being the newb i am I have only compiled battle for wesnoth only to realize that I didn't compile it for a screen smaller than 800x480 screen

compiling usually has how tos or a feel of ease anyways. Just don't forget ./configure && make && make install

its quite easy once you grasp it. idk about software on the tablets. Im getting one soon btw w00t!

It's in Extras, anyway, isn't it?

My father-in-law can more-or-less handle windows xp. I have to rescue him about once per month.

I shudder to think of what would happen if I gave him a linux desktop. I'd have to setp a support office in his spare bedroom.

Linux is only for geeks. Even the greenest noob on this forum is ageek compared with the typical Windows user.

Steve

Woops! For the Asus EEE PC 701. Under linux - under windowz xp i hear u can do res's higher than the minimal 800x600 for the stock client.

Well I just upgraded my ubuntu kernel - it borked my overclocking, wireless, and asus acpi modules. Thats what you get lol. It isn't too hard to compile the modules and ismod them or w/e. Going to eat somebody though.

Most annoying this is i can't toggle wifi unless i do it in bios. but that will soon change once i get that asus acpi module back in there.

All this just proves after maybe a month of getting to learn how to learn something like ubuntu even the newest of newbs can do stuff.

on my primary computer here at home i use ubuntu i really dont consider myself anything more than a user however i do have a windows pc standing by incase i do something dumb... i use cli atleast 3-4 times a week....and alot of it can be found online easily cut and pasted into terminal...as for my nice quad core xp machine...well i use it to do some stuff mostly run vmware workstation got my osx fix there...so yes linux is for geeks....but my wife uses it and can do most things with out trouble shes by no way a geek...

Command lines are useful if you're prepared to learn arbitrary commands off by heart, but most people don't want to do that.

Most people just want a GUI showing their current options.

Most people don't want to learn ANYTHING when using a computer, because they just want it to work with a minimum of fuss. You could call them lazy or any other names, but that won't change anything.

The bottom line is that most people regard their computers now the way they'd regard their microwave or television set, as something useful and important but not something they want to invest time learning how to use.



Yes, it does indeed, and I love Ubuntu because of it. It's something I could recommend to my parents for example, in fact I'd say in most ways it's actually easier to use than Windows because it has a much cleaner desktop and it's easier to install updates.

Ubuntu is the reason I expected to find some more pro-casual user support communities for Linux users, but they don't seem to exist.

Are there any such communities which cater to Linux users who don't want to use things like command lines?

I think this is the age-old Linux question... I have used Linux since the 90s and I have encourage many people to switch from Windows. I have a couple of observations from my experience:

1) Windows "ease of use" is a MYTH. Yes, many things in Windows are pretty simple to use (browsers, WP, AIM), but those very things are also easy on the latest Linux boxes. However, when something goes wrong, Windows users don't seem to be any more able to fix things than their Linux counterparts. I get calls ALL THE TIME from users of Windows who can't figure out how to do the simplest things on Windows and (in my opinion) would be just as clueless on Linux.

2) I find things easier on Linux than Windows. It often seems to me that Windows, in an effort to be simpler, has hidden many operations from the user. It's always fun to try to find WHERE to fix something in Windows. They do not seem to be consistent and often have confusing verbage on GUI controls. for example, in XP, how do you set the address of the DNS servers you need to use. The AVERAGE XP user will be totally lost at this point. I also get calls from new Linux users who almost always say "Wow, that was easier than expected" once I explain how to fix their problem. When I fix something for a Windows users, I get "Thanks for helping me with that. I would have NEVER thought to go THERE to fix it...".

3) Most Windows users learn as little about Windows as they can to get along and call for help as soon as they're over their head. They dislike Linux at first because they've been conditioned by years of Windows use and must re-learn how to do some things with Linux. On the bright side, they seem to learn the "Linux way" pretty easily and seem to like the fact that their are so many ways to do the same thing in Linux that often they can stumble on to one of them.

4) The BIGGEST complaint that I get from new Linux users is that they are upset that they can't run their favorite Windows programs. This is BY FAR the main reason that I have been unable to get some Windows users to stay with Linux. This is particularly true for users that do business with their box, as there are still many companies (such as banks) that use proprietary software or require Internet Explorer to access their web sites.

5) Generally new users LIKE the Linux interface, LIKE the fact that it runs better and faster on their hardware (especially compared to Vista) and LIKE the fact that most software comes "built in" or is available through some sort of package manager. This did not used to be the case, but now most distros have much improved software installers that are a breeze to use.

BTW, the distro I install most of the time is Ubuntu, and I have converted a number of people from full time Windows users to totally or primarily Linux users.

Sorry for the long post, but this is a complicated subject.

Gary Walborn
gwalborn@gmail.com

Food for thought: Start -> Run in Windows is just like a command line, except with less power and no output. People use it all the time and Microsoft considers it important to the point that it is even mapped to a hotkey. (Start + R I believe).

As for ease of use... Here is my fairly sizable one-sided muttering on the topic:
http://dylanmccall.blogspot.com/2008...k-of-user.html

Really? Could I use your time machine this weekend, please?