Bob George wrote:
>
> "Day Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > [...]
> > I've got something called 'MC' that came with every distro
> > I've seen. I like the two panel showing the source and destination.
> > [...]
> > I think there is more functionality missing in MC, but it dont
> > cometa mind right now, and- there may be more that MC can do that
> > I dont know about, but again, the documentation with DF is several
> > times bigger than that of MC.
> > [...]
>
> Day, it's pretty clear that you only will use something that behaves
> completely like DOS, down to the applications. That would be DOS. If you're
> not willing to spend a bit of time learning Linux, it certainly won't do
> much for you. You're better off staying with DOS.
MC is not all that different than a lotta other dos
file managers; except in the case of the documentation,
and here we have yet another example, the chronic complaint
of linux newbies.
Linux has a reputation of being for geeks. Given the manifest
power of the OS, it would appeal to geek sensibilities. but
all that power which Linux gurus keep telling us about, comes
at a cost, namely complexity.
Why, with such a marvelous tool like Midnight Commander, is it
not discussed in either the Redhat or mandrake manual, The Idiot's
Guide to Linux, and Linux for Dummies, do that not even _mention_
MC?
Corel, to it's credit, actually has a good 30 page index, and they
do
a much better job of explaining MC. So, I've got five different
books on Linux, and only one of them says anything useful.
The problem Bob, is not the operating system; that's fine. what is
missing, which newbies keep bitching about, is the documentation.
It has been a chronic problem since the beginning with DOS. but for
instance, DR-DOS has been writing user manuals for 15 years, so it
aint all that surprising they got it figured out what we might need
to know on a regular basis. Linxu has been a system for _experts_
who dont mind, even enjoy getting into it, but most users are just
grunts, and already got a life.
Fortunately, this is an open market as well as open source, so some
one will tell mandrake to put in a decent index, and someone will
tell corel to let up on the glitzy bloat. All I got from REDHAT
was an 'installation' manual, which didnt tell me didly about what
it was that I installed. Mandrake did it better, and corel has gone
an extra 10%
There is also the habits of users; F1 has long been the help key.
so far so good, but in mandrake install, and dos, and windoz and
online
menus, and everywhere, when you have the scrollbar on an item, and
hit the spacebar, it is 'tagged'. But not with mc. There are
conventions
that are ubiquitous across operating systems that some apps,
including
those of Linux breaks, and makes life difficult.
The fact that the function keys toggle, is new to me. Corel's mc rap
didnt mention it. You are the first. Frankly, I like the idea, it
has
elegance, but I aint never seen that before. Izzat my fault? I dont
do
windoz.. does anyone know if windoz toggles the function keys?
It is telling when I read about distro comparisons, nobody talks
about
the manual that comes with. _THAT_ is copywritable, and that is
going
to be a big plus for anyone who wants market share. I put REDHAT on
a
486 once, the install went just fine. it even ran netscape. but when
I asked for info, I could go get a cuppa coffee with cream and sugar
and roll a smoke before the plain vanilla ascii text came up on the
screen. I mean that thing was just out to lunch. I cannot imagine
why
it took so long to find a plain ascii file, but you can imagine why,
if this was a common experience, users gave up on Linux.
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