I like SuSe. It's the closest thing I've seen to plug and play, and you can still get "under the hood" if you choose. Frank ----- Original Message ----- From: "Victor Odhner" To: Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 9:22 AM Subject: Linux for Users > In the "fixing Firefox" thread, Eric Bixby wrote: > > Sorry. Somehow, I got it in my head that the > > problem was the executable, itself... If it's > > your profile, I'll have to defer to someone > > who's spent more time horsing around with > > such things. :) > > On a similar thread, Craig White wrote: > > It is how we deal with that lack of knowledge that > > differentiates us. > > > > I would suggest reading the book 'Zen and the Art > > of Motorcycle Maintenance' as it covers this subject > > rather thoroughly. > > > > Basically, you have to make a decision on what type > > of user you wish to be... > > This is a wake-up call for me. > > I'm an experienced Unix developer. By day, and > sometimes into the evening, I am mired down in > something over two million lines of complex C code, > performing diagnosis and remediation, and > participating in all sorts of talk on system > architecture. Building a release of this software > is a black art. Starting it up, shutting it down > and controlling the debug tools is a whole specialty > in itself. > > At work, I also use a Windows XP desktop where I can > just install new apps and have them right there at > my fingertips without diverting my attention from > my main task. This is just a tool. I use it. > > By night, I would like to use Linux. But my "parts > is parts" view of the *nix world leads me to want to > just plug things in and configure them. It also > makes me want to install distribution "A" here, and > "B" there, and be able to experiment with each > without effectively reverting to my day job. > > Frankly, until Craig's comment, I was going on the > very naive assumption that there was some level of > commonality and cooperation among the user interface > efforts in the Linux world. Thinking back, I remember > all these discussions about the various distros and > window managers, but failed to get deeply enough into > them to realize that each of them is *exactly* like > my day job: you have to pick your distro and then > become a wizard at it. The Windows world is what it > is because of standardization: Even if an app is > Free Software, its Windows version is likely to just > plug and play, because it is installed into a known > environment. > > My son is a Unix administrator and security guru. > At home, he loves his highest-end Mac with OS X > because he never has to lift the hood -- it just > works. He doesn't have to *work* at home, he can > just play with his pictures and music and gaming > systems, and focus his technical attention on those > areas. > > So, I'm beginning to get it. If I just want to be > a Linux *user*, not a Linux *hacker*, then I must > choose a distro and make it my home. > > What is the closest thing, in the Linux world, to a > distro that just works, where new releases of apps > are available promptly and just fall into place? > I'm enough of a hacker to get the results I want > in specific cases, and to build special tools to > do non-standard things; but I don't want every > install, and every update, to become that kind of > exercise. > > I'm sure that Linspire would *not* suit me. Maybe > Gentoo, which I've been thinking about, is more on > target. I'm not in a hurry, I can wait for things > to compile while I'm off at work ... > > ... speaking of which, it's time to make the donuts. > > Thanks, > > Vic > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss