To all and sundry, this is just my opinion, and I'm far from being a hacker.
Savvy user, yes, but nowhere near where I want to be!
I see no problem with people using a specific operating system, so long as they
are comfortable with it.
I still have a copy of Windows with Outlook 2007 installed on my secondary
machine to ensure I can properly and easily synchronize my BlackBerry.
My girlfriend currently runs Windows Vista on her laptop and XP at work, both
of which allow her to run Photoshop and Illustrator, as they are required for
her job in graphic design.
I've given some thought to the set up of using a VM running Windows in Kubuntu
10.10 for her, as she is interested enough in using Linux to give it a try.
However, I've also been thinking that, as we have some free hardware laying
about the house, the simplest and easiest route would be to leave her laptop
intact and run Kubuntu (or OpenSUSE, which detects all hardware without
additional drivers) on the new hardware set up.
This alleviates this issue of constantly performing maintenance (in her own
words, she's nigh illiterate in relation to computers), allows her to
gracefully ask for assistance, and should she feel so inclined, to put her foot
into the monitor of the computer.
All this can be done without damaging her own machine, thereby ensuring if
anything happens, it's not a catastrophic failure in some way.
I am certain I can run both applications either through Wine or using a VM
version of Windows, but I'd rather not put all data on a single machine while
she's still learning how the OS works.
So, that's my input toward the discussion of transitioning new users. Give them
a machine to play with while they learn (if you can), and soon enough they'll
be asking to have Linux installed as their only OS!
Septymus Spyder
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
-----Original Message-----
From: Roy <linuxcan...@gmail.com>
Sender: LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:07:27
To: <LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com>
Reply-To: LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Re: top five mistakes of newbies
Arch is a great distro if you have the time to set it up. The biggest
problem that I have with Arch is that AUR installed applications cannot be
upgraded the way that ones from the main repository can. I hope that they
are working on that. I like things to work simply and Arch is simple with
that one exception.
I wonder about a Mac for my wife. Windows is so NOT her but she uses it
because that is what they use at work. I have also wondered about installing
Linux with Windows running in a VM for the few Windows applications that she
uses and needs (First Class, MSOffice and Corel Word Perfect are the big
three). She is in education. She is very busy and has little time or
patience to spend learning something new which is where Macs shine.
My daughter bought a Macbook pro and loves it. She did not get my geeky
genes. My oldest son has them in spades. He is a programmer and runs Arch
which brings me full circle. :)
Roy
Using Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, 64-bit
Location: Canada
On 15 October 2010 13:24, Scott <scot...@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 01:12:21PM -0400, Roy wrote:
>
> > I don't like to bash Microsoft as it is often counter-productive and it
> is
> > certainly a waste of time. My credo is use what you want, but just don't
> > complain to me when things go wrong.
> >
> > My wife uses Windows and she knows better than to ask me to fix her
> machine.
> > I have to summon up my courage to clean up her computer so I usually wait
> > until it is in dire need. Frequency of use of Windows breeds contempt in
> my
> > book.
>
> LOL. That's why I bit the bullet and got her (my wife, not yours, of
> course,) a Mac. She'll click on anything. Again, she in this case
> refers to my beloved spouse.
>
> One of our web team when hired, complained that he had a Windows
> machine, of course, making him my instant friend. Another of the web
> team (also a good buddy, and usually using Linux--he and I are thinking
> of putting Arch on some of our less critical machines), got a virus on
> his Windows machine. It was a real blip to fix, and he sent an email
> at one point, asking for a new estimate, as he said, "I'm limited in
> what I can do with my Linux box." I emailed back, "Yeah, you can't
> install malware on it."
> (In fairness, due to circumstances, his Linux box is underpowered. )
>
> So, of course, I'm guilty too, but it was all in good fun.
>
>
> > is not a bad thing. I don't think that there can be too much choice, but
> > this is only opinion and one that many take issue with. People often cite
> > dividing our resources and spreading our selves too thin, but that is
> based
> > on the false premise that Linux has to become something that it is not.
> > Linux just is. Love it or leave it.
>
> I'm not even that severe. (But you are more of an advocate than I am,
> you have more patience too.)
>
> My biggest concern is the person who is told it will be a perfect
> substitute, for those are the ones who then leave, never to return.
>
> In constrast, a few of my users have it too--one also became my instant
> buddy, when after a promotion, he needed VPN access. I gave him the CD
> with the Windows software, and he asked, "Can I use this on Ubuntu?"
>
> At which point, I just sent him to my webpage on VPNC, telling him to
> call with any questions. I also, of course (my own form of advocacy)
> pre-converted the pcf file (the file necessary to log onto a Cisco VPN)
> for him.
>
> --
> Scott Robbins
> PGP keyID EB3467D6
> ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 )
> gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6
>
> Xander: Just because you're better than us doesn't mean you
> can be all superior.
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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