From kragen@dnaco.net Fri Sep 11 14:10:40 1998 Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 14:10:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Kragen To: Jukka.Isosaari@hut.fi cc: talkback@threepoint.com Subject: Re: Some more wishes for RedHat Linux.. (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Keywords: X-UID: 1852 Status: O X-Status: On Fri, 11 Sep 1998, Jukka E Isosaari wrote: > I think RedHat and other distributions should take this criticism, and > the faults that journalists find with Linux, to heart as much as possible, > and try to fix things so that even the most stupid Windows user can > install Linux, try it out, and use it with some success. In general, I agree. > I.e. DOS command aliases should be there, Why don't you write them? It's not a hard job. > and it should be possible > to install Linux without learning the magics of repartitioning your > system with arcane tools. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? I'm not sure what the alternative is. The Loopback-HOWTO, that tells you how to install a Linux partition in a single big file on your DOS partition? > Increasing simplicity of use and install > is a pre-requisite for the continued expansion of Linux user base > from here on. True. > All the geeks already have Linux. I know some real geeks (Win32 programmers, computerless geeks, young geeks) who don't. > The real users won't get any smarter, > or want to learn any new tricks voluntarily. The only way to gain more > users is by making Linux more simple and easier to use and install. I'm not interested in gaining users for Linux, but I am interested in helping people solve problems, and Linux can be useful for that. And it can be more useful to more people if it's simple and easier to use and install. Here are some ideas: - Read www.useit.com's Alertbox regularly. And read all the back columns. - Get Donald A. Norman's _Design of Everyday Things_ and read it repeatedly. - Make patches to software you use to make it easier to use. Watch real newbies try to use it to figure out what needs changing. Do "before and after" tests to convince the core developers that their software needs changing. VNC and/or CCF could be useful if you're doing this long-distance, so you can watch the screen remotely. - Help newbies install and use Linux. You will gain insight into what needs to be changed. > Popular applications and games will come from commercial vendors the sooner > the more users Linux has. I don't use those things anyway. I prefer my software unencumbered by shrinkwrap licenses. Kragen -- Kragen Sitaker The sages do not believe that making no mistakes is a blessing. They believe, rather, that the great virtue of man lies in his ability to correct his mistakes and continually make a new man of himself. -- Wang Yang-Ming