First impressions from a Win-user point of view.

Booting, installing, newbie
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rarsa
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Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
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#31 Post by rarsa »

It really has to be :


guest

#32 Post by guest »

[quote]So prepare yourself because:


terrorhertz
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Joined: Mon 20 Jun 2005, 01:56

#33 Post by terrorhertz »

I've had my share of debates over the years.
KDE vs Gnome
Windows vs Linux or any other.
this program vs that program
Many have trouble with the cross-over to linux from windows or other OS's. I had my own trouble too. I remember it at try to make things better but I'm not a x-over anymore.
I have my own stuff that I like others to try out and give me their opinion on. I espesually seek out non Linux people to see what they think. I value their opinion. since in order to win this war( or OS's) we will have to bring them over from another side. MS has whatever percentage of the PC market. 90% or more ...something like that. I think most will agree that most everyone that they know has a PC( and it also has MS on it). There are very few people left in this world without a PC. Since they all mostly have PC w/ an OS then it seems that getting them to cross-over is more benificial than trying to prove that what they are doing is wrong.
I loved Linux from the 1st time I read of it! Without ever haveing Linux I supported it and belived in it. Then when I got it I found that it wasn't as hard as everyone made it out to be. It still has a learning curve and thankfully it still has that learning curve. ( Linux is growing)
As long as Linux still grows then we will have that learning curve. and that is one of the greatest things about it. How long do you have to wait for MS to extend your learning curve each release?
Many of us have been in linux for a long time and one thing we have lost is being a newbie! When one comes along and offers advise then it should be taken as newbie advise. When they say that they are considering linux and crossing over from windows then we need to listen. this is how we can grow. If we don't listen then we don't grow.
As programmers we see only our environment. as an outsider coming in. he has what most all programmers on about any program don't have and that is an outside opinion. untainted by our our OS. I think it should be respected

Guest

#34 Post by Guest »

How many windows user's that complain about linux being difficult to setup could do a fresh install of windows if they had to ?

Not many I think.

How many Windows users had to learn to use windows, like it doesn't come naturally.

If two people with no experience where each given a pre-configured pc each, one running windows and one running Linux the learning curve would be the same.

Now if those same two people had to install there respective OS to each machine and configure it, the windows user would spend more time rebooting.

I think alot of the bad press Linux gets about installation is that alot of the horror stoires come from people entrenched in windows and I suspect a large portion would have trouble installing windows anyways.

Retina
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#35 Post by Retina »

bladehunter wrote: If two people with no experience where each given a pre-configured pc each, one running windows and one running Linux the learning curve would be the same.
I agree with everything but that.

Windows was made so user-friendly over the years, that it's almost impossible not to be able to do a fresh install, even for inexperienced users. Linux is definitely thought out and done well, but most distros are generally aimed towards experienced users.

I've been on the computer for almost as long as I could walk, using Windows, and I know quite a lot when it comes to computers. However, I'm almost brain dead when it comes to using linux. It would definitely be a lot easier if Linux auto-detected new hardware and drivers.

But then again, Linux hasn't been up as long as Windows, and will most definitely grow better over the years.

Guest

#36 Post by Guest »

It would definitely be a lot easier if Linux auto-detected new hardware and drivers.

With hotplug running if linux has a driver for the hardware it loads the driver...If it doesn't know about the hardware is can't load a driver.

All windows does when it doesn't recognise a piece of harware is asks the user for a driver. The only reason you'd have a windows driver for a new piece of hardware is that the vendor supplies it. Now wouldn't it be nice if the vendors supplied the source code for a linux driver with their hardware ?

What you have to realise is that very very very few hardware vendors support linux. So it's up to the Linux community to supply the drivers. Not only do the Driver Gods have to write\test\debug the code they also hae to purchase a piece of hardware to begin with.

Retina
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#37 Post by Retina »

Yeah, it would definitely be easier for Linux Users if the major companies provided precompiled drivers for linux. But then again, most of these major venders only cator to the majority of people that buy their products. And the majority use Windows/MAC. Minorities very rarely get recognized obviously.

And yes, the people who do make Linux drives are very unappreciated, as they do so much work.

[Oh, and blade, check your PM's :D]

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seldomseen
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#38 Post by seldomseen »

Learning curve? Probably the biggest part of a learning curve (if you're switching from another OS) is unlearning that which you already know.

Didn't take that long to get used to the old Mac back in the mid-80s, considering at that time I'd never used a computer before.

Took me a LONG time to learn DOS, several years later. Spent at least a week staring at the DOS prompt, wondering what to do next.

Took me an even longer time to get used to Windows 3.1 when it came out. Almost tore the computer apart looking for the command line.

Every so often I'd take jobs calling for me to use a Mac, and each time it took a while to get used to that OS again.

So was I surprised it would take a while to learn Linux? No. Actually, the transition was relatively painless (maybe my DOS background helped; the command shell wasn't a total stranger). But yeah, the biggest frustration now is tracking down drivers and all of that good stuff.

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Ian
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Location: Queensland

#39 Post by Ian »

The beauty of Puppy is that it will run on most older computers so there is not really a need to go out and buy the latest greatest machine, just buy a second-hand machine or accept what people are throwing away.

There is a perception in the world that if it is not store bought or if it is old, it is useless. This applies to people as well as objects but there is still a lot of life left in many an old dog so have a think about that when you are considering buying a new machine or asking for advice.

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mike
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#40 Post by mike »

yes, fashion before function.

that's what keeps this horrible machine called society going - :cry:

some people won't be interested in linux until michael jordon or britney spears tells them it's allright...

:)

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Stokey
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Joined: Thu 07 Jul 2005, 23:50
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Winows PL

#41 Post by Stokey »

Wrong Mike ..

People won't be interested in Linux until Bill Gates tells them its alright

then "Windows PL" will be a smash hit .... get my drift
Elvis Lives, three-dimensional

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