Linux IMO is user friendly. The install process certainly isn't any harder than Windows, it's just that most machines have Windows already installed, and if you're at work, there's an IT department to install it for you.
Just as an example, I had a much easier time getting my network card to work under Linux than under Windows 98. Under Windows 98, I had to put in the CD with the driver, find the driver on the CD, and tell the so-called Plug and Play Wizard where the driver was! Linux detected the card automatically.
As for installing software, that's not a Linux issue, it's a distro issue. With Red Hat or Mandrake, you have rpm's that don't always work because the database gets confused about dependencies. But once you know how to unzip a tarball and type in./configure, make, make install at a command line, installing software is a breeze.
One more thing: there's easy to learn, and easy to use. Linux may not be easy to learn, but it's very easy to use once you know what you're doing.
Anyway, that's my $0.02.
Larry
Slashdot Mirror
I got my copy of FreeBSD at Barnes and Noble. They also have it at Borders.
Linux IMO is user friendly. The install process certainly isn't any harder than Windows, it's just that most machines have Windows already installed, and if you're at work, there's an IT department to install it for you. Just as an example, I had a much easier time getting my network card to work under Linux than under Windows 98. Under Windows 98, I had to put in the CD with the driver, find the driver on the CD, and tell the so-called Plug and Play Wizard where the driver was! Linux detected the card automatically. As for installing software, that's not a Linux issue, it's a distro issue. With Red Hat or Mandrake, you have rpm's that don't always work because the database gets confused about dependencies. But once you know how to unzip a tarball and type in ./configure, make, make install at a command line, installing software is a breeze.
One more thing: there's easy to learn, and easy to use. Linux may not be easy to learn, but it's very easy to use once you know what you're doing.
Anyway, that's my $0.02.
Larry