Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
Posted on 02/26/2020 5:48:20 AM PST by ShadowAce
Scary article for beginners.
I’ve been dealing with hardware and software since the mid 70’s and one thing is the gold standard: Standardization is king. End users want what worked yesterday to work today. Adding new functions is great and people will slowly learn to use the good ones.
The current standards are Windows or iOS, Microsoft Office and Outlook. Asking end users to move to something completely different, like Linux for Libre Office will not find much success.
What people want and expect trumps quality and security, whether we like it or not. Linux will remain for us geeks for the foreseeable future.
Most new PCs have hardware that is specifically designed to work with Windows and it can sometimes be a challenge just to get things like the sound to work. I used to enjoy fiddling around with stuff like that, but not so much these days. I have been somewhat disgusted by Microsoft's policies under Satya Narayana Nadella... Under his leadership Microsoft's products have evolved from sometimes irritating to often maddening.
How many times have you tried to shutdown your laptop when you are on the road, in a hurry and you get some kind of warning not to do anything because Microsoft has decided to apply a critical update in the background? At first you think that this should take just a minute or two. Then ten minutes later the thing hasn't made any progress... the battery is going dead and you have a pressing schedule to keep. This problem has mostly been solved these days, but variations still emerge on occasion.
Typically this type of issue does not happen in this same way with most forms of Linux. But back to the original discussion... an operating system is a platform that allows users to run the programs or applications that are most useful to them. It is really just meant to hold things together and not get in the way. The problem is that I have too much time, and money invested in learning how to get the most out of Microsoft Office products, Adobe Photoshop, various video and audio editing and recording software, 3D design and slicing applications and various other products to consider giving up Windows at this time.
Actually Windows is typically not as annoying as Android which is not only constantly wanting to update itself, but all the apps are constantly wanting to be updated as well. At least they usually give you the choice, but a lot of them are purposely disabled until you allow them to update. Then they demand that you share all your contacts and let them take complete control of your phone or tablet. I have uninstalled many useful apps for wanting access to data about me that I do not want to share. Google and all these App providers are often far more intrusive than Microsoft. Some of the organizations that provide software for Linux go down this same road.
..and that is why we begin by asking them to try the Windows versions of the software. LibreOffice runs perfectly fine under Windows. Once they are comfortable with a new software package, then asking them to move to a different OS--using those same software packages--is pretty mild.
It’s insoluble for man or machine.
No. 6.
That first tip basically boils down to “be technical”.
I have tried introducing people to Libre Office and Open Office before that. I can’t think of even one of them that stayed with it when Word, Excel and Outlook were available.The usual comment I get on first use is, “This looks like Word 2003.”
Linux will remain on the fringes as a desktop for normal users, for the foreseeable future. Getting people to change when they are happy with what they have is an herculean task. That is even more true for iOS users who are more of a cult than Linux users.
Linux will need a new “killer app” to gain increased acceptance. I’ll continue to play Hitman on my Win10 machine until then. (Gnome Mahjongg is pretty good too)
I installed Linux (Mint XX) on a laptop I wasn’t using. It wasn’t bad, but I’m pretty content using Windows 10 with a local account:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-local-account-during-windows-10-home-setup-process
Linux was....underwhelming.
No--not technical. Show that you are trying and not just sitting back waiting for someone to do it for you. Give examples of what you've tried. You may have tried some things that are not applicable. That's fine. Just show that you've put *some* effort into solving it yourself before asking others.
No. Technical. Once you’ve gotten to the point of running command lines you’re technical.
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
Netware eh? Provo is a lovely town. Damn hard to find a decent beer though.
“ Why Linux, why waste the time, now and in future? Is your time so cheap? Do you really have that big of a problem with Microsoft Windows or Apple iOS that you want to handicap yourself with Linux? ”
You do know that iOS is based on UNIX, right? Surely everyone knows that. Well, not EVERYONE it appears...
Sticking with macs since 1987
Dove headlong into the Unix world in the early 90’s being the sysop admin for a IBM Risc 6000 using AIX Unix. It was the perfect server for a 500 user, 12 remote city network and that machine was blazing fast compared to the other IBM mini’s I had used since the 70’s like the System-3, System-34, System-36 and System-38 before it.
Use it on all my PC’s and never use Windows unless I have an App that demands it so I keep a Win-7 bootable SSD just for those apps.
Best cord you could ever cut from the Microsoft cabal.
This line is the key. Move to.
For users with little to no previous experience with computers and operating systems, especially the elderly, who are just trying to use a computer to keep in touch with friends and family, and have relatively simple demands, Linux can be a wonderful solution.
The key is for users who will not need to "unlearn" anything.
I understand the frustrations of Linux users moving from other OSs: I feel the same way any time I'm forced to use a Mac. And while I'm most comfortable with Debian based systems (most of my Linux experience is with Ubuntu,) having to administer RedHat Linux is something of a headache.
Mark
LoL. My time is way too valuable to waste with anything Microsoft. I prefer things to actually work. Linux does everything I want and then some.
I'm just glad we have options. Some folks might prefer Apple, some prefer Linux, and amazingly, some even prefer Windows. As someone who uses computers for a lot of stuff, I think it's great that we're not locked into any particular vendor.
Or an iPad or Chromebook. What’s important to new users is that somebody very nearby (friends and family) are there to answer questions. Since very few friends and family use anything but iOS or Windows, I continue to predict that Linux has a tough row to hoe.
I made quite a few visits there, as well as to their Herndon, VA offices. I liked Provo much better. The old Novell campus was at the base of the mountains, and it was so beautiful.
Of course, when Eric Schmidt was CEO, that spelled the end for Novell. Buying Unix from ATT, then pushing it as an alternative to their flagship product at the time, Netware 4, as I recall.
I'm convinced that the marketing execs had been bribed by Microsoft! Novell's directory services was able to do things more than 20 years ago that Microsoft's AD still can't do, and was SO MUCH easier to manage!
Mark
the example given was a poor one. If you're setting up a web server and want to allow folks to connect to it from the outside world, you are doing something technical. It's generally not a good idea to do such a thing without a bit of technical knowledge, because there are a lot of things that surround it. You should have a firewall and know what it is you are/are not allowing.
A more typical newbie problem might be something concerning a sound/video card.
[[ask yourself WHY? Why Linux, why waste the time, now and in future?]]
Why? Because it’s a heck of a lot more secure- doesn’t phone home, allows me to adjust it however i like- allows me to update when i like, and generally doesn’t break-
I use linux as my ‘Online OS’, and only use windows 7 as my offline os for photoshop or windows only games
I’ve been using linux for years now- no issues at all- Haven’t wasted a moment- I’m not constantly bogged down by it- it just works- does everything i need online- and haven’t run into any problems-
What’s not to like about it?
Then again- i don’t do much with it except email, browse internet, photo work- some linux games, etc- i don’t get into the nuts and bolts of it- so nothing bad ever happens because i messed up messing around with the OS-
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