Linda wrote:

This was the only reference I didn't understand: "Upon powering up the machine (off net, and on a KVM switch)," but it wasn't crucial and by the time I got there, you caught my interest.

It was a good article. I totally agree that it was aimed at people who ARE techie: to encourage them to install linux for their non-techie friends. I've tried (but not very hard) before, but now that i see the success you had, maybe I'll try a little harder. Good choice, for the sitaution, Susie.

No Debian? You tried Ubuntu but not Debian? A true OS collector like yourself needs to try Debian, too.

EdisonRex wrote:

Re: Multimedia

As usual the problem is the patent and licensing situation. There are plenty of media players. But as anybody who's had to build a proper mplayer build knows, getting libmp3 is its own step, and I have yet to see an mp4 module for audio (I've got mplayer working with mp4 video using divx).

There isn't anything to work with the iPod directly because Apple doesn't see fit to issue licenses to open software projects. I may criticise Microsoft and I may like the Apple user interface, but Apple has always had a particular proprietorial streak.

But there are some good iTunes-like players for Linux. They are not easily installed, however, and best left off the initial install.

EdisonRex wrote:

For those [...] who are more dangerous than smart

EdisonRex wrote:

yiayia49 wrote:

foxinhand wrote:

Great article; but and it's a big but, only the tech literate that will probably read it. Now if it was published in a Man or Woman's Magazine then it may catch a few more fishes.


A lot of old folk only use Email. So an old m/c with no hard drive and and Linux on a disk would eliminate all infections.
When a m/c was being converted for them an Email address on Gmail could be created and a sticker on the keyboard with details.

One suggestion to the writer is that, one should assume that a reader does not know acronyms. In an article, if one is used the first time, it should be spelled out between parentheses at the first mention. Most users, as uninitiated as this reader to techie talk, don't know how to check them out in Google and might quit early, from lack of understanding. If Digg picks up more readers, it would be sad to have too many who REALLY need to read it, turned off because it is written for a more tech-savvy user... as the writer obviously is.

The article is clear, well articulated in concepts, and full of lots of useful information. One might add, again to the non-techie with not a lot of cash to spend, that the route to set one up is not as difficult as they would imagine it to be (I speak from experience here) and they could be pointed to many articles which make the ease apparent.

The article was not aimed at the casual user. It was aimed at the technical expert who hasn't thought about installing linux as a way of mitigating support sinks. The audience should know the few acronyms, such as POP, PPP, CRT, KDE, or OSX. Many of those acronyms do not actually use their spelled out version (BeOS and OSX, and BSD are examples) as part of their marketing.

If a casual user finds it interesting but daunting for the presence of a few TLAs, I'll refer to some great articles that are out there already for casual users to install Linux on their own. My experience is that casual users don't want to, and tend to ask for help. But there's a point in there. I'll follow up with some pointers to well written articles for the novice user, since I am really not good at writing articles for novices.

Perhaps I should have made that clear in my article what I was trying to show, that a technical person could install linux for a non technical person, and be rewarded with less support load for it.

I'll remember the tip about expanding TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms).

EdisonRex wrote:

...and had a little chat with D over wine and cheese.