Clive wrote:
> Linux has come along way in the past five years, but I would still have
> doubts on forcing it onto a non-computer literate friend.
Sure. As long as it is pre-installed like Windows, why not?
> Last night my ISP sent me a static IP address with an instruction manual on
> how to set up my computer (for MAC and Windows users) which seemed to be
> only a 5 minute job of changing network settings in the Control Panel.
5 minutes? I will time it with YaST. Uhm 0 seconds if the provider has
some itelligence and uses DHCP.
> As usual, Linux is not so easy.
Yes, it is. I timed changing my IP in YaST. 1 minute, as long as you can
find YaST. YaST, click on anything that is called network. I selected
Network card and edited the number there.
> GUI Yast kept crashing so I reverted to CLI yast.
That is not a Linux issue, but another problem. Not a general problem at
that. You must not have a pre-installed system, like Windows users have.
> The information I needed to enter, gaterways, IP address, DNS etc all
> appear on different pages.
No, it doesn't. I have here in front of me a place where I can select
DHCP or Static IP and then also Host Name and Name Server and if need be
Routing.
> Yast then complained that it need to install new
> software, which it couldn't do as it didn't have a network connection.
Most likley you could use the disks.
> As I
> was searching for my source disks I noticed that the transfer light on the
> router was flashing away and that Linux had decided it no longer needed the
> new software and was happy to connect.
This sounds extremely fishy to me.
> No major problems, but what looked like a 5 minute task in Windows/MAC
> turned into a 30minute headscratch in Linux. I wouldn't want to put someone
> without any computer background into a Linux environment to perform minor
> tasks such as this.
I tried and could not get the time over 3 minutes. and I really tried.
> Sure, the desktop is fine, but I do find myself spending more time on the
> command line than in the desktop.
Now imagine that you have a router and/or firewall like so many people.
Changing anything in Windows/Mac/Linux/BeOS/... will not work. Tell your
provider they are idiots and should use DHCP.
You can not blame Linux if the provider does not give instructions on
how to do things. Say that they only send instractuions for Linux, would
you then claim that Windows is unusable?
I am not a complete illiterate, so I looked how I would do on a Windows
XP. Something I needed help to install, because I could not figure it
out. I will ignore the fact that it claims to have found new hardware
and that I can't install and can't turn of during the booting.
I go to start and then Control Panel. It is about Internet, so I select
Internet Properties. I see something that sets up my Intenet Connection
and that opens a wizzard. I then get some stuff from MSN. That is not
what I need.
I can not firgure it out how to set up my Internet at the Internet
Properties. So clearly Windows is not ready for the enduser.
With Linux it took you 30 minutes. I tried for 30 minutes and have not
seen where I could change my settings. So clearly Linux is better,
because you were able to do it, even though there is an issue with YaST
on your end.
--
houghi Please to not toppost http://houghi.org
>
You tried, and you failed, so the lesson is, never try. - Homer J. Simpson.
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