On 1/24/07, Herbert Graf wrote: > On Wed, 2007-01-24 at 14:36 -0500, David VanHorn wrote: > > > > > > > > > Now, is Linux ready for the "normal" user? Nope. It still is something > > > that sometimes needs tweaking at the command line, and that's beyond the > > > majority of the computing public. > > > > > > Have you tried Ubuntu? > > I just installed it, and the process was far LESS involved then installing > > XP on the same machine. > > Even my networked color laser was able to be installed with drivers already > > on their disk. > > Apps are installed from a menu, and it's completely seamless. > > Yes, most linux distros these days are very seemless from an install and > "staying in the borders" point of view. > > However, with every linux distro I've seen, eventually the user is lead > to the command line for something. > > Take firefox and Java. Many (most?) distros include firefox, but not > Java. If you want java for firefox you go to Sun's site. There is an > "installer". You download it, and run it, and it "installs" a bunch of > stuff. If your distro is set up correctly you wouldn't have had to do > anything at the command line, yet. > Java is a special case because the distributions haven't been able to package it as they'd like due to Sun's licensing. The latest version of Java is GPL so this problem should soon be history. Every year it is said "next year is the year of the Linux desktop." But I've used Linux exclusively on my desktop for eight years. I guess everyone has a different idea of what "desktop" means. I will say I've seen it get better and better for ease-of-installation and hardware support. I'm typing on a MacBook now. It's nice, but I'm going to put Linux on it because that's more productive for me. Regards, Mark markrages@gmail -- You think that it is a secret, but it never has been one. - fortune cookie -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist