Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> gregjohn <pte### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> > The question then, if Linux is chosen, is which distro is best for guiding your
> > Dad in for a landing over the phone.  I've seen Linux big-wigs in forums say,
> > "I positively do not care if Linux is ever the right OS for someone's
> > grandfather. UNIX never was."  I think I'd stay away from a distro where too
> > much say was purists about closed source drivers.  Folks' Dads might not be
> > able to roll their own.
>
>   Well, you have two options:
>
> 1) A computer with an OS which has a steep learning curve.
> 2) A computer with an OS that doesn't even boot.
>
>   Which of the two options is better?
>


3) A computer with a version of an OS which does NOT do crazy things like make
you recompile the kernel to install a wireless driver in order to meet some
ideologue's view of "freedom". [Debian circa 2005 did this.]  Ubuntu, for the
moment, unless RMS's legions get to Mark, does not.

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gregjohn <pte### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> 3) A computer with a version of an OS which does NOT do crazy things like make
> you recompile the kernel to install a wireless driver in order to meet some
> ideologue's view of "freedom". [Debian circa 2005 did this.]  Ubuntu, for the
> moment, unless RMS's legions get to Mark, does not.

  I have had linux in my computer for many years (started with Suse 9.3,
then upgraded to 10.2), and I have not needed to recompile the kernel
even once.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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>> 3) A computer with a version of an OS which does NOT do crazy things like 
>> make
>> you recompile the kernel to install a wireless driver in order to meet 
>> some
>> ideologue's view of "freedom". [Debian circa 2005 did this.]  Ubuntu, for 
>> the
>> moment, unless RMS's legions get to Mark, does not.
>
>  I have had linux in my computer for many years (started with Suse 9.3,
> then upgraded to 10.2), and I have not needed to recompile the kernel
> even once.

I tried several different Linuxes on my machine over the last couple of 
years, and I never managed to get past the really steep learning curve that 
would enable me to get the wireless card working.  I found some ridiculous 
50 page PDF explaining in detail how to do it, but then I got stuck on like 
page 3 when something it told me to do didn't exist on my system.  Every 
time I just gave up (and it's not like I didn't try for several evenings and 
several hours on Google to get it working).  And I'm not even going to 
mention the first few times I tried Linux (maybe 5 years ago) where I got a 
big green triangle across half the screen permanently, or that I couldn't 
get 3D acceleration working, or ..., or ....  It's just too much hassle to 
learn when you can't even get started.

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scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> It's just too much hassle to learn when you can't even get started.

  Then don't use it. It's that simple.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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On 29-Aug-08 9:50, Invisible wrote:
> andrel wrote:
> 
>> My wife did that once. Try ctrl-alt-shift up (or down or sideways).
>> If that works, disable that shortcuts in the advanced settings of your 
>> monitor.
>> Shortcuts are handy if the monitor physically can rotate, if not they 
>> are annoying.
> 
> Yeah, I've seen monitors that do. But the Dell monitors at work don't 
> rotate like that...
> 
> As it is, I managed to open the video options window and manually adjust 
> the setting. The hardest part was operating the mouse with its axies 
> transposed -

been there, done that.

> the user thought I was God-like for pulling that off! ;-)

unfortunately not, the user was my wife.

Did you turn off the keyboard shortcuts? Or do you want to play God 
again later?

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"Warp" <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote in message 
news:48b833ac@news.povray.org...
> scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
>> It's just too much hassle to learn when you can't even get started.
>
>  Then don't use it. It's that simple.

    He isn't. It's that simple.  ;)


    ~Steve~




>
> -- 
>                                                          - Warp

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andrel wrote:

> Did you turn off the keyboard shortcuts? Or do you want to play God 
> again later?

Well, we have 12 identical machines, all presumably with these keys 
turned on, and this is so far the first and only time this problem has 
surfaced. So presumably the key combination required is fairly hard.

If the problem recurrs, I'll just look up what the key combination is. ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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>  Then don't use it. It's that simple.

I wish it were as simple to shut up the Linux fanboys who spurt out "switch 
to linux" in response to any problem anyone has on windows ;-)  Don't any of 
them realise that if the original poster is having some (presumably quite 
trivially solvable) problem on windows, chances that they manage on linux 
*better* than windows are quite small?

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scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> >  Then don't use it. It's that simple.

> I wish it were as simple to shut up the Linux fanboys who spurt out "switch 
> to linux" in response to any problem anyone has on windows ;-)  Don't any of 
> them realise that if the original poster is having some (presumably quite 
> trivially solvable) problem on windows, chances that they manage on linux 
> *better* than windows are quite small?

  The system not booting at all doesn't sound like a trivial problem to me.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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>  The system not booting at all doesn't sound like a trivial problem to me.

Usually it is, but how trivial the problem is is not the point, the point is 
the person isn't automatically going to become a whizz at Linux and never 
get stuck again.  In fact I would suspect that when people reply with 
"switch to Linux", if that person actually did switch, they would have many 
more problems than the one they were asking about in the first place - like 
not being able to get online to ask others for help ;-)

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