Why Every New Version of Knoppix Don't Work On my PC?

[Cuddles]

To be fair to Knoppix, with the interest of M$ Os's in comparisopn...

I had Win98, it did "ok" on hardware detection, if you think that the OS can "detect" a new piece of hardware, and then allert you of the fact. But it failed on the "install" part of that "detection".

I used Win98 since it came out, still have it on one of my "old" computers, it would boot, and yell about "new hardware found", then go into the "driver loading", burp, and say "I can't find a driver." -=- This kind of practice usually happened when you were using a "Logitec" device, but has since become a M$ hardware issue as well.

I used to have a Logitec trackball, Win98 "knew" it wasn't a "normal" mouse, but would fail in setting anything up other than a "normal" mouse, then I got a M$ Explorer Optical Wheel mouse, which, again, Win98 would realize is not a "normal" mouse, but would fail to do anything about it.

I got used to "having" to use the driver disks, which threw in not only the drivers, but "support" programs, just to use the features of the mouse, like the wheel. I can honestly say, with Knoppix v3.2, and v3.3, I have yet to think about drivers, or install programs for support of these mice. I just booted, and the wheel works fine. Examining Control Center, my mouse appears to be a "normal" mouse though. Yet my wheel works, and I can set different scroll amounts for the wheel.

Only problem I seem to have with Knoppix, is the screen (monitor) sync from any video card I have ever had. All this ever required me to do was to provide a "standard" boot command line when I use the CD -=- boot: knoppix screen=1024x768 vrefresh=60 -=- this has been the hardest thing I have had to deal with, when it came to the CD. It (the CD, and Knoppix) has found everything in my computer, and set it up for me, which is not something I can say for Win98. Just changing a M$ Natural Keyboard to a "standard" one, required removal of the "support" programs and drivers, in Win98. Not so in Knoppix hard drive installed.

Recently I added a second video card in my Knoppix (hard drive installed), and the video worked fine. I had done the same thing in Win98, and that wasn't the greatest amount of fun. The system "still" acts funny when you try and change settings on one of the video cards, and usually causes the next boot to come up in Safe Mode, or throws the system into a "locked" state to just "tweak" the resolution of one of the cards.

Windows works better because most everything comes with driver disks, and support programs, to get them to work in Windows. Whereas, in Knoppix, you are left to deal with it on your own. But, in most cases, the drivers already exist, or are already supported "directly" within the OS.

To be completed fair about the controversy of Linux and Windows. For my mom, I would get her a pre-installed, and configured, Linux or Windows system, and for those, I know, who have installed a hard drive themselves, or can locate the CPU inside there computer case, I would give Linux. From what I have learned about running Knoppix, is the answers to issues are just not {b]given[/b] to you, they aren't just installed, like in Windows, you have to work on them. You have to look for them, and resolve them, mostly yourself, the OS doesn't help you out. In Windows, you install a device, plug in the driver disk, and "most" of the time, it works. In Knoppix, you install something, and if it doesn't work, you find out why, not the OS.

Power of an OS can be measured in many ways, some of them can be in how messed up the system can get to do something, or to install something, or how much work it takes to resolve an issue. This reminds me of a close discussion I had with someone who wanted "power" in a programming language. I told them that Basic was not as powerful as C. In which case they failed to understand, and I had to explain. In Basic you can't create a program that could "eat" your OS, or hard drive, and in C, it is very easy. I told them that in C, you can create a program that points to any location on the system, and just begin writting to it. I told them that I had a few "collegues" that had done just that, accidently pointing to a memory location that was for the hard drive buffer, and began to just load the location with garbage data. After they understood, they happily went back to Basic.

Linux provides more power over the system, than Windows. Being in the "roll out" of Customer Support for Win98, I know that many people can't handle the power of Linux, and should stay with Windows. People had to be "trained" on how to shutdown there computer, "no, you just can't pull the plug, or turn off you computer, anymore..." -=- These people thought you just turn it off, and now you have to perform a "graceful" shutdown. The people I dealt with would actually go out to there "snail" mailbox, when the computer told them "They got mail". (honest)

I could go on, but the truth of the matter is, for some people, they shouldn't have that kind of power, even if they "think" they want it. Some people are "born" Windows users, and others "grow" to either be Linux, or learn to be. I, for that matter, am a "learner", I was easily "blinded" by the beauty of Knoppix, and have since, not regretted the choice to move to it, but have looked at it as a "severe" learning process. Almost every day, I learn something new about it, and welcome the next challenge to "un-hose" my system from something I have done to it. [not happily, I might add, but, I do welcome it ]

Whenever I break something in my Knoppix, I think back to my Win98 days, and begin to reach for my Win98 install CD, only to remember a lot more "hell" with the OS, and "come to my senses", log on to the internet, and view/post here for answers. I am learning, slowly, but then again, having more than ten years of M$'s Windows, it is a different beast to understand the thinking of Linux.

Just my two cents worth,
Cuddles

[Fabianx]

To be fair to Knoppix, with the interest of M$ Os's in comparisopn...

[...]

Just my two cents worth,
Cuddles

Well, I now really miss the possibility to vote for your post. I would rate it a 11 of 10 .

That was a very good and insightful post.

You could post something to slashdot next time we are hitting it .

Thank you,

cu

Fabian

[Cuddles]

Fabianx,

Thank you, I think

I can be "wordy" when I post about what I "feel", but in "The Lounge", I always post what I feel. As for the other Forums, I tend to post "wordy", but with the resolution. It comes from my "years" in phone support, explain, and then explain some more, etc...

( I never realize just how much I have said, until it shows me the completed post, and then, I think, sheesh, did I "really" type that much )

Hopefully, I don't bore anyone, at least

Cuddles