geez... there are so many things going on in this thread it's hard to
reply to much, so I'll just pick on Lorax ;-) nothing personal, just
figured I'd say something.
On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 14:59, Lorax
<iamtheloraxispeakfo
> Rixta, breathe, child! It's all good. You are in the right place.
Correct! It is indeed.
> Rixta, this is a long reply. Get your coffee. There are website resources at the end. There
> will be a quiz later.
I missed the quiz... where was that?
>> "...but so far I have felt overwhelmed by the amount of technical talk. Directories,
>> extensions and loads of words I have never even heard of."
> Keep reading. The other day, you never heard of those directories, extensions, words. You
> were innocently ignorant of it. Today, you have knowledge, because you read and learn.
> You have started off right, by reading, and now asking questions. Keep it up!
That's some of the best newbie advice I've ever seen on this list, and
I say that as one of those grumpy old fart elitists ;-) You're spot
on, and that's very well put.
>> "I had been told that nowadays Linux is actually very user friendly..."
> Correct! I must admit, it is confusing at first, because it is different. How could it be better
> if it were the same?
The same way something can be New AND Improved? But yes, it's not
that difficult... it's just different from the way Windows users are
used to doing things. But once you get the bare minimum understood,
you'll find that everything else starts falling into place and begins
to make more and more sense.
>> "...is Linux indeed quite easy to learn, or should I get discouraged.
> Linux IS easy, only challenging at first because it is different. Embrace it and you will
> LOVE it! As far as technical talk, don't let that discourage you. You ARE a technical-
> talking person. I know that because you said you are good with computers, Winderz. You
> just don't realize how intelligent you are, because Mickey$oft has been pumped into your
> veins all your life. Understandably, it is a part of all of us.
Remember this... you are not stupid. You're ignorant. Ignorance can
be cured, but stupidity is forever. ;-)
Everyone is ignorant in many things... for example, I have a good
friend who is a very successful financial advisor and investor. That
stuff is all magic and mirrors to me, but to HER, all this crazy
computer stuff is like witchcraft.
Being here, and answering questions is the first several steps to
curing your own ignorance about something that is incredibly new to
you. No harm there at all. Ask all the questions you feel you need
to. There's usually someone reading these who can answer, and if not,
then one of us will be along eventually.
What you have to remember when you read some weird technical
discussion, or a silly philosophical argument between myself, Scott,
Roy, and many others, is that we were all just like you once. Hell,
the first time I installed Linux was an old version of Slackware back
in the 1.x kernel days. I got it installed, couldn't figure out what
to do beyond logging in, and so I went back to Windows until along
came Red Hat 5.1. I tried that out, screwed it up and had to
re-install it at least 50 times before I finally taught myself to NOT
do all the things I did that kept screwing it up... and THEN I learned
to fix all the problems that are fixable, and now I only have to
re-install when I feel like it...
So just keep at it. Perseverance is the key. You'll get there, and
we'll all help you do so.
>> "I have also looked around for programs that are important to me, but most of them don't
>> seem to run under Linux: firewall, anti-spam, anti-adware, pop-up blocker, photo-
>> programs etc."
> As far as photo programs, etc, there are so many it is not even funny. Not to mention the
> fact that there is something called WINE, which allows you to "hibridize" the Winderz
> program on Linux. Bad explanation, just go read about WINE. Now, listen. This might
> make you head spin and spit pea soup: you do not need "firewall, anti-spam, anti-adware,
> pop-up blocker, etc" in Linux. You just simply do not need it.
Yes and no. First, in all honesty, I keep a windows XP system around
because I prefer Photoshop and Lightroom. I've tried Gimp and a few
other OSS image programs, but I can just do more with PS than I can
the others... so for quick stuff, I'll use Gimp, but when I sit down
to do some serious work with my digital photography, it's always LR or
PS for me. Just a matter of choosing the tool that works for
you...and the OS is just a tool.
As for not needing such and such and so forth... you DO need a
firewall, on ANY box that tags the internet. Just running linux does
not excuse this. Linux is easily exploitable, just not as easily as
Windows... but there are LOTS of ways to crack a linux box and if you
don't use teh basic precautions, eventually, someone WILL get you.
You don't need the anti-spam/adware stuff, true, but you will need to
etiher configure your mail client with some sort of anti-spam routines
(this can get complicated here) or your ISP should provide spam
filtering on THEIR end. Mozilla provides on-board popup blocking, as
does most other browsers.
But just because there aren't as MANY pieces of malware that hit
Linux, doesn't mean that there are NONE. There are plenty, and
exploits in OSS software is always being found. The difference is
that the lack of Linux in the market means there are fewer than there
are for Windows, and the difficulty of actually gaining access to a
Linux box means that it's far more rare. But those things DO exist
and they often use a lot of the same vectors as Windows Mal-ware uses
(website injection, javascript, exploiting commonly used services,
etc...)
> Running Linux, you should never have those problems ever again.
You can and WILL have these problems if you just ignore security. In
the Proprietary world, we call this Security through obscurity... as I
said, you should always run a firewall on any system that connects to
the internets, at a BARE minimum. Personally, I have firewalls
running on all my systems AND a basic packet filter running on my
router.
> "I hate the idea of paying Microsoft...
> We all do too. That is one of many reasons we have Linux. That billionaire is not going to
> get another cent from my shallow pockets.
You hate the idea of paying microsoft for something that the made and
provided to you at a given cost that allows them to pay their
employees, research and develop new things (Yes, MS DOES invent things
from time to time), and benefit their shareholders in increased
profits?
There are may reasons to not like a piece of software, be it poor
coding, instability, bugginess, slow to fix issues, licensing
disagreements, etc, but the "I don't like it because I have to pay for
it" argument is weak, and really does a disservice to the millions of
Open Source developers who provide all the F/OSS software we enjoy.
And MANY of those developers actually work for proprietary companies
that sell things to customers for a cost... believe it or not.
It may suck, but if they want to sell their product, that's their
choice, just as it's Red Hat's choice to sell Services instead of
tangible product.
When I worked at Red Hat, we had an old saying... 'Those companies
give away their T-shirts to sell their software. We give away our
software to sell our T-shirts.'
> By the way, there are some kick-ass computers from reputable dealers out there, already
> with pre-installed Linux on them, and not one mention of Mickey$oft.
>
> And remember, you are no longer a customer. You are a member of a sweet community
> now. Don't give up.
There are, and they are becoming more and more prevalent. and I agree
about the community... it's an interesting dynamic... but it's not all
puppies and Rainbows though... the OSS community has it's issues just
as the proprietary community. Just keep it in mind... we're not that
dissimilar after all. ;-)
Anyway, welcome to the club! come have a beer!
Cheers
Jeff
--
Ted Turner - "Sports is like a war without the killing." -
http://www.brainyqu
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