Jeff,
As a "newbie", a user with NO technical knowledge can install a UNIX-LIKE
operating system, and use it without much guidance. Most users are able to
find this alone a very enabling and excellent first step. You may not
consider this a serious usability issue, but it teaches the user to do many
things without knowing the intimate details about the OS. Also, a very
important first lesson. Trust themselves that they are able to do for
themselves, and that it is NOT out of their range of abilities. If a task
is out of his or her range, they are given MANY resources of information,
not the least of which is this mailing list. Obviously, not everyone is
interested in the Linux OS nor any other OS for that matter. However, Linux
has MANY more free programs than any other OS, because it is an open source
and therefore low dollar investment, many will be interested.
You mention DOSEMU. From what I understand of the DOSEMU, there is a man
page, and a HOWTO file that gives explicit instructions on the setup and use
of this tool. What the Warp OS hides from you is FAR more substantial than
that which it reveals (along with all other "Win" O/Ss) thru it's GUI. The
Windows-like features of the Warp (or OS2) OS prevent you from getting to
the actual threads and child-threads to see how the process of a program
flows, unless you were to spend hundreds on debuggers. I can do this on
Linux out of the box (so to speak) with freely available software, which
means that the CAPABILITIES of the OS are HIGHER than that of the average
user. Which is also true of WinNT, and OS2/Warp. If usability is a
consideration, one must address the issue of compatability to the purpose
and then efficiency (both financial and task oriented).
Linux has a more open, bigger base to cover than a limited OS like OS2 or
Windows. There's just plain more to learn. But there's always someone to
ask. The worst thing that can happen to a new user is that he or she
becomes complacent with their current skillset and stops growing. This OS
will constantly change, and forever introduce new and more features to
achieve the results, in many different ways, so there's more choices than a
closed OS like Windows and Warp. But learning is the best part of the OS.
It is what makes it more fun to use than Windows, because anyone can fix it
without a $20,000 license for the source code, to see what makes it tick.
And anyone can put in their code to make it better. Even if the code is only
an idea for a future feature like making DOSEMU work for anyone out of the
box.
Have a great day.
Steve Weltman
(from Beijing)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Malka" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Linux Newbie Mandrake" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2000 6:38 AM
Subject: [newbie] AGH!! Linux not ready for prime time (OS/2 user)
> As someone who does not like to have MS stuff on my PCs but have to
because
> of the need of relating to the real business world, I was eager to try
> Linux. It really is great, especially for an open system. But I believe
it
> still has a way to go before it can be used by the general computer
public.
>
> One example is DOSEMU. I am running Mandrake 7.1 which installs dosemu
> automatically, but not in a usable form. Whereas OS/2 runs dos
applications
> transparently and even a beginner can use them. However the equivalent in
> Linux is dosemu which - let's get real - needs experience with programming
> to use and is totally useless to a beginner. As installed only a root can
> use it. Apparently to make it useable one must tinker with
> /etc/dosemu.conf and /etc/dosemu.users. Well, a normal PC user could not
> possibly understand or modify these files
>
> assuming he can find them in the first place. That is another problem.
> There are numerous configuration files (X, etc.) and they are all located
in
> different places instead of in one directory where a non programmer can
find
> them.
>
> There are numerous other problems that make using Linux a steep learning
> curve - which it does not need to be. I am certain it will improve and I
> sure hope so, but it cannot improve unless normal PC users like myself
point
> out where they see the problems for them.
>
> That is the reason for this message which is not meant to start a flame
war
> but to point out where newbies need help, get frustrated and abandon the
OS
> despite its obvious advantages. I for one, though fairly sophisticated
with
> computers but not a programmer, still cannot figure out how to modify the
> various files so that
>
> 1. a non su can start and use dosemu
> 2. how to change from the virtual directory dosemu starts in (when in KDE
> knosole) to a real dos logical drive (already mounted) where my
applications
> exist.
>
> AGH!!!
>
>
> Jeff Malka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Registered Linux user 183185
>
>
>
