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On Friday 17 May 2002 7:32 pm, Aaron wrote:
On Fri, 17 May 2002, David Bell wrote:I have boxed editions (with manuals) of SuSE Personal 7.0 and 7.1, Mandrake 8.0, a set of Debian 2.2r3 and Caldera Desktop v2.4 discs destined for the skip ......I was thinking about this..... ..... After all - how many of teh books you see in computer sections of libraries are less than 5 years old?
An interesting muse Aaron. I prefer to buy the boxed versions, being attracted by their appetizing blurb on the outside, and being able to RTFM. However, on the subject of (distro) books, I have found that the latest versions of SuSE (7.1-7.3) contain poorly compiled/written handbooks, particularly the Applications sections, which appear to be written by hackers for the cogniscentii and would deter any average would-be Windows convert. I have recently spent long frustrating hours trying to set up Susefax, K Sendfax and Printfax from the book and ended up having to delete several spurious versions of /etc/printcap.xxx files and reinstall my printer. Still can't fax ...... Perhaps being a cyberkrinklie at 63 has something to do with it :-) As a mere home desktop user building my own boxen I like Linux and use it a lot, having played around with various distros over several years; but could not recommend Linux to a home desktop user without the promise of some loooong term "expert" help at hand on call - and a warning that "off the shelf" applications a la Windows don't exist. However, if that user merely wanted to bash out the odd letter, browse the web, online banking etc. and send e-mails I would strongly recommend Linux - if their PC hardware were compatible. Personally I feel that Linux has a very long way to go before it becomes a real contender against Windows in the home use arena, as long as the instructions/guidance/description of application setting up and configuration continue to be given superficial attention by the various distros. Taking for example my Susefax failure. If I go out and buy Winfax Pro I get a magnificent manual which tells me all I need to know and a shiny CD which installs smoothly and works. Ok it costs, but what use is free/cheap software that is a headache for the (non-technical) user to understand and install/configure themselves? The main distros have come a long way in the past year or so in addressing the ease of installation and its documentation, SuSe v7.3 or Mandrake v8.0 for example are a dream compared with Windows. Saying that, I then find a magnificent collection of programmes/applications - very poorly documented, if at all. No I don't want to go on-line/ buy expensive periodicals and spend hours grubbing around. I want a decent users manual, not the poor glossy offering in the box provided, which I paid for. End of rant. David Bell Hatherleigh -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.