> On Sun, 27 Jan 2002, Clarence Verge wrote: >> I worry how the average joe on the street is supposed to know stuff >> like that. It's the sort of thing that makes me say Linux isn't ready >> for primetime. > This isn't the kind of stuff "Joe" needs to know. > What he needs to know is that distributions generally > referred to as "newbie-friendly" are Mandrake, SuSE, > and RedHat (and sometimes people remember to that > Caldera was a contender too). > Joe also needs to know that distributions like > Slackware and Debian are the exact opposite. > Joe doesn't need to know all the little details of > how the first group differs from the second group, > he only needs to decide how high a frustration curve > he's willing to climb. ;-) > - Steve
What "Joe" needs is a relatively simple way to get some Linux distribution on his machine so that he can, at a minimum, do the things that are most important to him. As a "newbie", it should go without saying that I have no way of knowing what pieces I need to do the things that are most important to me. It doesn't help me to tell me to leave out the things I don't want when I have no way of knowing whether I "want" some program or not. Is there some web site or some "HOW_TO" file that will tell me: If you want to get e-mail, you need these four (or five, or three) things as a basis, and then an e-mail program? Perhaps some place where I can ask, "I want to do A, B, C and D: what do I need to do those things?" - and get a relatively straightforward answer. Once I have my "minimum" Linux setup, and can do all the things I need to do, then I am at the point where I can start to look at all the other things Linux can do - and start adding to my basic setup. I think that's what "Joe" needs: a solid base to start from. Personally, I'd like to get my VAX set up running VMS, and see how far I can get with that. Think of it: VMS on a VAXstation 4000-90, clustered with a VAXstation 3100. But it will probably never happen. Sigh! Henry T.
