An official slightly off topic anouncement

[Gene Collins]

Linux is not for everyone, that's true.  My point was, pick what works
for you and use it.

Gene

>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.
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Speakup mailing list
>>>Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
>>>http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>>
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>> 
>
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