Yes, that'll be excellent!

Windows like distros:

Xandros & linspire


Don't blame open source for the OEM strangle hold that M$ has on the computer industry. If the hardware
manufacturers were to release linux drivers for their hardware then linux would be more like windows in a plug
and play sort of way.

Thorn

Then it's crucial that Linux advertisers and promoters periodically negotiate with the hardware manufacturers who do have developers that produce "plug & play" hardware detector drivers . . .

END OF LINE

I agree that stuff should be easier on linux like drivers and it has come a long way but still nowhere close to windows. If you buy a product and the driver isn't in the kernel, have fun getting it work.

I think atleast 1 distro should be a clone of XP.

Also I read that people like command line better. I think that is totally wrong. Some people might like it better but a majority like a gui much better. How many people on Windows, do you see opening command prompt and enetering in commands there? It's stupid and a waste of time.

This discussion clearly highlights the difference between the hard core Linux users and the casual users like myself. I have a specific application that I want to run, and it is written for Linux. I am closing on two week of trying to get a Linux application to run, dual boot, and do what I want to do. The hard core Linux supporters want to destroy Microsoft and everything it stands for. That may or may not have merit, but the bottom line is that Linux, in it's present form, will NEVER be the OS of the majority of people. It is far too complicated for the everyday user, and you absolutely CAN NOT bring Microsoft to it's knees unless you can get the majority of users to buy in.

All I want to do is run my application. But so far, one version of Linux runs from CD and is miserably slow, two others appear to have destroyed my ability to access Windows(can't get Dual Boot to work due to a problem with the kernel), and once again I may have to repartition, reformat and reinstall to get back to Windows. One of the three versions I have tried apparently will not allow me to access my local network. The version that does is the one that is so slow, plus I can't figure out how to get my application to run without trying to enter a buncha esoteric code like in DOS.

I came into Linux with great excitement and expectations. So far I have experienced nothing but frustration and disappointment.

Is exactly what you believe it is. On the other hand the difference is exactly what I believe it is.
Okay, and it is not uncommon for me to hear people using Windows working for weeks to get a program running correctly, without the extra complication of choosing an OS and dual booting.
So do you support all Microsoft's practices? Or do you just feel it is best to not do anything about it? Perhaps you prefer to deny they really do anything to worry about.
With the term "everyday user" meaning you when you are frustrated. There are plenty of "everyday users" who use Linux. There are also plenty who do not like it.
And all I want to do is become independently wealthy and live on a tropical island but the damn financial infrastructure is holding me back. Seriously, some things we wish to do are bigger projects than we had thought at first. We need to make realistic assessments of the difficulty of the project, our abilities and it's worth to us. You have as much right to get frustrated as we all do.
I have also experienced frustration and disappointment with Linux. That is not all though. I have been successful also.

Good Luck

"Is exactly what you believe it is. On the other hand the difference is exactly what I believe it is."

This is great if you are sitting on a cloud, drinking beer, and spouting philisophy. But we have to live in the real world, and in the real world Windows is just far easier to set-up and use, with no compilers, and no code to enter.

"So do you support all Microsoft's practices? Or do you just feel it is best to not do anything about it? Perhaps you prefer to deny they really do anything to worry about."

This isn't the issue. Once again, to do something about it you will need to have a significant majority of the users to buy in, and with the complexity of Linux "it ain't gonna happen"

"With the term "everyday user" meaning you when you are frustrated. There are plenty of "everyday users" who use Linux. There are also plenty who do not like it."

Once again you are spouting philosophy. You know who the everyday users are. They aren't techies, aren't interested in learning to enter code before they can run an application, and simply want the computer to be a tool, not a laboratory.

"We need to make realistic assessments of the difficulty of the project, our abilities and it's worth to us."

More philosophical babble that sounds great but does not address the issue. The real issue still is the fact that if you want to do Bill Gates and Microsoft in, for whatever the reason, you need a significant majority of users to buy in, and it isn't gonna happen with Linux in it's current form.

I can set-up a Windows machine from scratch, including partition & format the HDD, install the OS and my application(s), have it connected to my network, (no I'm not a computer professional)and be taking care of business in less than an hour. Unless you are a significantly advanced Linux user, there is no way you can do that. I'm not opposed to Linux. Right now I'm agitated and frustrated with it and the complexity. I just want to run my application. I will take the word of all the Linux supporters that it is a more stable, and possibly more capable OS, but the bottom line is still that in it's current form, it is too complex for the casual user.

Ambition has to be tempered with reality.

Regards,
Mike

Thanks for the mild reply, w5uc.
Guess I need not spout any more philosophical babble in the light of the hard facts of reality you have presented.

I highly recommend the latest version to anyone who is digusted with Microsoft.

The Downloadable DVD is pretty damn comprehensive,

though I still struggle with

finding an easy to install printer and scanner driver,

and a media player that plays

itunes, realplayer, and Windows Media Player content,

the security, the stability, privacy and everything else is WAY MORE SUPERIOR !!

IT'S THE BEST!!!!!!!!

unless you have a low end slow 2nd hand computer of Pentium III at 700 mhz, and barely 192megs of RAM,

than Puppy Linux is probably better.

But hope is still on its way

http://www.linuxprinting.org/printer_list.cgi