Microsoft would only be so helpful for the right amount of money (usually
more than the cost of the trouble, and the O/S you bought).
Cheers! *(Having fun with Linux in China!)
Steve Weltman
----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel J. Ferris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2000 1:19 PM
Subject: Re: [newbie] Linux resources online
>
> > > "Let's face it: getting support for Windows is much easier than
> > > getting
> > > support for Linux. That's because there are a few things militating
> > > against
> > > the development of a useful Linux support network.
> > > The first is that Linux is a derivative of Unix, a true programmer's
> > > paradise. Unix has long been the domain which you enter by walking
> > > beneath
> > > banners that say 'Normal humans need not apply' and 'User-friendliness
> > > is
> > > for wimps'. A lot of this attitude has rolled over into the Linux
> > > community.
> > > It expresses itself in newsgroups where flaming is a matter of course,
> > > anyone who can't phrase a question in hexadecimal is torn to bits, and
> > > medals are awarded for answers couched in the most cryptic terms
> > > possible."
>
> It is easy to get support for Windows. You call the tech support and
> wait on hold for hours on end. THEN you get to talk to somebody who
> really doesn't care about your problem, and probably don't know how to
> solve it anyway. To you tech support people out there, I know, your job
> sucks, you don't have to tell me heh heh.
>
> Aside from that...
>
> My experience with the 2 lists I subscribe to (KDE and Mandrake) people
> are more than willing to help. And you get anwsers that are to the
> point and correct most of the time. And unlike the Windows support, on
> the Linux lists (well, on the KDE list) you can get help from the
> developers themselves.
>
> Another example, a few months ago I was trying to compile and install
> Ksnuffle so I could have a nice easy to use sniffer program. When I
> went to compile it, gcc 2.95 did what it does best and ate itself on a
> change from char * to const char *. I e-mailed the developer and 2
> weeks later he gave me a place where I could download the sources that
> were fixed for use with gcc 2.95. Somehow I doubt that Microsoft would
> be so helpful... :-)
>
> Dan
>
