-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Thu, Sep 16, 2004 at 12:20:19AM -0500, Wyatt M. Portendt wrote: > > Aaaaaarrrrgh!! > > I *really* like the looks of what this OS *could* do. I'm sorry, though, it > lacks one Windows feature that I really miss right now. Hardware detection > and configuration is killing Linux.
Believe it or not, this is getting better and better. Again, with SuSE pro, I believe you are entitled to that tech support. I got an email from a friend the other night, a fellow who is very big on advocacy and very anti-MS. He was aggravated because some things, which by now he figures should Just Work (TM) don't. As he said, "I'll settle for bloat if it Just Works(TM). Sound was one thing he mentioned--since moving from OSS to ALSA (or as he said, should be also, also doesn't work) sound usually requires some research to get it to work. It shouldn't. Printing--well, we used to say that CUPS stood for Can't Usually Print Stuff, however, that's getting better and better, though as noted an advocate as Eric Stewart Raymond posted a diatribe about its web interface--he found it confusing, so what, he said, about Aunt Tillie who we're trying to convince to leave Microsoft and come to Linux. Now, I add a printer in CUPS by command line. I'm k3w1. However, if I need something printed perfectly, half the time I put it on a Windows box and print using the Windows drivers. :) If my wife wishes to print a Japanese document from her Mac (Mac. It just doesn't work right) I have to copy it to a Windows box and print to my FreeBSD print server through the Windows box, because OpenOffice, though it can finally open Japanese documents created in MS Word can't open them if they're created in MS Word for Mac. (If the Mac would work with the cheap USB printer attached to it this wouldn't be a problem, but it doesn't and Mac tech support can't help.) Modems are another issue--one big problem is that most computers have what is known as a winmodem, one that is a glorified sound card relying on software to do what the older modems left to the hardware. One can scarcely blame manufacturers however, MS has 90 percent or better of the desktop market, though as Linux advocacy grows, a few are are listening--still, the user is usually reduced to buying an external modem. I found it a sad commentary--some manufacturer was selling laptops with Linux preinstalled, and mention, in the small print, that the modem doesn't work with Linux. So, even gurus (like my friend, I'm no guru) join you in your rant. SuSE is actually one of those distributions that should Just Work(TM) especially with what some gurus would consider its bloat. There are other distributions also aimed at the desktop user--you might try the Knoppix or Mepis live CD, see if 3D and sound work for you with them, and consider installing one of them. Yes, you will probably have to do some research to get both of these working. You shouldn't have to do so in a distribution aimed at the desktop. It's not as if you decided to use LFS (Linux from Scratch) to give yourself a challenge, you want a reasonable alternative to MS. Insights, even rants (and that's pretty far from a rant actually, you're just venting a bit) are helpful for those developers who are aiming towards the desktop market. On the other hand, you sound like you're bitten by the bug and are going to wind up doing the research to get it working--again, i think that SuSE tech support may be helpful. I have several different distros running--my main workstation is FreeBSD and I probably had to do hours of research to get it to where I want it. On the other hand, among my other duties, I do sysadmin for users running MS, and do get tired of the viruses, spyware, etc, of spending 3 hours on the phone with my dad because he downloaded something and now his computer won't boot. (I doubt it was porn, he's 77 years old. Hi mom, no I'm SURE it wasn't) :) Anyway, yes, it's still not quite ready for primetime as a desktop--surprised, in a way, that you're having these troubles with SuSE of all distros. - -- Scott PGP keyID EB3467D6 ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 D575 EB34 67D6 ) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6 Angelus: I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been such a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured someone, they didn't even *have* chainsaws. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.5 (FreeBSD) iD8DBQFBSWg++lTVdes0Z9YRAmD8AJwOJ5LGtzkSXKVcF9/z5VLiUO9GTACfXVoi kblw1rkbldi2v9n4ViSKHwI= =AQNA -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/0XFolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this list, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] & you will be removed. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
