Set the controls for the heart of the sun
I have lost count of the number of times I have installed Linux and then sadly uninstalled it.
Last week, frustrated with MS Windows, I looked for anything new and exciting in Linux distros. It would be nice to put something on my old laptop that dovetailed nicely with all the open source software I already use.

So, having tried Knoppix on a cd, I went ahead and tried to install Kubuntu. All went well and it all looked great apart from the fact that my wireless lan card would not work.

Cue one week of reading crap about Ndiswrapper and a legion of other material. after lots of attempts I started to lose interest.

Okay lets try installing Scribus.
Hmm just exactly how many versions of Scribus installation packages are there?

So I tried two
Result:
Failure.
Surprise surprise.

The biggest problem with Linux is that the whole process is geeked up to the max. Instructions for installing anything are often an experience similar to what used to happen in Hi Fi shops when the salesman would baffle you with his superior knowledge of wow and flutter.

(The following is a humorous description of how to install a wireless card. It is not true so if I search engine sent you here, I'm sorry and you have my sympathies.)

How to get your wireless card working using Linux:
So easy a four year-old child could do it.

Think of a number between one and ten
Divide it by Pi
Get a copy of splodgeit.cm.o98. from this website: www.notitisnothereanymore.com
Add the sproget from the ikea pack to the left bank of the Siene
Remember to stir your coffee anti-clockwise
tie a knot around your left finger
Multiply the number you first thought of
turn around three times
That's it, all installed
Oh and if you have any problems, you can always use the forth trap/jkl device hidden in the folder bin/black/liner/near the site of the titanic

Another really annoying thing is the directory tree. Why can't it have a name? Why does the top have to be \ ? You know all those geeks would have twice as much time on their hands if Pamela Anderson had been called \ and Baywatch had been called \bin because no one would ever be able to find them.
I would really like to use Linux, but I would like to use it to be productive and not have to spend all my time reading useless websites and unhelpful manual pages.

If we are ever to use Linux then someone has to observe the following concept: a user interface has to be exactly that.

Comments

  1. Pengo6:13 pm

    That's a really useful comment on the scale of Linux user friendliness. If Linux was user friendly every one would use it and Lufthansa for example, would not have implemented Linux only after a full year of staff training. Linux Disciples are very similar to the Trostkyites of the late 70's when a system of belief was considered a fit substitute for rational thought and scientific observation. Take 100 regular computer users and see how long it takes them to install any distro of Linux and when that number is close to 99 - Linux will be on its way.
    Oh and I have Linux installed and running on my equipment because like a regular consumer - I enjoy having the independence of choice and thought

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