Is Linux soo easy it is boring?

It seems that as Linux has evolved and gotten more fool proof that some of the excitement has gone away. If it "just works" does it start to lose momentum of attracting new folks. For instance; Linux help Forums exist mostly to help people get going with Linux. If new people rarely need any help can these Forums survive?

Since Linux does not have the marketing budget of Apple or Microsoft it has needed word of mouth to grow. If Linux is too easy, will the folks that have promoted it lose interest?

Linux (Suse, at least; I don't have much experience with other distros) has become much easier. I don't think that this would be a detriment to most new users; the folks who haven't tried it yet aren't looking for a challenge, they want something that works. And Linux isn't *quite* there yet. Much better than in the past, but there's still room to improve. Unfortunately, much of what still gives problems is due to legal problems or lack of cooperation from hardware manufacturers, which means there's not much the distros can do about it.

MattB4 wrote:

If Linux is too easy, will the folks that have promoted it lose interest?

Over the last 5 years with each new release I have had less and less fiddling and configuration to do in order to get my system how I want it. As my skills have improved I tend to do things automatically either during install or immediately after, so the impression I get is of a neat slick installation but the reality is I probably still do a lot of tweaking. In the early days it could take me several weeks to get things just right, now it's hours. I definitely believe Linux is getting better but then again so am I. New user/adopters satisfaction would probably be a better indicator of where Linux is headed. With the proliferation of Linux based personal devices 5 years from now Linux will be mainstream, maybe even sooner. Why would a device manufacturer pay MS $30 for a license for Windows 7 mobile, when they can install Linux and take the $30 for themselves?

Over the years I have noticed some distros stopped getting easier and started the reverse. Things that had gotten easy were becoming harder again. Ubuntu although claiming to be user friendly is more user dumb as it takes all the hard work out leaving the user clueless when it breaks.
It can be hard to get the right balance.
If you install via the terminal or a gui usually the same result but if the gui fails the user who knows how to use the terminal isn't going to panic. So finding a balance that makes a distro easy can be detrimental in some respects!

How have you been, Tux?

The computer field has changed quite a bit in the last couple of years. So much so I have not kept up with the new processors and other hardware stuff.

Great thanks mate,
just re-trying suse
added kde 4.6.0 to test against some issues I had (no change with that!) but fairly painless to update to a newer version.

But on my new gpu - radeon HD 6790 all seems good

Most users just want a good working, trouble free O/S. they just install and use. I have found openSUSE to be your best bet yet, however Murphy's law dictates that a problem will occur exactly when you can lest afford it. Everyone I have talked to is afraid of Linux but so far it seems the only thing I haven't been able to do is play wmv. files. I like it!

My daughter is on the old XP machine applying for a job interview when she finds she has down loaded something else and panics. With no time to fool with it, I booted with a live Knoppix dvd and she was able to finish then my son took the time to restore it. She was a little skeptical at first but was pleasantly surprised at the way it looked and felt. (she didn't use her lap top because she had down loaded the same problem with it) Never learn.

findoctr wrote:

Most users just want a good working, trouble free O/S. they just install and use. I have found openSUSE to be your best bet yet, however Murphy's law dictates that a problem will occur exactly when you can lest afford it. Everyone I have talked to is afraid of Linux but so far it seems the only thing I haven't been able to do is play wmv. files. I like it!

My daughter is on the old XP machine applying for a job interview when she finds she has down loaded something else and panics. With no time to fool with it, I booted with a live Knoppix dvd and she was able to finish then my son took the time to restore it. She was a little skeptical at first but was pleasantly surprised at the way it looked and felt. (she didn't use her lap top because she had down loaded the same problem with it) Never learn.

Playing wmv. files is easy, just use vlc or dragonplayer. Be sure that all your media codecs are installed first

Speaking of Knoppix, iPod Nano users like me have an issue where if you download a podcast from iTuneU (university), there is no way to remove it with iTunes, unless you totally sync the iPod (bad idea).
I booted the Knoppix 6.5 DVD, plugged in the iPod Nano, opened it in file manager like a mass storage device, went into the iPod Control folder to Music, found the iTunesU files bey listening to samples in Knoppix's MPlayer, and deleted them, thus freeing up valuable space. All it leaves is an empty title header on the device, no biggie.
Linux may be getting easier, but it is still an awesome base with amazing tools such as Knoppix.

As far as I can see, now linux has even surpased both windoze and mac, ease of use, ease of installation, stability, light on the hardware... etc.

I see no reason for anyone not to ditch windoze for linux.

In regards to the hardware / drivers problems, simply users buy a new machine every few years (anyone have statistics or documented refference?) So, a user should simply check the hadware compatibility list and select a supported hardware before buying, he does something similar anyway when he surfs the net to compare features, power and prices.

On the other hand, despite the marketing power windoze and apple have, AFAIK linux users growth rate is much higher than the others, higher than growth rate of new computer sales, higher than population growth rate (I'm speaking roughly, refferencing anyone?)

So I beleive it is just a matter of time. It can be even better if different distros join forces to promote linux not a specific distro, to get it pre installed on machines on the market, this was the simple unfair trick that enabled Micro**t to exist initially. Beleive it or not, I've seen some shops selling brand name laptops with suse preinstalled and introduced to the unknowing buyer (and unknowing seller I think) as a German Windows . and they did well... it is just sychological barrier in the first (and last) place.

German Windows! That;s great!

Unfortunately yes, it indicates 2 important things and can give linux guys clues
1- How its all psychological with windoze (why bother to change if it to some extent works, the fear of the unknown)
2- Linux can easily replace windoze fully (nobody would by a machine that won't play all multimedia and has office... etc. the same as windoze)

I believe that preinstalled systems will break the barrier and sweep out M$, you know it is guaranteed and you can return it and get refund if it "does not work" plus the same hardware would be about 300 USD cheaper than with windoze preinstalled (the price of windoze)

This way buyers will find incentive to try, then love linux. I hope I'll live to see that linux is the default and standard, at least I know then that my kids will have a better life.

Freshmeadow wrote:

Speaking of Knoppix, ..... but it is still an awesome base with amazing tools such as Knoppix.

Hi Freshmeadow, Just out of curiosity, would you recommend to try Knopix? how is it compared to others in practical use?

Hi Freshmeadow, Just out of curiosity, would you recommend to try Knopix? how is it compared to others in practical use?[/quote]

Yes. I recommend downloading the latest DVD iso, it has all of Klaus Knopper's new packages and a utility to easily make a live Knoppix bootable USB stick. Knoppix is used heavily to rescue broken Windows (and Linux) systems. It also has a full suite of apps such as office apps, a music player, etc. It is based on Debian. It is not meant ot be installed, it is designed to be a live system.
Let us know if you try it.

The bootable Knoppix USB version sounds interesting. I have not played with Knoppix since version 3.1 came out. Looking at the disk I see the release date is Oct. 23, 2002. Practically yesterday!

Knoppix 6.5 on a stick works great. Press F3 at the boot prompt to get a summary of cheat codes. Use "Knoppix desktop=xxx" to select your favourite desktop environment or "Knoppix xmodule=yyy" to select your video driver. Use multiple cheat codes to configure your system from the get-go. Use persistent memory to remember all your configuration settings (useful if you tend to use knoppix on a specific system only). Of course the biggest advantage of running off a stick is that your CD/DVD is available.

winxp-escapee - Knoppix is brilliant, isn't it? It introduced me to Linux in 2006 with version 4.something. It is now better than ever.
Another good cheat code if your machine is older or your ram is low is "knoppix no3d". It turns off 3d effects to speed Knoppix up.
Cheers!

I'm afraid I'll end up consuming my hard disk with tons of virtual machines!
I think I should concentrate only on distros that has a rolling release...
I think I'm insane! looking for a rolling release to avoid reinstalling and doing all the hassles ... but same time... I'm backing all my data on an external hard disk and keep installing new different distros on the machine every now and then...

Thinking out loud... maybe I should make a partition on my hard disk to dualboot distros I want to experiment with while keeping the main partition for work purposes.

Thinking out loud... maybe I should make a partition on my hard disk to dualboot distros I want to experiment with while keeping the main partition for work purposes. [/quote]


That is an excellent idea. That is what I use USB sticks for with my netbook, thereby leaving the main system unmolested!

Neither really. When it works it's great, but it can be cranky as well. I suppose people with programming and or hacking skills have no problems, but if things go wrong, a neophyte will quickly return to Windows, or OSx.

This is my second year of playing around with Linux, and have to confess that working in command mode is still a mystery to me. But when it works, it's a thing of beauty. There are times though when an update kills a welll running system, and I have yet to learn how to backtrack. At those times I sorely miss this Windows feature.

As for being boring, maybe to those who like to experiment, and tinker with the system, but for me Linux is just a tool that permits me to do what I am really interested in. And it excells at that.