On Sun, Oct 13, 2002, Mark Veltzer wrote about "Re: A disturbing article...": > Actually Linux works much better "out of the box" than windows *** IF *** you > compare two machine which come "scratched" (nothing on the hard drive). But > since machines don't come that way it *** looks *** like windows is easier to > install. It's actually a lot harder to install and a lot messier (it takes at
Unfortunately, the "Windows is easier to install" crowd do have a point. Let's say you buy a typical home computer, with a modem, soundcard and one of those fancy video cards. Let's say you bought this computer without an OS, but the seller was decent and gave you all the CDs and booklets that came along with these devices. Now, try to install Windows. It will probably mostly work, but it is possible that one of your devices, say the graphics card, doesn't work, or isn't used to the full potential that you know it has. So you open the booklet you got with the graphics card, and it says there clearly "if you have windows, install this-and-that driver from the packaged CD-ROM". You do, and suddenly you have perfect support for it. You go to bed smiling. Now, try to install Linux. Again, it will mostly work, but something doesn't, say the modem doesn't work. You open the booklet, but it says nothing about Linux. You look at the CD-ROM's contents - and it's all for various versions of Windows. So you call the guy who sold you the computer, and he tells you "Sorry, I don't know anything about Linux, but the modem is fine." You call the modem maker, and they tell you "Didn't you see the 'requires Windows 95 or better' text on the modem's box?" You don't like aruing that Linux *is* better than Windows 95, so you hang up. You next call a geeky Linux-loving friend of yours that you haven't seen in a year, and after an hour on the phone, still nothing works. But to get rid of you, he points you to a mythical mailing list called "linux-il". You join that lisk, and ask them "help me please, my modem doesn't work!". Soon you get a barrage of replies telling you how stupid you were to say "doesn't work" and how proper questions should be written; you are even pointed to a number of URLs with what some supposedly-famous people said about how to ask questions properly. So you muster all your writing skills (finally that English Lit class in college paid off!) and you express your problems to the satisfaction of the dignified list members. Finally, someone on the list tells you in a pitying tone that the problem is that your modem is a "winmodem". You are told that since it has a "Lucent" chip, you should try some driver from this-and-that- site. You try, and it doesn't work. You tell the list, and they laugh at you - "what *did* you expect from a non-open-source driver written by greedy capitalistic bastards?", they ask. You decide to give up on linux-il, spend another couple of days researching this issue, and finally give up. You switch to Windows. You go to bed cursing Linus Torvald's mother. See why installing Linux isn't always that easy? :) This was obviously a fabricated account of an hypothetical installer, but unfortunately it's not very far from what happens all too frequently. Just in the last few days, I heard worse experiences. And not everybody is willing to spend a week on getting their Linux to work. (Sorry for playing the devil's advocate; In this case literally, considering what Google returned for "go to hell" ;)) > *** least *** several hours and a lot of know how to put the basic things on > top of windows which comes pretty stipped down while Linux installation is > rarely more than an hour or so and comes fully loaded). This is true. But most people don't really need all those fancy stuff that comes with Linux. They don't need development tools because they cannot program. For the same reason they don't need interpreters for 7 different languages. They don't need viewers for 50 different file formats (postscript, etc., etc.) because if someone sends them such a file they just say "what is that crap? send me something that Windows can read!". They don't need 8 text editors, 17 window managers and 57 clock applications when one suits them just fine. They do already have tools to connect to the internet, browse the web and play music. All they need extra is Office (which is free-as-in-can-be-stolen software), and perhaps a couple of other things like an Anti-Virus and ICQ. And installing these things is usually just couple of mouseclicks and zero dollars away - as simple as installing RPMs on Linux. -- Nadav Har'El | Sunday, Oct 13 2002, 7 Heshvan 5763 [EMAIL PROTECTED] |----------------------------------------- Phone: +972-53-245868, ICQ 13349191 |Sign on a back of truck: "Overtakers http://nadav.harel.org.il |beware, or you might meet the Undertaker" ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
