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Why are people afraid of Linux?


hokah
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I think it is going to have to improve sometime in the future for its use to become more mainstream with the zillions of non-technical users. In the meantime, its growth in the desktop market will not be as great as it should be.

 

RVDowning (and iphitus):

It is the hardware manufacturers' fault that there is poor hardware support in Linux. Period. They provide their drivers for Windows because they can keep the code secret. The software that may be specialied for your uses is not there because there is not enough demand for it. Linux can't fix that....having more Linux users that refuse to buy hardware or software unless it runs on Linux is the key.

 

And for all this mumbojumbo that keeps getting spouted about Mandriva being dated (iphitus :P) is that Mandriva tries to be the stable distro. As fast as software gets updated in the OSS world, Mandriva's stable product becomes 'dated' quickly. If you'd rather have the fancy shiny new developmental software/drivers, go for another distro....but stop complaining that Mandriva doesn't do something they have never done and openly say they won't.

You want to see 'dated'? Install Debian 'stable'....sheesh....

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It's unfortunate that you're experiencing these problems. However, think of it another way. I've had problems with Windows XP and my sound card. Now, it's just an onboard AC97 sound card. Sound was working, then suddenly one day it stopped.

 

I removed the drivers, I rebooted, I reinstalled them again. Sound not working still. So I thought, bugger, sound card is knackered. Ran knoppix which is a Linux Live CD, and guess what? Sound was working perfectly fine!!!!!

 

So, how could I fix it in Windows? I couldn't. I even went to the extremes of a clean install of XP and yep, you guessed it, still didn't work!

 

At least with Linux, you have the command line to do far more than what a GUI can do. Windows has one, but doesn't allow you to fix hardware issues with it, like Linux does! Linux also has a GUI for configuring and fixing issues. But sometimes, you need to use the command line to sort your problems out.

 

I too have wireless, I use ndiswrapper with it. Mandriva can configure it in the GUI, but when you reboot, it stops working. I have to go into the wireless config, view the connection and reset it. How did I fix doing this? I went to the command line, checked my config files, made a few alterations, rebooted, and hey, my wireless is completely stable now!

 

With Windows, all you've got is to install the driver. And if you're unlucky, it won't work no matter what you try, and you've got no other option but "Device Manager" :P

 

The problem you're having is because you're not adversed with the command line. This comes with time, and soon you'll find that you'll enjoy it far more, and at least be able to fix more things than you could with Windows.

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why are people afraid?

the answer is simple. too much crap to write in the console. what use is a computer if its devices dont work?

im pissed cause im having my own problems with kernels and what not

Simply having a console is no real reason to be afraid.

Most anything can be done without a console but when you are ina forum the console is usually the most efficient way to fix something because its consistent and the person being helped can type exactly what someone posts. In the same way information can be gathered more efficiently from a console in a way that is easily posted.

 

In linux there is nothing you can't do from a console but 90%+ can also be done with a GUI...

The console is a safety net that allows even the most complex problems to be solved efficiently whereas in XP the power of the console to fix things is very much limited.

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Strange you are saying that ianw1974!

 

My dual-boot PC has really crappy sound with AC97 and XP, it constantly buzzes and whizzes out of the speaker. No recording is free of self-generated noises. It makes especially loud noises when the mouse is moved, etc. etc. Every recording is crap, just total crap and useless.

 

However in mdk 2005 the same onboard AC97 (Win-) soundcard works just perfectly! That is the main reason why I use it in mdk2005 with Audiacity as a tool for recordings, and some of them are included within the mostly-used packages running on our own computers right now.

 

Hardware problems have not really been a issue on my box at all! I always followed general advice to prefer HP psc devices, NVIDIA video cards, and generally to stay away from Win-xxx crap. Never had compatibility problems since, except for recognition problems of my antique 1989(!) parallel port HP Deskjet-PLUS printer.

 

I think many folks have a problem even considering Linux because the shops are full of software for Wind-Blows. You don't see them selling Linux. People fear they will never get the pdf-creator for Wind-Blows working on a Linux box, not to talk about WinZip. the AcrobatReader or MS-Office. They don't understand what is included in Linux or BSD for that matter, and because it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, it certainly can not be worth anything either! Thats how most people think!

 

As an example: A neighbour had one chair too many and put it in front of the house with a sign attached "free for taking". Nobody took it. Some days later the sign was replaced with "Sale, only one Euro!". The chair was sold the same day.

"Free stuff can not be worth anything!", thats what people think.

 

Helmut.

Edited by Helmut
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People are (still) afraid because they are not accustomed to doing anything!

 

There are as many service problems with xp as there are in linux. With windows, users have been "trained" to reinstall drivers, os, whatever, in order to fix anything. Linux does not require a reinstall, but people are afraid when they are told not to reinstall. Hardware manufacturers have to big enough to take on Microsoft in order to openly support linux. Most people are totally ignorant of that business fact.

 

The returns of computers at retailers are 90% good computers and 100% user ignorance, some even unsure of how to even turn a computer on. People do not expect to have to "do" anything. They grew up watching Stargate and the 17th version of Star Trek and they think computers just "do". Even knowledgable users say that "it should just work." Bunk.

 

I have been dual booting for years. The only reason my windows computer works is because I don't use it much and I had to dig thru the MS white pages for fixes. That's right. If you want to fix your windows computer, you have to read and dig. The fixes are there (most of the time) with the famous "reinstall" as the final option on most of them.

 

The bottom line is, if everything in reality is equal, why are people still afraid? Marketing. MARKETING. MaRkEtInG. mArKeTiNg. I don't know how else to say it. Windows has a marketed image. It is false, of course, but then that is the function of marketing, to create an image of the product. And Microsoft is good at marketing; linux simply is not.

 

Example: I was at Best Buy yesterday. At the os shelf, there were 3 empty shelves for xp home/professional. On the bottom shelve, barely visable, was one lone box of SuSE. Brand new, kde 3.5, OO 2, latest release, less than half the price of xp rubbish and virtually invisible on the bottom shelf.

 

Marketing.

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I agree, marketing is the key. And it seems that Linux has no marketing scheme besides word of mouth of its users. Then when someone is thinking about trying Linux, they have so many choices they are overwhelmed, imho. First you have to pick a distro, then a DE and so forth. While microsoft and apple both say here you go.

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