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" <
vodhner@cox.net>
To: <
plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>
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
>
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