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Making Linux Look Harder Than It Is
drkich writes: "According to an article on The Register (by our very own roblimo).
Many 'gurus' teaching new users about Linux make it look harder than it needs to be, and apparently fail to explain that yes, you can make PowerPoint-style presentations in Linux, you can view Web Pages that use Flash animation and other "glitz" features, and that you can manage all your files though simple "point, click, drag and drop" visual interfaces. Could the biggest problem with Linux usability be that most of the people teaching newbies to use Linux are too smart and know too much?"
It'd be a risk, though...because I don't know if the average person is ready for Linux.
I don't know if Linux is ready for the average person.
Most computer-savvy people I know display a horrific lack of the most basic social skills. More comfortable interacting with the machine than the person they are helping, they do things in the most efficient way for themselves, rather than teaching the user the simplest way to do things or explaining as they go on.
I know that I was just like that until I taught CS 101 for two years in graduate school. That changed my entire outlook and made me a much more patient, helpful individual. I would strongly encourage that every computer geek take the time to teach others in a professional capacity, as this would give our profession a better name and gain us more respect from our users.
~wally
"Could the biggest problem with Linux usability be that most of the people teaching newbies to use Linux are too smart and know too much?
The truly smart can explain the very complicated in simple terms.
There isn't a problem with such a statement.
Now, you see, this is exactly the point. Requiring a log-on for a home system is absurd. Installing a home system and having it require detailed technical knowledge to close the open-by-default security flaws is absurd. Expecting typical non-technical people to use a UI that dates from the 60s is absurd.
Your whole post was pretty much spot on, in terms of the geek-biased nature of Linux. I find it interesting that you imply that a system that geeks like must not be easy-to-use, though. I'm an IT professional, but I'd still rather use a system that configured the hardware for me correctly, had a nice UI and so on.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
1) FWIW, I personally agree with those that feel Linux is difficult for the inexperienced user. There are many things that can't be done by happily pointing and clicking which is how the average consumer copes with computer issues.
2) Why do we want Linux mainstreamed. There appears to be a trade off between ease of use and power in OS design. Power users really can't be power users while running MacOS 9.x (no flamebait intended). Win 9x/ME leaves you reasonably lame. Win NT/2k gives you some tools and power (if you are Admin). Linux let's it all hang out (for Root anyway). The more power you have, the more damage you can do to your system if you don't know what the hell you are doing. A very reasonable, natural progression.
Therefore, I don't think any incarnation of Linux that the Slashdot community will embrace and use will be truly friendly to the mainstream.
I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head here.
Sure, you can do PowerPoint-like presentations in Linux, but how many regular Linux users use PowerPoint on a daily basis? (And for those who do use PowerPoint -- they often have to exchange those presentations with other PP users. They can't use any presentation authoring tool, because they're sending the presentations to people who still use the Real McCoy.)
Sure, you can view web pages with Flash ads^H^Hnimations, but I jump through hoops disabling that crap.
Sure, you can "point, click, drag and drop" to manage your files, but I consider a mouse a device to tell a windowing system which xterm I wanna type into.
Put Joe Newbie and me in front of freshly-installed Linux boxen for 3 months. Joe Newbie will have eventually figured out how to do all that (probably by asking experts other than me), but will have been frustrated because it took him three months to get his box to do what his Windows box did out-of-the-box, and half his questions (to people like me) will be answered with "I guess you can, but I've never used it..."
Meanwhile, I'll have the three or four xterms, my mail by Pine or elm, Junkbuster, and web browsing with Netscape with image-autoload turned off and Flash forcibly removed, like I have for several years, and I'll continue to be happier than a pig in shit.
How the fuck does this gay shit get modded up? That is the dumbest comment I think I've ever read. 5's should be reserved for intelligent thought, not "I agree with you, so I'll give you a five". Jesus christ slashdot is going downhill. I think we need a panel of RMS approved moderators to control for this kind of bullshit. Yes, I am deadly serious.
People complain about the GUIs because they're different than what the complainer is used to. Both KDE and Gnome are stable fully functional desktops. I often have even more tasks than that going. Nothing you mentioned requires any horsepower, so running the tasks you mention takes very little of my old and slow cpu's time. I have _never_ had the kernel crash on me or hang up in two years of use. My wife's windows box (same cpu and speed) crashes if you look at it sideways, and is somewhat slower. Give Mandrake a try - see for yourself.
Use the spatula, Luke
To speak quite frank, I wouldn't call this "interesting". I'd call this a Troll.
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
And you provide such a shining example of enlightened counter-argument!
Dipshit.
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