linuxgeek: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] new to linux, have not down loaded yet need help

And to that I would have to say it is hype...... "Believe the hype".
Especially with 9.10 which is a beast.

Justin

Roy wrote:
>
>
> It isn't easier for me to use and probably you too. But new users expect
> things to work out of the box. I am not sure why because Windows certainly
> doesn't, but they like to complain about barriers and extra steps when
> moving to Linux. They forget the time that they spend feeding driver disks
> after they install Windows.
>
> Easy to use means fewer steps for most people. I personally have found
> Mint
> not my cup of tea, pardon the pun. I have found that users can develop
> problems when they start adding Ubuntu repositories and they can quickly
> find a) that it isn't so Minty anymore and b) things start to not work as
> well. People who use Ultimate also find this. The reason is that it isn't
> Ubuntu, but they act like it is. Often when I find someone with a
> problem I
> have never heard of before in Ubuntu, I find after lots of circular
> discussion that they have Ubuntu, but installed Ultimate or something
> else.
>
> Choosing a distribution is still personal preference IMO. People need to
> know what is out there and that they have lots of choice. I am not
> steering
> anyone away from Ubuntu so much as leading them to consider all of the
> possibilities.
>
> Every distribution has something to offer IMO and there is no single best
> distribution. Most people like Ubuntu and choose it. It is what I use most
> of the time. Some distributions should not be chosen for new users, unless
> the person is willing to embrace a steep learning curve. Fedora is in this
> group. It is an excellent distro for experienced users. Arch,
> Slackware and
> Gentoo are even farther in this direction. They have a sold base of users
> and definitely have something to offer.
>
> I do not recommend openSuSE because I have not found it to be stable
> enough
> for people like me who install lots. I know RPM Hell well as I started in
> Mandrake (Mandriva) and used early Fedora. SuSE has more problems than
> other
> distributions and their method of resolving dependency problems
> requires too
> much knowledge for newbies. So I try to steer people away.
>
> I still like Mandriva, but PCLinuxOS has it beat in terms of ease of
> use, so
> I seldom mention it.
>
> I meet lots of people online in various forums. If the truth be known most
> people with problems are Ubuntu users, but that isn't because of the
> distribution. More people use it and try it. Lots of users means lots of
> problems. Some people don't like problems and don't need a new distro
> every
> six months, so they are better advised to try something like MEPIS or
> PCLinuxOS, instead of Ubuntu. They could stick with LTS, but it is hard to
> resist hype to upgrade.
>
> Many people use Ubuntu for awhile and decide they want to try
> something new.
> That is fair enough, because Linux is a fun sandbox. There are so many
> excellent distributions.
>
> I did not mention Debian. Philosophically Debian is more where my heart
> lies, but I just cannot recommend it because I have found that there
> are too
> many hot heads and zealots in that camp. Advising new users to use
> Debian is
> counter productive. They would be turned off and go back to Windows.
> Nobody
> likes to be told what to think, what language to use and be refused
> help or
> called names if you ask in the wrong way. Sadly, Debian is its own worst
> enemy.
>
> What Ubuntu has going for it, aside from some excellent developers, is
> that
> encourages participation and community and no question is a dumb question.
> For that reason alone it stands apart. This is not to say that other
> communities aren't good, it is just that Ubuntu is just the best at it. I
> think that this is why some communities like to take pot shots at Ubuntu.
> They know that their favourite distribution is excellent but people are
> flocking to Ubuntu instead due to the large and vocal community. They call
> us fanboys and deride Ubuntu as being all hype. They are missing the
> point.
>
> Linux is about community. You win people with an excellent product,
> but you
> keep them by making them feel at home. I feel a blog coming on. Time to
> stop.
>
> Roy
>
> 2009/10/25 Scott <scottro@nyc.rr.com <mailto:scottro%40nyc.rr.com>>
>
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 08:44:51PM -0400, Roy wrote:
> > > Ubuntu is a good choice, but it isn't the easiest one to use. Mint is
> > based
> > > on Ubuntu and is easier for new users to use. However, you will
> find lots
> > of
> > > support for Ubuntu. It is the largest distribution by far. You
> will find
> > > more online help as well as the books you mentioned.
> >
> > Roy, is there a reason you say this? Maybe because I was already quite
> > familiar with Debian, but I really didn't find one easier than the
> > other. (Or vice versa). Actually, for *me*, I found Ubuntu easier
> > because it's menu is more like the usual Gnome one.
> >
> > I know a lot of folks like Mint simply because it includes various
> > proprietary things out of the box, but they're quite easy to install in
> > Ubuntu. Is that the reason you say it's easier, or are there other
> > factors as well?
> >
> > >
> > > Other easy to use distributions to consider are MEPIS and PCLinuxOS.
> > MEPIS
> > > is based on Debian, the same thing Ubuntu uses and it is easy to
> install
> > and
> > > use. A similar small distribution is PCLinuxOS which is like
> MEPIS, but
> > it
> > > is based on Mandriva, a Red Hat derivative.
> >
> > For what it's worth---a fellow on Fedora Forums was trying to decide
> > what distribution to give a Windows using friend. Working with the
> > friend, they decided that PCLinuxOS would be easiest to use for
> > transition. (I have played with all the ones mentioned here, but it's
> > difficult to think like a beginner anymore.)
> >
> > Also, again for what it's worth...(aside from liking the Buffalo
> > Springfield song, I mean that everyone is different, and all that I
> > mention is simply my experience---YMMV. Your mileage may vary) I put
> > EEEBuntu on the netbook I gave my wife, and she's had no trouble with
> > it. She said it was quite similar (Gnome Desktop) to Mac and Windows.
> > Her needs are relatively limited, web browser, skype, documents, email,
> > (mostly gmail) and a pdf reader. The one non-standad requirement she has
> > is Japanese.
> >
> > On the other hand, she's married to someone with Linux in his job title,
> > and whose page, (with an incorrect link) is mentioned in the scim-anthy
> > (a Japanese input program) README.
> >
> > So... if there were minor difficulties, I probably fixed them without
> > thinking about it. For instance, configuring Japanese might have been a
> > nuisance for her. It's hard to guess the best for a beginner, which is
> > why I thought it was a really smart thing that fellow on Fedora Forums
> > did, working with a Windows user to get that user's perspective.
> >
> > --
> > Scott Robbins
> > PGP keyID EB3467D6
> > ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 )
> > gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6
> >
> > Angel: Acathla turned to stone, as demons sometimes do, and
> > was buried
> > where neither man nor demon would want to look...unless, of course,
> > they're
> > putting up low-rent housing.
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>