On Sat, 2004-11-13 at 17:07, Pete Theisen wrote:
> Hi Mike, Eben, Christopher!
>
> Whoa Nellie! I am basically a *user*. I can install and set up windows
> and windows apps no problem, but Linux is so propeller head that I can't
> make heads or tails of it unless I am at a meeting, and then I don't
> *really* understand the fixes, I just do what I am told.
>
Pete,
I was in your shoes only a few years ago and list responses made my head
spin then too. I've been sucked in since then I guess!! ;^) However
I can say that a little research goes a long way. While Windows may
sometimes seem easier, it may just be unfamiliarity with linux that
makes it that way. "man" and /usr/doc/ or /usr/share/doc/ are your
friends. Usually source packages come with a README or an INSTALL txt
file. The more you do this stuff the easier it'll be but the research
on your part makes the learning curve go away faster. If people do
stuff on your machine and you don't understand....they should explain or
give you the resources to find out more.
> I used to work fine in DOS, but Linux commands run on and on and on like
> the energizer bunny. You get one letter the wrong case and the whole
> thing is toast.
not true!! you just need to learn some new tricks!! as Eben said, any
command you type at the prompt get's stored in a history file so you can
always press the up key to go back to previous commands. Even when you
end that session, the next time you come back, they'll be in the up
arrow history. As far as the Tab key, if you type cd, or ls or any
other command, with a path you can press tab to complete the rest of the
next dir down or filename. For example for the directory
/foo/bar/nonsense, you could press tab after /fo to get /foo/ and after
/foo/bar/non press tab to get /foo/bar/nonsense. Also if you don't know
the next directory's name, you can press "Tab Tab" (Tab twice) to see
the contents of the dir you're in. All these things are tricks that
come with time. Although I wish I knew the Tab thing earlier than I
found out about it. ugh. Depending on what distro you use you could
have pre-made "installer" type packages called .rpm's or .deb's. These
act similar in a way to Windows install.exe. That could make your life
a little easier to start.
> If it doesn't work out of the box then as far as I am
> concerned it *doesn't* work.
>
Is that really your attitude?? I can't say that I've ever agreed with
that even when I was frustrated with linux in the beginning. Especially
now when I need something to work in a specific way, I can change the
config files or the source to make it do exactly what I need. Sure it
takes an extra step or two over "out of the box" but it "works" and more
specifically works the way I need it to. Give it time. Ask alot of
questions. You'll find people like to help on the list. You may not
get the answer perfectly laid out for you so it requires no thinking on
your part....but people will usually point you in the right direction.
If need be after a little research on your part, More can be explained.
Mike Branda Jr.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked
Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages
posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Fri Aug 01 2014 - 17:17:35 EDT