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Linux Desktop Guide
codergeek42 writes "The International Open-Source Network has created a desktop manual aimed at end-users with little or no prior knowledge of PCs. This manual goes through using The Fedora Project to do things from file-management to using the internet (as in browsing the WWW and using email), how to use the OpenOffice.org office suite, and even a basic intro to using the shell. This is definitely a step in the right direction for GNU/Linux, and the Free Software and Open-Source Software movements. And the cool part is that the entire thing is under an attributions-required OSI-approved Creative Common license, and is available in .sxw (OpenOffice.org Writer) or PDF formats."
Wouldn't something like Mandrake or SuSe be better for beginners?
I think this is a step in the right direction. Now i'm not for dumbing down linux, but I think there should be a user-friendly (ouch) option on some of the major distrobustions so that people who know little about and will not learn about computer systems will use linux. If more common people use linux than more governments and institutions will, meaning more donations for projects, more press, and better defence against the Microsofts and SCOs out there.
-- Checking emails and kicking cheats `till the day I die.
I wonder if manual/guide is the solution to the 'problems' in desktop territory.
Will grandma get such guide and follow through step by step command lines to achieve something?
Uselessful technology (Air-Charged
And the cool part is that the entire thing is under an attributions-required OSI-approved Creative Common license, and is available in .sxw (OpenOffice.org Writer) or PDF formats.
.sxw or a PDF one would be very useful for someone new to PCs - they need some basic knowledge to even view it, and it would get incredibly confusing to try to use the computer and read instructions off it at the same time. The alternative is to get the manual printed by someone you know who already knows how to use a PC and has a lot of paper and ink to waste and... If you were learning a computer for the first time, what would be more convenient, this or a reasonably cheap, easy to find Dummies guide to PCs (which would refer to Windows)?
Neither a
I know we're into OSS evangelism here, but honestly, for someone new to PCs, it would be much better to choose the platform most common and hence easiest to find advice and help for, and that's Windows. As I've seen with my grandparents, learning PCs for the first time is hard enough as it is without the extra trouble of pursuing a minority desktop OS.
Mandrake and Suse would be better for ANY desktop user, and certainly better for the IOSN to promote since both distributions have long-term commitments to the desktop.
Step 1: Buy a Mac.
Step 2: Put Mac on desk; power up.
Step 3: There is no step 3!
While I commend them on their efforts, I don't think very many people are going to find this useful.
I would have chosen Mandrake over Fedora because Fedora is meant to be Red Hat's bleeding edge test bed. Mandrake is easy to set up and as long as don't care to tweak around with it much, it'll do you fine.
Computer use is getting so complex and most of us here don't even realize it. To explain the simplest tasks to someone who knows nothing about computers is not easy and I think it needs to be taught rather than dictated to in a book. And a book at that, a pdf is only useful if someone is going to print it out in lieu of teaching someone.
Nobody learns to drive a car by reading a manual, and no one should be expected to learn a computer by manual either.
...Fedora is designed to be a more or less bleeding edge perpetual beta, even though they call it a release. Sorta like moz in a way. Call it a stable~beta, freebie community/developer/enthusiast edition. If you want "more" stable and more and longer support, you go to the redhat pay per view version, or stick to legacy Rh 7-9 as long as that lasts.
With that said I like fedora, it works fine,seems perfectly stable to me with only a few minor hiccups, no showe stoppers, and twice a year to plop a few Cds in isn't hard, and updating even on my old coal burner system and rural slow dialup is not hard either.
Basically, you can't have it both ways at the same time. If you want new and improved, well, the developers ain't lazy and come out with new and improved all the time, so there ya go. If you want to run a distro for a long time, then just run a distro for a long time. If it's gotta-haveit security updates, you might have to compile it in. thems the breaks. You can't have a 5 ton truck that gets 50 MPG, just ain't happening, some times ya got to make some compromises. I bet there's folks here still running RH6 probably, and similar vintage older various distros/OSes. Heck, I run new linux but I still crank up some old macs running 7.x and 8.x sometimes, and still got a laptop with win 95 on it that I (and who knows who else, heh) fool with occassionaly just for sport.
Plus, if it fails, it's the writer's time that is wasted, not yours.
-- Checking emails and kicking cheats `till the day I die.
how is Linux supposed to be usable for someone new to Linux such as myself
when your new 9800 PRO isn't supported by X?
Actually, now that Wal-Mart is selling Linux systems, a newbie running linux (albeit a shitty distro) is not unthinkable.
Art Schools Dietzilla
Microsoft's monopoly is self-sustaining.
I almost agree with you. The point, though, is that Microsoft is being squeezed by Linux in very real ways.
There's a tremendous amount of inertia keeping Microsoft going, but in every real sense - marketshare, mindshare, install base, ease of use, as examples - Linux is gaining against both the other Unixes and Microsoft.
The Dell laptop on which I type this is running Fedora Linux - and with only the exception of the integrated wireless card, does an excellent job. (I use a D-Link PCMCIA to use wireless - cost me $9)
We don't have to "cru5h M$" to succeed. As a consumer force, Linux only needs to be a "viable alternative" to keep the Microsoft abuses in check.
Of course, Microsoft has long ridden on the coat-tails of "cheaper", but that's stopped now, and Microsoft is having to change their tune every 3 weeks...
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Knoppix. Include directions for installing to hard drive and setting up Debian. It still needs a bit more polish, but it could be killer.
In Soviet America the banks rob you!
Since SuSE Linux is the only distro I have extensive experience with, I use it as an example. Installation is as easy as booting off your DVD, selecting your language, accepting a few default options for partitioning and package selection, choosing your username and passwords, and waiting about half an hour for the system to install. And off you go surfing the net and writing letters with OpenOffice! The last time I ran into serious difficulties with a SuSE install was more than a few years ago.
A Windows install? The first few steps are quite similar, but once the system is installed the fun begins: insert manufacturer disk to install custom drivers; insert MS Office CDs to install word processor; hop on the web to download Acrobat Reader; install IM client, jukebox, IE replacement, firewall, and whatnot. With Linux all the stuff a beginner needs is already there; no need to hunt around for programs. And no need to reinstall every few months because a worm messed up the system.
Granted, with Linux you have to pay attention what hardware you choose, especially concerning printers and modems. But the time where you have to touch the command line in order to get Linux to run has passed quite some time ago.
By this logic, the GNU project never should have been started at all and neither should have the Linux kernel. Even by the narrow dictates of popularity, in order to make something popular one first must make something. This particular work is licensed to allow sharing, improvement, and commercial distribution which strikes me as being remarkably generous. We can't afford to believe that we must sequence our steps of progress because if we do we'll never accomplish anything.
I think it would be far healthier to continue to let a thousand flowers bloom.
Digital Citizen
This is exactly what holds Slashdot back. Arrogant people spouting the same old stuff labeled as 'insightful.'
The original poster complained about some stuff. The reply pointed out some places where his complaints are inconsistant with reality (i.e. you don't need to recompile the kernel for nVidia drivers).
This person is not necessarily representative of the Linux community. Yes, he came off elitist. However, we're also reading Slashdot, where every elitist nerd comes to post his tripe. There are plenty of friendly people in the Linux community ready to help out newbies. Slashdot is not the place they hang out to do tech support, though.
Also, the "not worthy of my time" type comment was aimed at pointing out the other arguments the original poster made that aren't consistant with reality, not with providing tech support.
But, posting "blah blah Linux elitism blah blah will never succeed," is guaranteed to be modded insightful, even though it's bullshit. You think there aren't elitist Windows or Mac users? If you do, you're deluding yourself.
I've come for the woman, and your head.
Your right. Lets pack up our things and go home.
The problem I see is your posting this to slashdot. On here, I would be VERY surprised if 85%+ of the people on here DID NOT start (or have a significant portion of their computing life) on Microsoft DOS/Windows/etc.
So you look at these people, who now run either exclusive a *nix system, hybrid setup or at least have a certain sustainable interest in the FOSS movement.
I tried out Slackware Linux back in 1996ish and was turned off fairly quickly since it just seemed like too much work, revisited it a few years later, thought the same thing. It wasn't until I was trying to learn ASP when I came across PHP (thanks to the recommendation by a webmaster) and coupled with a step-by-step how-to about PHP/MySQL was able to finally achieve my goal.
At that point in time, I thought the world of PHP. Not only was I able to grok it MUCH faster than ASP/MSSQL development but it was totally absolutely 100% free. The fact it was a FOSS/GPL product sparked my interest enough to finally buckle down and start truly learning Linux.
No friends knew Linux, my school didn't have Linux, my workplace didn't have Linux. However, I was drawn by it. I'm guessing there are a LOT of others out there that will find value in Linux but simply do not know about it.
Perhaps this is just what I need as an advocate of Linux and FOSS. If someone has interest, I can reference them to this guide to *hopefully* get them up to speed and using Linux much faster than I ended up "taking up linux".
Perhaps people who have never used a computer *MIGHT* be using Linux as their first system. Linux makes a GREAT public terminal. Linux is GREAT for computer labs at schools and coupled with a Knoppix CD, Students can use the same exact programs from school at their homes, at friends houses and so forth. It truly does make sense for a lot of applications where individuals are exposed to computers. Perhaps its time for guides to be available for these users -- nothing that hammers on the command line or installation but rather applications, interface usage and other basic computer GUI skills.
Perhaps the lack of good documentation is keeping first time users away from Linux? Maybe if we fix the things that drive users away, we'll have a bigger user base? It seems to me that a high quality system that isn't attracting novice users ought to think about producing good documentation. You certainly haven't demonstrated that it is pointless.
And the linux community needs to be ready to absorb those users when it happens. Some might say it's already happening, or that it's inevitable.
Why not? Just because linux doesn't attract many casual users doesn't mean we should assume they don't exist, nor should we criticize efforts to attract casual users. Certainly other things need to be worked on as well (useability, more robust configuration tools, etc...), but not everyone is a coder, and not every problem is fixed with code.
-jim
I see this kind of comment all the time and I just have to say something: if you know what needs to be done to get something working, then actually doing it is usually a piece of cake. It's figuring out what the problem is or what the best approach to correcting something that's usually the issue.
I consider myself an experienced newbie in Linux. I've been using Linux on and off since '97, starting with Slackware and now using Mandrake. I just spent two days trying to figure out why I was unable to configure the DNS server settings on my box at home (all changes I made weren't being saved). It turned out to be that the DHCP server was sending the wrong DNS server address (I can already hear hundreds of people screaming "of course it's DHCP you idiot!"), but the point is, why was Mandrake giving me the option of configuring my DNS server if it then rejected that value and went and got its own?
Sorry for the rant but it's pretty annoying when everytime I face a problem I just KNOW that it will take days rather than minutes to solve. This is largely due to my ignorance. But here's hoping that Linux distros start coming out with an easy to use centralised help file (please don't tell me they already do, the help files that come with Mandrake right now are extremely weak, at best). BTW, easy to use doesn't mean it has to cater to the lowest common what's-that-small-blinking-line-on-my-screen newbie. Am I the only one who sees a huge need for documentation for people who actually know about computers but don't necessary want to get into function calls and IRQ addresses?
Now go around your office and find out which Windows Luser ever read the manual...none. That is how many will read this one. 90% of all users got their sorry little knowledge by routinely watching as their admins were forced to hold their little hands. Laziness, not ignorance, is what stands in the way of switching platforms.
As for me, I'm familiar with all (up to M$AS2003) not only 95/98. Has clippy maybe gone away. Ok, now you have to enable it.
.Net doesn't mean more security. Otherwise Java would be most secure until now. It's just runtime controlled software, nothing else. Controlled software is just as secure as environment and runtime engine is.
;)
The truth is that anyone who follows the advice of Windows and their ISP can be secure with a minimum of effort
ISP can never secure your box. ISP has to be defaulted to be open at least for it's internal network, which is often large. And can't block too much, because ISP could loose customers. Most of ISP's don't know shit about securing your box, because common ISP technical support mostly isn't qualified for that. I must admit that I was surprised once, when I talked to a guy on a level. It just turned out that he was from other department and temporally filling the gap in support.
With Service Pack 2, where Windows enforces it and doesn't just suggest it, it's even easier. The Linux community is out-of-touch...
1. Linux doesn't suggest firewall, it is enabled by default
2. So, having firewall that works in both directions is out-of-touch? Windows fw blocks only outside traffic, inside is not checked.
The fact is that Windows XP is actually a really good operating system...
Every fool has it's own horse! me? I got Linux
it's faster than Linux
Yeah, Windows starts Office faster, otherwise everything is dog slow
it's stable
Me and you obviously live on different planet. On our planet Windows is like a magnet to viruses, spyware and other malware.
it's a hell of a lot easier to use
Not for my needs. I agree that everyone without a clue what to do with his computer or someone who just wants to play games it is easier. But then again I have a clue and I have PS2.
it has a better security model than Linux.
Better security model as in....???? Windows hasn't got even real multi user environment. Two or three months ago M$ posted article how to write software for multiuser environment. To get a clue what I'm talking about. Start photoshop, Swithch user, Start another photoshop. Photoshop preferences blow, Ctrl-Alt-Shift become your friends (either that or that's $35 for Adobe support). This is the same tragedy as in most of Windows software.
Firewall-Like-One-Way-Toy was introduced with SP2???
So much talked-about
Windows is just getting with security where Linux was 5 years ago. For your information. Linux is moving away again with SELinux to be enabled by default.
And now the obligatory: "But of course this post opposed the Slashbot groupthink and will be modded down."
No, your comment is just stupid, that's all
(I think people say that because those posts always get modded up.)
Your comment is too stupid to be modded up, even if you beg as you do.
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