and so im also just wondering if anyone else feels the same way and perhaps wants to do something about it? even in simple ways or in the future and we can see what happens go from there anyways leave a post or email me if you wish

That's exactly what I do, too. When friends complain to me about the problems they're having with their Windows machines, I tell them why I use Linux but I don't try to get them to go to Linux, because I know how tough it was for me and I know they almost surely would just be disappointed. Too bad, too.

Oh right, I understand now and pretty much agree with you, while I have friends with problems with their windows machines I will tell them why I use Linux whilst trying to fix them and also if I show anyone on my computer something and they are confused as to why the desktop lokks like it does I will explain to them that its Linux, but I haven't the time to actively promote linux, but many of my friends know about linux by seeing my computer and if any decide to try it I will definately help them in getting started and point them to tutorials/forums on the internet

yeah its just a shame the general public cant use linux and its not linux's fault either but yes this what I hope to change in my lifetime even if it is just at worst some minor changes though hopefully i will also find others who want to be of some use and accomplish the same thing

Good for you! The old saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" is true! (Commonly ascribed to Lin Yutang, but I'll bet it goes way back in history.)

You kind of made my day with your good attitude. Thanks.

I am very much for Linux and use it probably 96% of the time...But
Windows is just so crisp, I mean the quality of text and such on Firefox for Windows compaired to current Firefox on Linux is no compair. The quality of objects on the screen is reall anoying Im running Fedora code 2 which I know isnt the most 'Eye checking of all' but most of the text on the screen is kinda squshed together more or less, I cant really explain what I mean but I wish that at least Fedora had a crisper sharper look.

jonr good im glad

If you want to help people to begin to use Linux, hand them a LiveCD and let them try it out themselves. They might careless what the desktop enviroment looks like as long as they are able to get work/task done sufficiently.

I think that has more to do with the desktop enviroment the distro is using, then the distro itself.

Who said Windows was pretty? I feel that the fisher-price look of XP is horrible. It hurts my eyes looking at it. And the look of 2K is bland and boring IMHO. Its all a matter of opinion. What is "pretty" to you may very well not be eye-pleasing or sufficient for others.

There are tons of DE's and window managers for use in GNU/Linux. Each one caters to the different tastes that people have. Have you tried them all? Are you willing to code one if you can't find one to meet your needs?

Speaking of XP's desktop enviroment, if you miss it or prefer it, then you can use XPDE as your Linux DE to get that XP "look". Personally I would never install that "thing" on my GNU/Linux system, but thats just me.

nice thanks for that xpde link a lot, yeah of course i wouldnt use this nor you but someone who has never heard of linux this will make it easier for them to migrate

easy to lose sight of the fact that most people have a comp to do stuff with not too!
used to spend a lot of time under the bonnet of cars but for most people they are interesting because they work not because of how they work
the curse of open source is the atitude that if people dont want to put a couple of hundred hours in learning they in some way dont deserve the benifits
on top of that you have to add that for the av user mistakes are expensive time consuming and somewhat embarasing(not unlike my spelling)
how many of you would have learnt to drive a car if you had to prove you could rebuild the engine before you were allowed behind the wheel?
just a thought

have you looked thru the screenshots thread???
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=26643

Linux can and does look better than XP!!

XP looks like some 10 year old kid designed it.........
those programmers @ M$ have NO imagination at all........

have u looked in the screenshot section in kde-look.org

http://kde-look.org/index.php?xconte...4f050ad39f1381

and have u seen the new xorg (6.8)

http://kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=15917
http://kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=16110

i think u will change ur mind once u see these pics

yeah i know about superkaramba and how you can make the desktop look i know aobut all that i think it just spilled my mind or something and i guess i was talking more about the default doesnt look good to me, i just found these live cd scripts that are made so you can make your own live cd out of your own made distro so this looks really intresting im gonna try this out i could just take knoppix try and mess with it a bit maybe put in XPde customizie the desktop so its real simple but splash screens n stuff instead of kernel messages and perhaps it would be good enough to burn it and pass it to some people
thanks for the links guys again.

The reason is probably because of the fact the developers who made said programs are satisfied by the way they look.

You see, Linux developers don't really care of Linux becomes the #1 OS in the world or not. They don't care. All they care about is that they use it and enjoy it, and that's that.

All you should care about is that you enjoy using Linux, and not how large of the world uses it too.

I would say, if you want something to be different, develop your own DE and application suite, and please GPL it so it can be improved, otherwise don't complain.

However, I understand your concern. It's just that the developers who develop these things don't really mind if it's #1 software or not.

They do what they love to do, program, and they're doing it.

regards,
Jon

Im new to linux still and i absolutely love the look of X, especially kde, it blows away windows by a major landslide i think. On windows i used to use apps like windowblinds and stuff to skin the gui but at the same time those apps sucked my memory like a porno star sucking ****. And from what Ive seen, people who are not familuar with linux are totally blown away when they see the linux desktop for the first time