A
Alex
Simon said:
Visit www.suse.com and purchase SuSE 9.1 Pro... you'll never pay Uncle Bill another penny afterwards.
Alex.
Visit www.suse.com and purchase SuSE 9.1 Pro... you'll never pay Uncle Bill another penny afterwards.
Alex.
R
Roodwriter
Simon said:
Depending on what you do, probably before I started several years ago.
I'm a writer, not a computer nerd. When I was still using Windows 95, I had
moved to StarOffice 5.2 for all my work. It does pretty much everything
that Microsoft Office does, except flatten your wallet. Then I switched to
Linux and used--get ready!--StarOffice 5.2.
I'll let you imagine just how hard switching over was.
There were some differences between Windows GUI programs and Linux GUI
programs--learning new program names mostly--and some small problems I had
to solve because of my equipment, but nothing insurmountable. If I upgraded
to a more modern version those problems probably wouldn't even crop up now.
One of the nice things about Linux is the diversity of programs. Although
StarOffice still exists, as someone who writes all day long I found that
Emacs was the better way to go. But if for some reason I'd become
disenchanted with StarOffice, I'd have KOffice and AbiWord to fall back on,
even others. AbiWord, by the way, also has a Windows version. It's good.
Such is the Linux life: Choice, free programs, stability, security, fewer
hassles.
--Rod
__________
Author of "Linux for Non-Geeks--Clear-eyed Answers for Practical Consumers"
and "Boring Stories from Uncle Rod." Both are available at
http://www.rodwriterpublishing.com/index.html
To reply by e-mail, take the extra "o" out of the name.
J
John Smith
that would be a nice experiment with your sister and her children.let me know how it works.
limited experience shouldn't be a problem for any tinkerer. if you've
learned how to use linux you're that much ahead. some of the windows
programmers i know (not to disparage them or anything) are so used to the
tools they use out of the box that any features that aren't "out" by default
aren't used that much or known at all at times.
i started out feeling like i had limited experience too (which i actually
did)... that didn't stop me from getting a job and honestly being a good
employee, and most importantly good at what i do. so that shouldn't keep you
from doing whatever you want to do... career-wise.
good luck.
D
David Kastrup
John Smith said:
children. let me know how it works.
Forget it. Kids are not relevant with regard to "intuitive" and "user
friendly" and "simplicity". Kids are the kind of freaks that learn to
speak a brutally complex language without accent in few years.
They are a sponge. Linux could be a piece of wildly incoherent
illogical crock (actually, pretty much all natural languages would
qualify in that area), and they'd learn it just fine.
They also have no qualms just working on limited knowledge.
If you fear switching to Linux because you'd have no support, throw it
at your kids, whatever age, right now. Hooking an eight year old will
solve all your computer problems once he turns 12. Hooking a 12 year
old will solve your problems once he is 13. Hooking a 14 year old
will have the state attorney at your door before he turns 15.
H
Henrik Enberg
It must become widely avalible in pre-installed form at computer
stores. I just installed Gnome 2.6 and I can't really see anything
that my mom couldn't handle here that isn't also obscure on Windows/Mac
system.
I somehow doubt she'd go to the trouble to install a whole new system
instead of the one that came with the computer though.
S
Steve Ramey
Sure is a good thing there are so many distros. There are too many
Linux experts around just dying to make it so complex (while claiming
to be making it "user-friendly") that people will have to pay them to
administer their PCs.
Sad
Steve
D
Don Parris
My book, "Penguin in the Pew", discusses how religious and non-profitSimon said:
groups can deploy Linux in their organizations right now. Some churches
and NPOs could literally switch overnight. Some would need to migrate
more slowly. But it's "ready for the average Joe" right now. Our
church's computer training ministry is largely Linux-based. Students
actually get cross-trained between MS and Linux OS/applications. In
other words, when they learn OpenOffice.org Writer, they also learn MS
Word. They learn to look for help from the on-line help system before
running to the tech support batphone.
One school district, I've recently learned, is using Linux heavily.
Health First, a Florida organization, is moving MS out the door. I saw
another post I can readily agree with - Linux should be ready about
mid-2002.
The problem many people face is getting advice from people who have
never used Linux. Typically, organizations will ask the most computer
literate person they have about Linux - when they hear about it. The
person they ask frequently has no experience with Linux, and often, very
little admin experience with Windows. These sages simply stick to what
they know. One deacon said he asked a Windows guy on his job about
Linux. He was told "Linux isn't quite there yet". At the time, I had
been using Mandrake Linux 8.0, and knew better than the deacon or his
guru about Linux' capabilities. Quite possibly, the "guru" had rread
articles. Most of the gurus on my day job know about Linux through
reading magazines and web sites. They have little real experience with it.
Incidentally, you can download "Penguin in the Pew" from
http://matheteuo.org/
Assuming you're not a troll, you should find that quite helpful.