An official slightly off topic anouncement

[John Heim]

We care because often people get into linux expecting it to be like Windows. 
Possibly, if these people are fore-warned, they will be less likely to give 
up.  That's been my experience anyway.

I think sometimes in their enthusiasm for linux,  linux nerds sell it as 
being easier to use than Windows. I don't think it ever gets to that point 
no matter how well you know linux and speakup.  And if all you want out of 
your computer is for it to work with a minimum of fuss, then maybe you had 
better stick to Windows.





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gene Collins" <collins at gene3.ait.iastate.edu>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 9:31 AM
Subject: Re: An official slightly off topic anouncement


> /so why do we care?  You wanna support Bill, then who are we to argue?
> On the other hand, you could install Ubuntu, and go for the gnome
> desktop environment and not pay the Freedom Scientific folks an arm and
> a leg.  You're right, Linux is a steeper learning curve, but in the end,
> it makes you a more knowledgeable and powerful computer user.  Some
> folks like myself have to support Windows , because that is what the
> University runs on, but give me a choice, and Linux wins hands down.
>
> For some folks, a gui interface is the way to go, but I started out in
> CP/m and DOS, so I'm a command line junkie at heart.  Even the editor I
> use, MicroEmacs is very much like the Mince editor I first used under
> CP/m.  So pick what suits you and pay for it, or not, as the case may
> be.  Linux kind of separates the men from the boys so to speak.  It
> demands more of it's users, it gives much more in return.
>
> Gene
>
>>From: "Gregory Nowak" <greg at romuald.net.eu.org>
>>> on this list, are
>>> anti-microsoft. After all, having been a user of windblows, and
>>> gnu/linux for a few years now, I can't honestly say that I think
>>> people are switching from windblows to gnu/linux, because gnu/linux is
>>> easier to use than windows is.
>>
>>I made this same point on the blinux list a while ago and sparked quite a
>>controversy. I believe anyone getting into linux should prepare themselves
>>for a steep learning curve. But it pays off in the end. In fact, I've 
>>been
>>advising my blind computer nerd friends to get into linux as a form of job
>>security.
>>
>>> For anybody else who has used both
>>> operating systems for a good while, and is tempted to disagree with
>>> that, think back on your first time compiling a customized linux
>>> kernel, or on the steps one has to go through to build a piece of
>>> software from source , or better yet, on how involved building a
>>> gentoo, or a linux-from-scratch system is.
>>
>>Yeah, but you can't compile a custom kernel at all for Windows. Mostly, 
>>you
>>can't compile software either. You get what you get.
>>
>>So this is really the #1 difference between linux and Windows.  In linux,
>>you can do just about anything you can do with a computer but you're
>>expected to learn how. With Windows, the ideal situation is for you to 
>>never
>>have to read the documentation. Windows users want to just install and go.
>>With linux, we give up intuitiveness for being able to make the thing do
>>exactly what we want.
>>
>>Actually, I think the combination of both works really well. I use Windows
>>as my desktop environment. But i do all my actual work on linux. For
>>example, I have this elaborate system for recording the sound track of TV
>>shows. I have a script that checks the schedule of my local PBS affiliate
>>searching for my favorite shows, Nova, American Experience, etc. If it 
>>finds
>>them, it writes the show and time it will be on to a file. Then there is a
>>cron job that runs sox to record each show . I then listen to them on my
>>Windows machine by double clicking on them on my network drive.
>>
>>Here at the Math Department of the U of Wisconsin, we have dhcp, dns,
>>ldaphttp mysql,  , and imap servers all running on linux.  I manage all
>>these things via my Windows desktop.
>>
>>
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