Mainstream . . . (LONG)

[Randy Rathbun]

On Wed, 31 Jan 2001, Bradley Miller wrote:

> At 07:23 AM 1/30/01 -0600, you wrote:
> > What Linux lacks for the non expert person is a uniform, idiot-proof system
> > for installing hardware and software.
>
> As they say . . . build a system only an idiot can use, and only an idiot
> will use it.
>
> Documentation is a real key here people . . . you can point out all the
> How-to's and FAQ's, but nothing says to start from 0 and go upward . . . at
> least nothing good that I've found.

I totally agree with you on this point. The HOWTOs are good, but that is
it - good. They are not great. For instance, I have bee battling with the
AX.25 howto and trying to get the SoundModem stuff to work. So far it is a
no go (but I am still working on it) and the stuff that is in there for
AX.25 is just plain wrong in most cases. In other words, lots of stuff is
out of date.

However, spending about 15 minutes with Google did get AX.25 running on my
box. I am now happily packeting away, acting as a NET/ROM node, and
shooting out TCP/IP over ham radio at a whopping 1200 baud!

>   Like for instance -- did I need to
> remove my old Apache install to put in a new install????   If I did want to
> do that . . . how would I remove all the old Apache garbage to start from
> square one????  When I upgrade a program does it still leave all the old
> stuff in there also?   What of the old stuff can I delete?   Yes, RPM's
> might help here and there, but I can work a command prompt just like anyone
> else, but when your coming off of a "stick a disk in and it works"
> mentality, it's hard to adapt to all the questions posed by Linux.

This is a horrible analogy, IMHO. Change the words Linux to Windows and
RPM to CAB files/Add and Remove Programs. There is no difference. Where
are my Quicken files in Windows? I happen to know where they are, but go
ask my mom where her files are on her Windows box. Are they in My
Documents? Are they in c:quicken? Who knows!

> The things I've read all assume that people know what they're doing and
> why they're doing it. I shouldn't have to interpret instructions.   And the
> stuff that I do find that is halfway good, some of it is out of date or not
> particularly bug free.   Is it that hard to capture the output from an
> install session and copy/paste it into a document for others to read???
>

This is going to sound like a wise-ass comment, but it is not meant to be:
Write your own docs!

That is what they are doing over at Linuxnewbie.org, and I must say it is
working pretty darn well - heck, I feel very comfy rooting around in my
system, yet I still go over there to see what is up on certain things that
I have not done for a while (such as when I had to compile the 2.4.0
kernal - could not remember a few things).

And for goodness sakes, take notes. It is amazing what kind of stuff will
come up a month from now. It will save you a bunch of "now what was that
command again????" pondering.

I have a notebook here (Mead, not IBM) that I scribble in when I find
something cool, or when I find something that does not seem right, so that
I can remember to look it up later on Google. I also write down any
changes I made to the system so that when something quits working, I can
half way remember what it was I changed.

Randy
-- 

Randy Rathbun                            randy at randyrathbun.org
http://astrodot.org - 100% Amateur Astronomy. No preservatives.
http://randyrathbun.org          http://quitequitefantastic.org

"There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man."
 ~ Groucho Marx