on Wed, Jan 22, 2003 at 01:05:28PM -0600, Jamin W. Collins ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 22, 2003 at 12:40:17PM -0500, Hal Vaughan wrote:
>
> > My point was how Mandrake is focused on making everything as easy as
> > possible to install and use -- so it's possible for the "average
> > Joe" to go to Best Buy, or any other store that sells Mandrake, buy
> > a box, take it home, install it quickly and easily, and sit down and
> > do something productive, like writing, or working with Gimp, or any
> > of a million other things people use computers to do so they can
> > make a living -- or any of a million other things people do for
> > hobbies.
> >
> > This is NOT one of Debian's strengths.
>
> Should it be? I can understand a desire to ease the installation
> process. However, I for one feel it is tremendously benificial for a
> user to understand how their system works. That is of course, unless
> they are not the one maintaining it. In which case, I don't feel they
> should be the one configuring it.
What's your comparison base.
I'm talking about the 80% of computer users
...who never change their default display resolution...because it's
too complex.
...for whom "the Internet" is the MSIE icon. And if it vanishes
from the desktop, "I've deleted the Internet".
...for whom MS Windows shortcut keys -- <windows>-E for Explorer,
<windows>-R for run dialog -- are a mystery. The topic of the group
meeting I attended was "Putting the Windows Key To Work". Copious
notes were being taken, I kid you not:
http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=57658381-311E-43FE-8FE0-E0351C5EA67B
...for whom managing file associations (what application opens when
I click on a *.jpg file) is a black art.
I strongly suspect that at least some of the confusion is the result of
the environment. Legacy MS Windows *doesn't* let you know what's going
on, it *does* change arbitrarially between versions, and often a given
system will change its behavior unexpectedly, for unknown reasons. But
there is also a large class of people for whom the computer is something
to be feared.
I suspect that the logical consistancy of GNU/Linux _may_ help it
somewhat. Though there are more visible parts, they fit together more
logically, and don't (generally) contradict one another.
> > I wonder -- are the people that start with Debian people who are new
> > to Linux, but used to Unix or sys admin/programming on other systems,
> > or are they just at the "user" (or just above) level?
>
> Many of the people I've introduced to Debian are new to Linux in
> general.
...but are or are not otherwise experienced computer users?
There's a *vast* range of experience and expertise levels out there.
Peace.
--
Karsten M. Self <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?
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