Best for Beginner :OpenSuse OSS or FC5

[Angus MacGyver]

On Wed, 2006-04-19 at 09:45 +0930, Tim wrote: 
> On Tue, 2006-04-18 at 12:41 +0000, Angus MacGyver wrote:
> 
> > This is almost a "go away and learn it it yourself" attitude, which
> > really ain't gonna win beginners over to FC*.
> 
> Yes, but the "I had to learn it the hard way, so you should, too,"
> attitude is quite strong across Linux, in general.

Yup, and it shouldn't be, not everyone is as quick to learn, nor
"tech-aware" as the people that write the software,
teaching/coaching/encouraging "newbies" is what "gurus" should be doing,
in the same manner that parents should be teaching children. (and
looking at the world around me, I ain't convinced that is happening
properly either, but that is a completely different, way OT thread)

It does keep getting mentioned time and time again, and not just with
Linux, but with other open source OS's (let's not talk OpenBSD here),
but it is still way too prevalent unfortunately.

Even slashdot had an article about this kind of attitude today, 
(http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/06/04/19/1235227.shtml for those that
haven't read and want to)


>   What I find really
> objectionable is that *IT* is the computer, it's the thing that can read
> the hardware identification, it should do the comparisons for what it
> should do related to that, and so on.  Some things are getting better at
> that, but sometimes only partially.  A case in point:

Quite, (ignoring the fact that my original gripe was with FC5's poor
handling of software dependencies, not what the hardware did with the
other hardware that was attached, but it does highlight another
interesting point, with which I agree) 

But, it is unfortunately the inevitable result of the success (or abject
failure) inherent in PC design... - too many hardware manufacturers
designing too many different pieces of "PC compatible" kit....

Even tho I can't stand MS software, I must defend it in a way, by saying
that is precisely the problem MS had back in the days of "Plug and
Pray", issues which did not affect the likes of Sun + Apple, hence they
were always going to me more stable than any MS solution for a "pc", for
a very simple reason....

Sun/Apple wrote (or had written by contract) the software, based on the
known specifications of the hardware it was intended for, whereas MS
OS's *HAD* to rely to a large degree on both the skill and the integrity
of the device manufacturers to make decent drivers, and that is still
where open source UNIX clones (linux/BSD etc) are now, whether we like
it or not, granted the community can write the drivers, but take a look
at the performance of the open source ATI/NVIDIA drivers compared to the
proprietary ones...

As long as the manufacturers of "pc compatible" devices (motherboards,
chipsets, peripherals etc) continue to make these devices without either
releasing the specifications to get software to interface with it
properly, or releasing linux drivers that work (skipping the discussion
about proprietary drivers tainting kernels for the moment), then we as
the buying public have two choices.

1) Persevere with sub-standard equipment
2) use the power of the consumer, and buy only kit that does work with
linux...

me, i'm with option 2 there, my time trying to get sub-standard kit
(even if it is decent in doze) working on linux, is my time wasted where
i could be doing more productive things..


> Evolution can print, if you pick the printer specifically, the generic
> Postscript option does nothing.  GEdit can print.  Some other things
> can, others can't.  It beggers belief where the problem lay.  If I don't
> find the solution this morning, I'll start another thread on this issue
> itself.
> 

As to this specific issue, can't speak for FC5 here, but in some
previous FC releases, 1-3 (hated 4 so went to SUSE) and all, even Suse,
worked fine... 
With FC, I rarely used the CUPS web setup, always the desktop icon which
in FC5 is under System >Administration >Printing..
(SUSE was always setup with YAST)

I suppose the one thing that might be *MY* saving grace here, I always
have had networked printers on Jet-Direct cards/boxes, so it is a
slightly different setup from most "normal" people. (i got a couple of
external jet-direct boxes for nothing from work once, so sharing
printers with my wife is now too easy ;-) )



Just my £0.02

Am

-- 
Angus MacGyver <macgyver at calibre-solutions.co.uk>