View Poll Results: anybody else frustrated?

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Thread: ABOUT TO GIVE UP!!!!!

  1. #1
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    ABOUT TO GIVE UP!!!!!

    okay for 2 weeks i have been desperately trying to use knoppix. i love the look and feel and all the custumizations etc. i can fianally see why microsoft has the monopoly. this just does not work! i try to watch a dvd and it tells me i can't even though i installed a dvd player. i try to burn a cd it says i can't i don't have permission! permission from who???? this is my f**king computer you stupid f**king b*stards. so i calm down and go to the forums for help and get nice directions like: type blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. where the f**k am i supposed to do this!!!???? man i'll tell you as much as i hate windows and that stupid b*stard bill gates i can see why he has the market share and why everybody uses windows.
    1) if you download a program you simply install it and it does what it says, you don't have to do 4 hours of research to try to figure out how to install it by typing some b*llshit to god knows where. just click and install.
    2)then once installed you just click on it an viola you can actually run that program!! amazing!
    3)you don't have to go to college to learn how to do anything as it is all pretty self explanitory.

    the funniest thing about all this is: i am a computer tech by profession, i make a living building, selling, and repairing computers. there is very little i cannot do in windows, all from hands on experience. i rarely have to look up how to do something in windows, but if i want to anything in linux i have to spend hours looking for the answer. and all i ever find is some dude (or dudette) saying it is simple really just type _____ ___ _ ___ and that will do it. okay dude (or dudettet) wherre the f**ck do i type that. just anywhere and linux will magically know what i mean???!!!! wtf. i appreciate all the people who try to help, but come one man try to remember if we knew where to type this crap we wouldn't be asking! you guys who use linux all the time have to remember we don't but we want to the linux movement cannot continue without new users and frankly if we can't figure it out we will go back to what is easy to use and works: windows.
    i am so sorry but i am so pissed off that i cannot burn a cd or watch a movie, unless i go into windows where i have no problem
    my favorite thing though is when MY computer tells me i don't have permission or the rights do something. let me tell you something you stupid sh*t this is my computer i'll do whatever i want. if it means i have to use windows so be it.
    if i am having this much trouble imagine the poor sods who are fooled into thinking they can buy a better os than windows spend all their money to order a nice cd set with a HUGE book only to find they still can't do anything with their computer.
    i am so frustrated yet i still want to use linux on my computer!
    wanting to vent
    thanks
    pat

  2. #2
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    Frustrated only by idiot posts like this one..

  3. #3
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    okay for 2 weeks i have been desperately trying to use knoppix.
    Your joined date indicates that you joined today with a total post count of 1. Did you ask for Knoppix help in these Knoppix forums? If so what name did you use and please show me where you asked for help.
    i love the look and feel and all the custumizations etc. i can fianally see why microsoft has the monopoly. this just does not work! i try to watch a dvd and it tells me i can't even though i installed a dvd player.
    Playing DVDs in Linux is tricky because of the media & movie industry and the US Government. According to the DMCA act viewing a DVD on an unauthorized system, your PC with Linux, is in violation of the media companies rights because in order to view it, it must first be decrypted & this decryption is illegal (according to the US Govt). Thus every person who want to view a DVD legally must use a licensed & approved DVD player software. Such software is only commerical and proprietary and is not open source or free (as in freedom or as in $$$) for redistribution. Of the free & open source programs that can play DVDs on Linux, practically ALL of them are illegal. If a reseller or company were to bundle these free & open source DVD players with their version of Linux without first getting a license or permission, they would be liable for violating the DMCA and/or copyright laws. So, in order to skirt the yes-it-is-legal-outside-USA no-its-not-legal-in-USA issues, most Linux distributors do not include DVD playback in their systems. I should ALL this headaches & problems on the media/movie industry and the Congressmen whom have their pockets lined with ill gotten gains. Think about it logically. You mention that you should be able to do ANYTHING you want with YOUR PC. But the US Govt & the movies industry says you can't. Also note that MS or Apple specific things like Windows Media or iTunes or quicktime are completely controlled my those companies. Those companies & the US Govt don't want us to view a DVD or to watch a quicktime trailer on whatevery system we want. They want and are controlling how we access products like DVDs that we have already paid for. How then is this the fault of a Linux program or a Linux CD like Knoppix?

    i try to burn a cd it says i can't i don't have permission! permission from who???? this is my f**king computer you stupid f**king b*stards. so i calm down and go to the forums for help and get nice directions like: type blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. where the f**k am i supposed to do this!!!????
    Permissions may be holding you back and yes it sucks. But please indicate where you asked for help. Again, you have a total post count of 1 here at Knoppix.net.

    Permissions are at the heart of both Windows & Linux. In windows, typically the default installed user is also the administrator. In effect they are GOD of their own PC. This at first glance appears to be a sound & rational policy. It is however a dangerous policy. All it takes is some clueless user to click on a Nak3d Chx0rs spam email or M0rtgage Rate$ ad and now they become infected with viruses, adware, spyware etc. Perhaps if they were not running as administrator then the malware would not be able to exploit the user as a source of infection.

    In Linux, the default user is NOT administrator (called root). The non-root user has many read-only permissions to devices, paths in the filesystem while the root user is again GOD of the box. So in order to provide good security while at the same time allowing users to access certain hardware devices or run possibly dangerous programs, the concept of groups come into play. If a user is a member of the cdrw group then they can burn CDs. If the user is a member of the game group, then they can play games. It should be fairly obvious that this type or priviledge separation is usefull but can be real annoying. The question remains: Should the user of a Linux box be root or GOD all the time so that he can access all devices & files without running into permissions problems? Many people believe that the user should not run as root by default and that you should only use administrative powers when it is necessary in order to uphold the security & stability of the box.


    man i'll tell you as much as i hate windows and that stupid b*stard bill gates i can see why he has the market share and why everybody uses windows.
    Everyone uses windows because Micrsoft used anticompetitive tactics for over 15 years in order to get to be #1 & to stay #1. In a free market system anticompetitive tactics are simply wrong and in most cases illegal. That didn't stop them. Nor did them being tried & found guilty of being a an illegal monopoly.

    1) if you download a program you simply install it and it does what it says, you don't have to do 4 hours of research to try to figure out how to install it by typing some b*llshit to god knows where. just click and install.
    2)then once installed you just click on it an viola you can actually run that program!! amazing!
    3)you don't have to go to college to learn how to do anything as it is all pretty self explanitory.
    When running windows you will most likely have the programs: AIM, WinAmp, Acrobat, WinZip, MS Office, Nero, iTunes, etc. All these programs come from different vendors. First time install of those programs is quite easy: Visit each site OR insert CD. Then click, install, click, install. Now how would you go about updating those programs? First check what version of AIM or WinAMP you have. Then visit each site. Then download, Then click, install, click, install. This process seems pretty simple and quite intuitive but fails if you have many differnet programs installed.

    Every Linux system uses a concept of a software package management system. This manager keeps a log of all the programs installed on your system, keeps a listing of all programs NOT installed on your system, and easily identifies upgradable programs. This sounds similar to windowsupdate.microsoft.com but it way wider in scope (not just MS programs). A linux user MUST be familiar with the package manager in order to install software. There are usually two methods of manipulating the package system: either by command line or by a GUI utility. Unless you need to install, remove, & update loads of programs at once, the command line utility is usually quicker but obviously not as friendly. So in knoppix you want to install a DOS emulator so you can play an old DOS game. A Google search for: DOS program run on linux. One of the links is to DOSBox - A DOS Emulator http://users.netwit.net.au/~pursang/dosbox.html. So then I go to http://packages.debian.org and search for DOSbox under ANY and I discover that it is in the Debian package management system. So to install DOSBox on Knoppix 3.8.x (assuming the network is properly configured & the machine can access the internet) is as simple running two commands:
    Code:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install dosbox
    The first commands refreshes the lastest package info from the package servers. Then second command tells the system to install dosbox. It will download, decompress, and setup it up for you. The total download size start to finish is about 10MB.

    If this is too much command line mumbo-jumbo, then I agree. That is why GUI tools were made to allow easy access to the package management system. Run the program synaptic or kpackage. Do a FIND or CTRL-F. Type dosbox. It will find the package. Click apply and it will download, decompress, and set it up for you. Once you understand that software installation in Linux is different, then you will realize that it is frequently just as simple as windows.

    the funniest thing about all this is: i am a computer tech by profession, i make a living building, selling, and repairing computers. there is very little i cannot do in windows, all from hands on experience. i rarely have to look up how to do something in windows, but if i want to anything in linux i have to spend hours looking for the answer.
    Tell me how many years you have been working with PCs. How many installs of windows have you done? How many cool registry hacks so you know? People have spent YEARS in windows & slowly learning learning the in's & outs so that living with a MS OS comes naturally. However no one realizes that over the years that THEY HAVE SPENT TIME TO LEARN WINDOWS.

    I myself have spent years learning windows & I started with Red Hat 4.x in 1996. I read the install guide & I ended up blowing away my fat16 partition & nuked win95. Did I blame Linux? No because I knew that I had not backed up my data or took the time to learn what I was doing. Duh! I should have invested the time to goof proof the install and backup my programming homework. I was a noobie then and you are a noobie now. I just wish that somehow we could have Linux Gurus to "Adopt a Noobie" whereby they get access to someone to coach/teach them through the rough spots.

    and all i ever find is some dude (or dudette) saying it is simple really just type _____ ___ _ ___ and that will do it. okay dude (or dudettet) wherre the f**ck do i type that. just anywhere and linux will magically know what i mean???!!!! wtf. i appreciate all the people who try to help, but come one man try to remember if we knew where to type this crap we wouldn't be asking! you guys who use linux all the time have to remember we don't but we want to the linux movement cannot continue without new users and frankly if we can't figure it out we will go back to what is easy to use and works: windows.
    You yourself must remember that as a computer professional, tech support comes in all levels of quality and guidance. They failed to meet you at your level & that sucks. However thier failure is only their own. Many of us here at the Knoppix.net forums pride ourselves in putting out best foot forward.

    i am so sorry but i am so pissed off that i cannot burn a cd or watch a movie, unless i go into windows where i have no problem
    my favorite thing though is when MY computer tells me i don't have permission or the rights do something. let me tell you something you stupid sh*t this is my computer i'll do whatever i want. if it means i have to use windows so be it.
    Realize that running MS Windows may enable you to get certain tasks done but you do those tasks with the unwritten permission of MS. If a company doesn't want you to do something, then they will prevent it. One such occurance is the ipod & itunes. Once you put an mp3 into the ipod via itunes, you can't get it out and back on to another PC. **EDIT** A plugin for winamp that can bypass itunes was just announcedhttp://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0...tml?tw=rss.TOP. It is a form of control, a small one, but still Apple is dictating how you can use an ipod.

    Free Software & Open Source software are all about the freedoms to use, view, edit, create without a form of control or needing permission. Most of us don't like being controlled so we value our freedoms and we look for an alternative to MS and right now that alternative is Linux.

    if i am having this much trouble imagine the poor sods who are fooled into thinking they can buy a better os than windows spend all their money to order a nice cd set with a HUGE book only to find they still can't do anything with their computer.
    Many of the boxed/retail Linux sets come with nice user friendly graphical apps & experiences. They also come with some form of support. Knoppix is a Linux CD that is free as in freedom to use/redistribute and free as in $$$. It comes with no support. If you want an easier Linux experience then you must either be willing to learn and be satisfied with free online support via forums or be willing to put up some cash and get professional support. Linux distributions such as Linspire & Xandros are for cash & designed for non-technical users who want the support and backing of a company. RedHat & Novell/Suse are big professional for cash Linux distributions that tend to NOT cater toward the non-technical user but they do have support if you want it. Then there are volunteer community based Linux distributions like Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, Fedora that are all free $$$ but do not have any for cash support.


    i am so frustrated yet i still want to use linux on my computer!
    Be prepared to read & learn or be prepared to put up some bucks. I, like everyone else, am not gifted with instant Linux or Windows knowledge. It came with a price, and that price is years of learning & experimenting.

  4. #4
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    Nice reply, UnderScore.

    Two points to address knoppixtryer's gripes:
    1. Go read the "Installing Multimedia Apps with DVD support" section of this Debian installation guide and it'll tell you how to install and configure multimedia support, including support for watching DVDs, with very little effort.
    2. If you start K3b (KDE's CD/DVD-burning utility), and click on Settings > K3b Setup, and read the explanation in the left-hand pane, you'll see how to let K3b set permissions correctly for you.

    If you're going to use Linux, you'd better get used to reading all the documentation you can find, going to applications' web sites, asking questions on forums, and using Google to find answers.

    Quote Originally Posted by UnderScore
    Everyone uses windows because Micrsoft used anticompetitive tactics for over 15 years in order to get to be #1 & to stay #1. In a free market system anticompetitive tactics are simply wrong and in most cases illegal. That didn't stop them. Nor did them being tried & found guilty of being a an illegal monopoly.
    It's not just that Microsoft's a monopoly. It's not just that that they use bullying marketing tactics to gain and keep market share, like spreading FUD, and blowing smoke up peoples' asses about "innovation" when said "innovation" really is meant to lock people into using Windows. Or... (add your criticism here...)

    It's that our entire economy, supported by the government and our laws, is set up to follow and encourage a "create a product; patent/trademark it so no one else can legally copy it without paying you; sell it to the world; and profit" paradigm.

    (No, I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with that; it's worked quite well, albeit with many excesses. No, I'm not a proponent of communism. But there is no such thing as a "free market system", here or anywhere else in the world. [Not that a pure "free market system" would be better than what we have now, but that's another story.])

    And so you see US government agents going to other countries and, as a matter of national policy, encouraging them to use Microsoft software over open-source software, even though it might be to other countries' economic benefit to use open-source software.

    Point is, Microsoft's success is not just due to the fact that Microsoft is a monopoly, it's that the entire system is set up to push and reward the Microsofts.

    What's different here is that computer software isn't like durable goods, such as cars, although Microsoft and its backers keep trying to sell it like it is. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the combination of brilliant programmers willing to band together to create open-source software, license it under the GNU GPL, and give it away for free, is an example of a disruptive technology which scares the hell out of Microsoft.

    For a much better-articulated take on this, see Neal Stephenson's somewhat dated, but still excellent 1999 essay, In the Beginning was the Command Line.

    My personal frustration with Linux is that, as it is largely a non-profit, volunteer effort, its documentation is often somewhat lacking, especially in comparison to Windows. (There's the flip side of the coin.) There is less incentive for people to write documentation when there's no money in it, especially when what they'd rather be writing code. And the documentation that does exist is often outdated, since Linux is a fast-moving target.

    Fortunately, as Linux becomes more popular, there's a bigger body of books written about it. Red Hat/Fedora Core, especially. So, if you want to learn how to use Linux, perhaps the best way to start would be by buying a Fedora Core book/CD combo, or a book on SuSE, or Mandriva, using it for a while, and then switching to something more complicated/less well-documented like a Debian-based distro.

  5. #5
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    Hey Knoppixtryer,

    I'm also a computer consultant, a software and (hopefully soon to be former) Windows developer and have been for 20+ years. The two above posts are more thorough and helpful than anything I ever got from M$oft's technical support (even when M$oft was my client!) in all those years. Pretty darn good for free IMHO.

    Knoppix is a great distro, Linux is a great OS and Open Source software is the biggest breath of fresh air this industry has seen in decades. Learning Linux isn't a walk in the park, but it isn't that hard either. As a noobie, google and these forums are your best source of information. If you're smart enough to edit a config file (and I'm sure you are) you can lick this thing, it just takes time.

    I was just as frustrated as you, but with the help of many of the folks here I'm running Kanotix almost 100% of the time and all my hardware is working.

    It just takes time and a bit more effort. I hope you stick with it, I think you'll be glad you did!

  6. #6
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    ABOUT TO GIVE UP!!!!!... Spend more time!

    I vote Yes because as you, I found Linux sometimes Frustating, but the more I learn, I realize the little control i have over my old OS (win). Win was always my deafult plataform, I tested OS/2 sometimes when de version 3.0 make a great impact and at one moment several distros of linux (one which are nine CD and already are using as decoration on my library) even knoppix 3.2 or 3.3, but never change my main OS (excep of course new upgrades of Win ).

    1) if you download a program you simply install it and it does what it says, you don't have to do 4 hours of research to try to figure out how to install it by typing some b*llshit to god knows where. just click and install.
    2)then once installed you just click on it an viola you can actually run that program!! amazing!
    3)you don't have to go to college to learn how to do anything as it is all pretty self explanitory.
    1- with the sistem APT-GET/DPKG & Klik it's really easy get software comparing with other distros. (Heck even Win didn't have a hell of database for software you'll need)
    2- it's the same (unless for me)
    3- Something I really apreciated (and sometimes despise for the large of the files) is the READMEs and DOCs you find on the programs, one can download for linux.

    Like the people on the post says learn the 'tricks', 'quirks' of a OS take time, Windows to me is very simple but for my father or girlfriend that are currently taking classes to learn about Windows itself, WWW and Word processing, one discovers that is not that easy...so why is so easy? Because i always used it ... school, home. work...

    At the end of the last year very tired with the patchs from Windows for security I tested again Knoppix 3.7. Frustated? Yes. Confused? Of course. Lost? Like my father looking for the mouse cursor. I have already decided give it a valid try which of course let me with a system on my computer with I've to admited didn't know really how it works (hey i do things easily now but every day reading info on Linux, is new info that I didn't know). If you give it a serious try, I tell you for experience that you'll find a great and customize OS.

    If you make questions (that already not mentioned on older posts and you cand find yourself) like UnderScore there is a bunch of people on this forum that will make you ask yourself...Is this a forum or a support system. I read this forum for new info and once or twice i go to old posts and discovers great tricks or speedups for my system.

    The time you think is lost because of the reading is time you'll recover quicky, why? It's simple, for me learning a tiny bit here a tiny bit there helped me to understand other things that at first when i read them make me yell and like i posted one time kill the people telling me is easy . I'm still new on Linux end every mean of the word but with patience, time to read and help for this forum I've got the system i like.


    Don't give up!

  7. #7
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    1- with the sistem APT-GET/DPKG & Klik it's really easy get software comparing with other distros. (Heck even Win didn't have a hell of database for software you'll need)
    Don't forget "Synaptic Package Manager". As a (soon to be former) Windoze user, I found Synaptic to be -absolutely cool-. I can search for an app, click on it and it's installed, configured (and even an icon in the menu). Synaptic is my "freebie" shopping cart

    Keep in mind, Klik (as I understand it) is intended for use with the "liveCD", and Synaptic / apt-get are for a HD install (which is what I've got).

    One more bit: if you find that Knoppix just doesn't work for you, try something else. Burn (or buy for a buck a pop) a dozen different liveCD's and see which one works best for you. That's what I did, and that's how I found Knoppix and Kanotix. I got a chance to look at Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandrake, Damn Small Linux, Vector, Suse, etc. etc. and to be honest, they all have good features. Knoppix / Kanotix just happened to work best for me, but we're all different and (here's the beauty of open source OS's) you have almost -unlimited- options.

    By the way, I just saved myself about $100 because I let my Nortons and other virus/spyware/etc. licenses expire... I no longer need them... that's pretty cool IMHO.

  8. #8
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    Ok, how many people didnt think I wasnt going to reply to all of this? ( show of hands? )

    I have to agree, that all of the posts / responses are excellent - and had to point out, that I too had a tough time, on the initial...

    I think it stems from a "common" thread, if you have worked in Windows for more than a few years, you seem to have problems in Linux. Why? Well, I cant speak for everyone else, only myself, and see if it is a common thought among everyone else, so, here goes. I think it all stems from the fact that I "earned" my knowledge from many years of "pounding" on my keyboard, and monitor, for days, hours, weeks, and even months, trying to figure out why something wasnt working in Windows. Finally getting my answer, and my resolve. All of this with a "license" and with a "support contract" with Windows Support.

    If the original poster of this thread would view some of my first, say, hundered posts into these forums, they would find a lot of them as "dumb" questions, lots of them as "how do I do this?" stuff. For someone who has "earned" there degree in Windows, and even worked for them, as a CSR, its heartening, humbling, and down-right a sign of a "non-intelligent" person, to have to come "here" and ask for assistance. Why? I know Windows, I can do almost any kind of Windows Registry Hack, and in Windows, you needed to, lots of times, I can MANUALLY run a setup.inf through a DOS window, I can decypher registry additions from a setup file, and manually do them, I can install a program one command at a time. Over twenty five years of doing this stuff, and I feel like a newborn when I work on Linux, its not a pleasant feeling. Heck, I could have a MSIE or MSCE, and it does NOTHING for me in Linux. All those years of "Windows Experience", is pretty much, USELESS, in here... Twenty Five plus years, just simply flushed down the toilet. I chock it up as, I just spent my time "learning" something that isnt what I really should have been learning, thats all. Humbling isnt it?

    Microsoft, and for that matter, Bill Gates, is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, not someone, or something, you want to call your friend. They have proven, over and over, and time and time again, as being a "fair weather" friend. There support is "if-y" at best, and thats when you PAY FOR IT, and you have to still deal with it as it is on "there time" and when they want to help you. Call between 9 and 5 Eastern, dot dot dot. Some of the "techs" I had worked with, were more clueless than I was on the subject I was calling about, and they had all the manuals, all the resources, of Microsoft behind them... And you PAY for this?

    This is all volunteer, people want to help, people want to work with you, people want to give of there talents, and I think, people want to GIVE. Its not the same with M$, they are in the TAKE.

    Well, enough of the M$ bashing, everyone does it, and its not that hard to find "something" they do, or say, or produce, to bash them with...

    As for Linux, I went full-hog - after booting my first Knoppix Live CD, v3.2, I couldnt remove Windows, and install Linux fast enough. I dont have anything Windows OS on any of my systems. Have I regreted it, no. Have I wanted to go back, honestly, yes, a few times, during the initial learning. I had a few hard times, and the Windows 98 Install CD was on my desk, just "pleading" me to return, "come back!! come back to Windows! I understand you, you know what your doing in me! You dont have to deal with all of these headaches in Linux, with me..."

    But, I stuck it out, and many of the people in these forums, helped. Kept me from going back to the "dark side", like Obi Won ( pardon if that isnt spelled correctly ) and Luke - dont give in to the "Dark Side", for once you start down the path, forever will it be your destiny... ( that was actually from Yoda )

    I think my whole life was running Windows, and, I think it was all the "dark side", but, people change, people can find the right path...

    Maybe the original poster of this thread is "meant" to be a Windows "user", maybe, a "linux" user, or, as it was in my case, indifferent. But, I was able to throw away years of "Windows" knowledge, and start fresh, start to learn something completely foriegn, and, maybe, get as good as I was in Windows, in Linux. Dont really know, I'm still learning. I still use the forums, and the IRC channels to ask questions, get resolves, and, hopefully, pass that information on to others, when they need it. I hopefully translate information from a "techie" "nerdie" lingo, into something someone can understand, at any level of experience, I hope.

    I always went off the old Army Axiom: Any thing that can be missunderstood, has been missunderstood - so, in many ways, I can be "verbose" ( dont everyone deny this at once - ok? ) -=- I admit it, but, when giving information, you cant be sure how it can be taken, no visual cues in text ( like a puzzled look ) here. So, I tend to explain things down to what they would "see", and what someone would "click" or "type", kind of thing... I think this stems from when I did M$ Tech Support over the phone, you have to do what they are doing, you have to see what they are seeing, and you have to follow them, through everything, and at every detail. For this, I think I have the "longest" posts than anyone else, I think I hold the record for it, not sure though... But, do I think this is a bad thing, no. I think I explain things, maybe more than I should, but, then again, for some people, it could even be, not enough....

    As for the initial poster, I hope, if they ever got a response from me, that I gave "concise" information... But, it gets difficult to do, as the new releases come out, and things change between versions... Back in Knoppix v3.2, the Konsole icon on the tray was a clam shell with a monitor, as we moved to newer versions, the Konsole icon changed, last I know, its a monitor with a prompt on it -=- it can be a "root prompt", or a "user prompt", depending on what Konsole you open, etc... The "support" is getting harder and harder, especially as users are getting more advanced, and at different levels of expertise. The forums have tons of people "willing" to help, and capable, but, as the expertise gets higher, it gets harder for people to "speak down" to lower levels... If you could talk to Einstein, I dont think anyone of us could understand him... Everyone is trying to help, but, sometimes, a subject is not known. I dont have WiFi, or Wireless networking, so, I cant really help people on those subjects, not unless, it might be something I have heard, or seen, kind of thing...

    I can also add, and this hurt me the most, in my earlier days, was, the time wait... I'd have an "immediate" need for help, and post, and then wait, and wait, and wait, etc... until, hopefully, someone, would assist. Kind of like M$ phone support; dial, stuck on hold for a few days, and hope when the tech on the other end that answers, knows how to solve my problem... or worse, the "guy" gives me a "jerk off" answer that just "gets me off the phone".

    I cant say, "you get what you pay for", because this is far better than what I have ever "paid for"... Its just different, thats all, in ALL aspects.

    Lastly, to the original poster, keep with it, really, the hard times are learning, and, as you will find out, they dont decrease over time - only the subject changes. After you learn to do CD burning, after you learn to play DVD's, after dot dot dot, you will want to learn, or need to learn, something else... Keep in touch with your resources, your "knowledge" base - like these forums, or the IRC channel, listen, ask, and learn... Its actually a really neat thing. Something I forgot all about in Windows. I knew, well, not everything, but, almost everything in Windows, and in here, I'm a new-born. Its refreshing, challenging, to take on Linux, on a day-to-day basis, I think my brain has been asleep for the past twenty some years, because now, its waking up, and its kind of fun to work on the computer again

    Ms. Cuddles

  9. #9
    Member registered user
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    England
    Posts
    42
    I was in that same place - trying to understand why I'm an idiot for not knowing that I need to type "grep splat doodah grunt/groan/ooh /this/that/theother" or where to type it. I abandoned Mandrake 10 because it wouldn't work properly despite weeks of RTFM and typing gibberish at various screens. Ditto Suse. I actually got into that ./configure and make_install and stuff, typed into a terminal screen like I used to use in the early 1980s. They call THIS progress? What a PITA. Back to Windows XP I went - it just works, out of the box. For me, anyway. I'm lucky, I suppose.

    Then a friend pointed me at Knoppix 3.8.2 and the "Kpackage" feature. That lists every sotware item you could dream of, if it exists for Linux. You just click on "Install", accept the defaults, and off it goes. It either installs and all is done with that couple of clicks, or it tells you there's a problem, in which case ignore that software item.
    I love it!

    Once I'd got the basics sorted, and the machine networked (that WAS a pain) all has been a dream - like Windows only better.

  10. #10
    Senior Member registered user
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Dublin, OH
    Posts
    342

    Ditto That :-)

    This is a really good thread. I can see others besides myself have had hair raising experiences in the process of learning Linux. I certainly have had my share.

    I started off on Xandros in the fall of '04. I don't know if it was a bad download, a buggy product, operator error, or all three, but I went thru hell with Xandros. I know I made some horrific mistakes. But Xandros wasn't any help. Even when it was working right it was sloooowwww. I finally gave up on it. I could write pages and pages about those experiences but I will spare the group.

    I had also been tinkering with a little download called Knoppix. It would always find my hardware, offered my few problems. It was kinda nifty I thought even though it wasn't trying to be the next big thing like Xandros. Then I discovered that it could be installed on a hard drive. Whoa!

    At the time, Knoppix was a bunt, after my bad Xandros experiences. All I wanted at this point was a little alternative OS to do net surfing and email as a dual boot setup. My expectations were very diminished.

    Yes, I did make more big blunders. Like having to reinstall Knoppix more than a couple of times. I remember try to apt-get something and dumbly ignoring a message asking me if I really also wanted to remove what must have been several hundred files. Now that was REALLY stupid.

    At those times I would be ready to give up. But I really wanted to be free of Windows. I would ask myself the origin of these errors. They would always point to ME! So, I would bite the bullet again.

    Why all these mistakes? It was new and unfamiliar. I'm not exactly new to computing (since 1984) and my work puts me in charge of 5 ecommerce sites that I manage. But Linux was very different from Windows. With each mistake I would learn something. The forum has been immensely helpful. Now I feel like I know my way around Linux though there is still a bunch to learn.

    And Knoppix instead of being just a way to avoid Windoze online vulnerabilites, has become my primary OS!! It's got a lot of nice refinements that XP does not have. It multitasks better! It's safe!

    I am now studying how to remaster my own version of this OS.

    At this point instead of a bunt I would call it a home run!! So, hang in there all of you who are frustrated. Knoppix is cool!

    sakiZ

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