[Gloucs] hello

[Ian]

As a relatively new Linux convert and member of this LUG mailing list I 
am glad to see the useful exchanges on this group.  I think the install 
days are a great idea although I think you have to be clear what your 
likely target audience is and cater for that.  The audience will 
probably be a mixed ability so a wide range of topic levels would be 
good to see.  I personally think the installation part of Linux is 
pretty tedious although  it might be useful to include something about 
what to do once you have installed a distro  and have played frozen 
bubble and investigated the default applications.  One thing that might 
be useful is to see if you could get Linux Format magazine on board in 
some way, the appear to emanate from Bath so are fairly local.

As a "novice plus" user I am more than happy to tinker around and search 
the web to find out how thinks work.  I must say having settled on 
Ubuntu (Dapper) an ex-Windows user could be fairly comfortable in using 
it as long as they did the "basics".   I agree with Simon that most 
Windows users just want their OS to work and not to have to bother 
finding out how to do any configuration to get their software to do what 
they want.  However, if Linux was that easy then it would risk being a 
windows clone.  I try to spread the work of Linux and open source to 
friend, family and work colleagues, although my work colleagues are 
starting to get worried and think I am turning into some sort Linux 
zealot who will start to smash Windows PC in the street! ;-) as Simon 
can testify some are very blinkered in their thinking. Simon's point 
about becoming a sys-admin for friends who you have converted to Linux 
is a real worry and has stopped me from offering to install Linux for 
them, at the moment.

Keep up the good work everyone

Iain Cree


Simon Lewis wrote:
> Im siting here on a Mac Book, the reason I'm running OSX rather that 
> Ubuntu is due to the following 2 reasons:
> - General support in linux for laptops 'extra' buttons is poor - I 
> didn't fancy spending 2 weeks working out how to get button X working 
> correctly
> - The integration of the desktop is not great - don't you wish that 
> all your contact information was available in all programs and that 
> all applications looked the same....
>
> I would very much like to help on an install day but I think its 
> important to think about users.  The technically competent user will 
> find Linux on there own, they will happy spend weeks in their spare 
> time learning about the shell and the file system and generally love it.
>
> Then you have Joe pubic, they have a £500 laptop from PC world and 
> they have XP on it, they are fed up with reinstalling their PC every 4 
> weeks after some 'creative' surfing leaves there PC in what can only 
> be described as a 'state'... These are the ideal people to sell Linux 
> to but as soon as they want to install/do anything they will be 
> changing back to XP as fast as they can.  Unfortunately Linux requires 
> a high amount on knowledge to get going,... you need to know about 
> kernels, packages, root privileges, how to edit config files... the 
> average person simply wont bother spending that sort of time to get 
> things going.  This is where I feel that install days will only go so 
> far, you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.  
> Although Ubuntu is a relative doddle to install the average person 
> would be more comfortable on a mac.... everything does indeed just 
> work..... installing applications is as easy as a drag and drop for 
> most things... this type of simplicity of operation and configuration 
> is what is needed on the Linux desktop.... Untill then, anyone who 
> installs linux for a friend is agreeing to be a sys admin for that 
> person for the foreseeable future, something that has recently made me 
> do the unthinkable and recommend someone to use Windows (a heavily 
> bolted down version) and recommend all 'creative' surfing is done 
> using a web appliance (thankyou VMWare).  Good technology and free 
> software can only go so far.... sometimes it is easier to shoot the 
> horse than make it drink...
>
> Anyway, something to think about..
>
> Simon
>
>
>
> On 28 Sep 2006, at 02:15, Maximillian Murphy wrote:
>>
>> -- Another fun and impressive thing we could do is to invite a 
>> LinuxBios chap to come and display a three second powerswitch to 
>> loginscreen boot.  Even a six second boot would be superb.  I grant 
>> that this is blue sky technology as far as ordinary linux users is 
>> concerned.  However it would make the point that linux is more than 
>> capable and has a high performance userland future ahead of it.
>
>
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