCY!!!
It is idiocy on my part to try so hard to adopt an Operating System other
than MS Windows.
Those who favor Linux keep attacking Microsoft for not being an open
operating system. I can agree with that sentiment; but, mainly, my reason
for disliking Microsoft is their business tactics and prices.
For about seven years I have tried several versions of Linux, in order:
Caldera, RedHat, Mandrake, SUSE, Knoppix, and now Debian. I have spent many
hours (and money) trying to make sense of Linux, without success.
I had been seduced by the Linux hype into thinking that I too could
participate in the revolution. I have bought the programs and several books;
but perhaps my mistake has been that I am not a programmer, nor do I have
the inclination or the time to become one.
I have spent countless hours downloading and installing several of the
latest versions of Linux. I have followed countless screens of instructions
in my attempts to set them up properly. All for nothing.
In my latest attempt, I decided to install the highly touted Debian. I've
heard that it is very stable, and that the highly touted Knoppix is based on
it. How could I lose? So, I emptied one of my hard drives and set it up for
Debian. I divided it into primary and logical partitions, and was generous
with the portions:
8.23 MB for boot
501.75 MB for /
1998.75 MB for /usr
1998.75 MB for /home
1003.49 MB for /var
501.75 MB for /tmp
1003.49 MB for Swap
I downloaded the programs I needed, according to the installation
instructions; then made a bootable CD, and followed all the instructions on
the interminable series of screens.
Whenever possible I chose the default options, and made the best choices I
could on the rest. I had a little trepidation; but thought that all the work
would be worth it.
Well, not so fast!
After the installation program congratulated me for the installation, I was
left abandoned at the miserable command prompt!!!
No GUI screen to denote triumph.
After looking angrily at the screen for a while, I decided that I must have
done something wrong. I probably made a wrong choice somewhere; so, I did
the whole installation again, and then again.
Finally, I broke down, got my VISA out and went to the Debian website to
find a place to buy a set of CD's. I selected AboutDebian.com and made the
purchase: a seven-disc set for $20. Not bad.
I received the CD set a few days later and I tried the installation again. I
got the same result, the damn command prompt, again. I was sure that I had
selected the KDM desktop manager. So, what gives?
Now, here I am wasting more time writing this letter.
Now here comes my venting.
You cannot be idiotic enough to think that you will sway people at large to
adopt an operating system that is so complex to set up.
There is no way that people will give up Windows for Linux if you don't get
rid of the miserable command prompt, the shells, the obtuse help, and the
arcane instructions.
Microsoft was able to win the world by making Windows simple to use. You may
delight in the knowledge that businesses and governments are starting to use
Linux; but you won't make the most progress, or the kind of money that
Microsoft enjoys, without appealing to the masses. That's where the money
and the future of Linux lie.
You have to stop writing programs for programmers to use, and start writing
programs for people to use. You have to impress the people; not some
programmer who is as nerdy as you are. You have to approach the problem with
a "how is a regular Joe going to install and use this" attitude; otherwise,
all the programmers in the world are not going to take the penguin higher.
NOTE: When I decided to email this to Debian, I was amazed at the huge
number of mailing lists available. I didn?t know where to sent it. So you
were selected at random. Perhaps you know where to send it.
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