I guess now I dont have to

But one of the first thing to understand/learn when you start with Unix is what kind of package system your soon to be distro uses.

I still remember RPM hunting on the internet(now more or less obsolete), you always wanted the *.src.rpm.

I am happy that Linux is getting easir. But when I use the two side by side most tasks still require fewer click and keystrokes on Windows.

Statements like “You need only select/deselect the programs you wish to install/uninstall, and apply your changes. The download and set-up will be done automatically.” Granted if you are using Apt-get you are less likely to get into “dependency hell” then with RPMs but even Ubuntu the so called “Just works” distro can’t really handle an upgrade smoothly, especially if you add from outside core repositories.

Your statement is quite untrue in general of most of the new breed of user-friendly distributions - regardless of whether “.DEB” based or “.RPM” based. You must remember that .DEB and .RPM are parallel technologies. So to are APT-GET and YUM or URPMI etc. Functionality is therefore exactly the same although implementations will differ slightly in how they look and feel.

The author is therefore absolutely justified in making a statement that installing software on such Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, SuSE etc) is actually easier (although slightly different) than Windows.

What I have come to find is that Linux is neither easy nor for your “average user.” After you “get going rapidly” there are funny-named details that can slow you down again like: forks, console, terminals, shells, symolic links, cron jobs, archives, localhost, widgits, user nobody, core dumps, tarball, mount points, daemon,“/” vs. root directory, on and on.

This is quite untrue as well. None of the modern user-focussed distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, SuSE) expose the user to any of these internal details. The user may learn such details at their own discretion. The system makes no such presumptions nor any demands.

Further, if you download from servers outside your core distribution (e.g. Ubuntu) AND without MD5 checksum verification…

If you perform any such action, you must be prepared to face the consequences. All of the user-focussed modern distributions have a wealth of software available at RECOMMENDED repository locations. If you make a choice to go beyond RECOMMENDATIONS, you should do so at your own risk and be fully prepared for the consequences.

Again, the author is perfectly justified in the assumptions made for this article - its target audience is the GNU/Linux beginner audience. No beginner should go beyond advised and well documented RECOMMENDATIONS of the specific distribution he/she is trying.

In summary, all of your criticisms are completely off-mark and quite senseless. If you do have meaningful, objective and constructive criticism, please log such criticism as bugs with appropriate details at the specific distribution bug-tracker. Do not make baseless blanket accusations that you can not substantiate.

It’s clear that the important fundamentals were considered and are represented. Tough, though, because this 5 thing list could have just as easily had been 10 without repeating yourself. Many new Linux users loose interest quickly becaue of some profound differences between Windows and Linux, and the lack of understanding thereof, and the quick descriptions used here work well. Like I wrote - without insulting anybody’s intelligence.

In the comments to this article I read troubling inconsistencies with the truth that are the biggest reason for a lack of Linux dominance on the desktop. Linux has been ready for this for some time - it’s just that nobody has figures a way to show this. Mindshare is not with it and when posters like JJ reference Ubuntu as a Linux standard we are kept in perpetual “almost there” as Ubuntu is certainly not the wunderkind that all the n00bs think it is. Ubuntu has introduced a troubling “frustration factor” like the one Windows has with its own users that cannot even find and open a program without help, let alone modifying program or even basic system settings to personalize their environment, and make their work more like their own style.

Basically, computers suck and continue to do so. I often recommend tossing the one you own out your window. Life was much more harmonious and simple when we used pen and paper - and we knew our neighbors. If you would like to make the most out of your sucky computer; I suggest you get, install, learn (takes maybe an hour), and run Debian GNU/Linux on it. Afterwards you’ll have your life back and you will not have wasted any time with the flavor-of-the-day, or pissing your life, $$$, and soul away to some software maker in Redmond, WA - USA.

http://librenix.com/?inode=21

That article should set you straight. Good luck with your new Linux experience.