Started with Linux in 1999, as a complete newbie. And now I am proud to say I am not a newbie anymore, but a beginner ;-) I thought I should tell you about some of my experiences with Linux. I use computers (IBM compatible) everyday since jan/1994, and before that I used ZX Spectrum, Apple II and MSX a lot. My first computer I purchased almost 20 years ago. I simply love computers. And that is the reason why I love Linux - it brings the same fun I had as a teenager "hacker", when computers were about a bunch of geeks trying to type some weird code and record it into cassetes/tapes. I live in Brazil, and started seing articles about Linux 2 years ago. We have a very solid distro here - Conectiva (now in version 6.0), based on RedHat. I needed to take a little courage to start, so I installed WinLinux. After that I used Partition Magic to create a Linux partitions and installed Conectiva 4, Conectiva 5, Caldera 2.2, Caldera 2.3, Mandrake 6.x, RedHat 6.0, RedHat 6.1, RedHat 6.2 and finally 7.0. Now I use RedHat Wolverine and will soon upgrade to RedHat 7.1. I never bought any book about Linux - I downloaded some How-Tos, bought some magazines, read some good tutorials available in the Internet. And hacked away, tried to understand by myself some inner workings of the system. I still know too little about Linux, but everyday I try to learn something new. I should also say I learned a lot reading this list, and for that I thank you all. I am not a computer professional, but a musician, working as a public official in a government office (not related to music unfortunately). Having used Windozzzz for more than 7 years I believe Linux is better, more stable, more interesting. It gives you some challenges. It is a system for people who like to learn and conquer the obstacles. It is not a system for the lazy... However, since my humble beginnings a lot has changed. While M$ has released systems full of bugs, prone to crash and vulnerable to attacks, Linux reached a point where it is faster and easier to install than the Redmond system. However I still believe some things should change for Linux to "conquer the world". First, partitioning is still a P.I.T.A. - and I really mean that, after spending some afternoons using fdisk, disk druid, and other tools. I deleted some partitions, wiped clean Windozz from an office/machine and almost had a heart attack, and after much pain and problems installed Partition Magic and created a ext2 partition the easy way. You should say it is pretty simple and straightforward but it is now - I am a heavy user of computers as I said and everybody calls me and aks me when they have problems with their computers. I solved every problems presented to me, most without even looking into the computer, some even by phone, but partitioning a hard-drive is not for the faint at heart and it is not easy. Second, most manuals are in very technical language, and will not be understood by beginners. Some things are not explained very clearly, and then some common tasks like installing a Zip Drive, listening to MP3, burning a CD ir installing a printer are (stilll) not easy enough. You say "read XXXX-YYY how-to", but sometimes when you read you can�t understand what to do, where is the file you need to edit to enable something, what to do later, and most of the time you don�t even know hot to open a configuration file. Third, people are not very happy with having to edit configuration files with vi, emacs or even joe/jed. They are great for programmers but for people that use a computer in their offices as a "tool", using vi or emacs is like having to fly a plane without the proper training - almost impossible. And since a good part of the "fun" and most of the work has to be done in console, people still think Linux is difficult. And of course, lots of people don�t even know there is an alternative to M$. I try every day to tell everybody I know there is something better than Windows. Unfortunately few people are bold enough to try Linux. Linux is great. I love it. It changed my life as a computer user for ever. It brought me back the same happiness I had when I started discovering about computers. It showed me you don�t have to pay thousands of dollars for something that is free and better. Keep up the good work guys, because soon we will rule the computer world! Otto Pintiaski - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs
