[Wylug-discuss] Trying to use Linux at home.

[Andy Coulson]

Nick,

Sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations.  I moved to Ubuntu 
Linux about 18 months ago and whilst this has not always gone smoothly I 
am now a total convert to Linux and get hugely frustrated whenever I 
have to "downgrade" :-) to using Windows. 

Nick Moulsdale wrote:
> Ubuntu Hardy Heron installed well, but the system fonts were horrible, 
> I could not upgrade the Firefox  3 beta to final, I could not get
> Flash to install, in fact program install was a nightmare. In fairness 
> it was reasonably responsive, never recognised my Linksys 
> wireless card, but could run out of the box and connect to the internet.
The only problem (now solved) I have had with Hardy has been a problem 
getting networked printers working.  The turnaround on the fix was rapid 
(around 2 weeks) versus similar experiences i have had with windows 
problems.  Also the support from the Ubuntu forums and Launchpad team 
has been fantastic.  Eventually I tracked the final part of the problem 
down to my own inexperience, again with friendly, flame free and non 
judgemental support from another forum.  I am running Flash, Firefox is 
up to v3 and running a live distro on my laptop picks up my unbranded 
wireless card straightaway and it works.
> I'd love to have written that Linux Desktop has come of age. But it 
> hasn't.
>  
> Its too hard to install programs, it reveals its complex nature if 
> anything goes wrong. Yes I could have joined umpteen user groups,
> BUT I DID NOT NEED TO DO THAT TO INSTALL WINDOWS XP PRO SP2.
I disagree - provided programs are in the repositories, and this has 
improved enormously in the last 18months, installing software is, IMHO, 
better than windows.  I agree that once you come out of that environment 
and maybe need to install from tarballs things get more awkward.

User groups are one of the strengths of Linux too.  If I have a problem 
generally I can find a solution within a relatively short time, 
something I could never do with windows, often being fobbed off with 
"you'll have to wait for the next release/upgrade".  Community support 
works and is a massive asset. 
> So, yes Linux is great for servers if you really know what you are 
> doing, but otherwise, its not plug and play, its not even plug and pray.
Again Linux is not perfect, but plug and play has come in leaps and 
bounds recently.  I run  Win XP and Linux boxes at home and I think that 
(based on Ubuntu Hardy) in Linux is at least as good.  The system is 
more robust and you can often get a system up and (usefully) running in 
a degraded form that allows you to workaround a problem whilst you fix 
it.  What's more once you get your head around a number of concepts, 
Linux provides so much useful information in log files that you can 
generally make a better stab at diagnosing problems (or at least find 
someone else who understands the  strange gobbledygook in those files at 
a user group or support site).

It can be a difficult transition to make and there is lots to learn, but 
the effort is well worth while.  Don't give up on us yet Nick...

Good Luck

Andy
-- 
*Andy Coulson*
Ryburn ImageWorks
Email: andy at ryburnimageworks.co.uk <mailto:andy at ryburnimageworks.co.uk> 
* www.ryburnimageworks.co.uk <http:%5C%5Cwww.ryburnimageworks.co.uk>