Newbies should give up linux?

I have found a lot of messages who tried to learn linux but at last decided to give up and return back to windows. Is it a good practice? If you are a newbie, please comment yourself........what you are thinking about? Looking forward to go ahead with linux or decided to get rid off linux?

Well, if all newbies just gave up there wouldn't be any of us "oldbies" around

I know it can be frustrating. I remember my first install of linux in '99. I had used to before, but it was my first attempt at putting it on my own machine. I had a Promise Ultra33 controller card at the time to get a little extra speed out of my HD. It took me forever to figure out how to make Slack's boot cd detect the card. I about gave up... but once I got it working it slowly took over my machine. (afterall, the 2.2 kernel didn't support that device specifically) Now, 6 years later, there isn't a trace of Windows left on any of my machines.

I'm not saying Linux is for everyone. From my standpoint as a developer, embedded systems guy, and "power" user it doesn't get much better then FreeBSD or Linux. I think having an open source kernel so I can tinker is a hard requirement of any platform I use these days. Though I admitt I still have much learning to do with regards to the kernel used on my Powerbook (which is, of course, one of the open source parts of Mac OS).

jtshaw, thank you a lot for your sharp and clear view about linux problem which you felt in 1999. I agree with you that, unless we are indulged into deep problem, we cannot find the way to get rid off that. Your experience will gave extra boost to newbies like us. In this context, I cannot but stop saying one thing, we are really thankful the oldbies like you, who help us proving the instant reference, knowledge and experience to us.
With Regards
anindyanuri

As a relative newbie (been using Linux for about a year), I wouldn't want to go back to the MS world. Thinking about changing distros though because I can't get away from problems with the unavailability of rpms for applications I want to install on Suse. I find an application which will replace an MS app and then can't find a rpm. Finding the app in a deb package seems to be no problem.

As for going back to MS, my userid reflects my attitude when I am trying to ensure the windows boxes the rest of my family uses haven't been compromised via virus or spyware (ursahoribl is a shortening of ursus horibilis - latin name for grizzly). Whatta BEAR - no one wants to be around while I work on MS box.

The very best part of Linux is the oldbies (per jtshaw) who are willing and able to give us newbies help when we get in a jam. Just try to find that type of help in the MS world!

ursahoribl, your comment is very good and justified. What do you think, the linux should be made easy as windows? Where we should not bother about installing new packages or new hardwares?.......let's see what the experts say?

Hi anindyanuri and welcome to LQ. I'd like to add my opinion here as I'm a n00b myself. I started using Linux about two months ago. First there was Knoppix then I switched to Debian.
I knew nothing about Linux at the beginning except it's free. Yet now I came to the point where I can help others. And I'm no genius or whatsoever. I just said to myself that if others can, why couldn't I? So now, after only two months I'm about to wipe out my XP partition (actually I'm planning the future partitioning scheme as I'm typing). I just need to get a few more programs I have only in Win (like a DirectConnect client). Linux does everything Window$ can do (*cough cough*...gaming might be an issue) but with a bit of determination from you.
Even if at the beginning the cli might look scary (it did to me, it looked like a total chaos) it gets fun by the moment.

Yes, there are some that give up on Linux but that can happen due to various reasons: lack of time, laziness, misconceptions about Linux, etc.

My personal advice is to go ahead with Linux, you won't regret it. Even if you will go back to Window$ it is an experience wich doesn't cost anything (but maybe you won't go back )

Good luck and we expect you back telling us about your first Linux install!

Oh, and take a look at the "Non-*nix froums->General". There are a few threads that discuss this matter.

Hey dudes, if u want to learn pls stick with linux, else for a leyman who knows only yes,no,ok and cancel prefers windows.

Back again. Just stick with Linux! It's everybit as good as Window$ and really better but without all the hassles with viruses and spyware. There are very few applications in Window$ which haven't yet been replicated in Linux, but just wait.

It seems to just be a matter of finding the distro you are really comfortable with and then the learning curve will really go down quickly.

As the popular saying went in my younger days - KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

hello everyone, I'm a n00bie and loving every minute of it. I've had it up to my eyeballs with Micro$haft Winblows. I'm currently running SuSE 9.1 Pro but I'm looking in the direction of maybe FReeBSD or Gentoo, but not tommorrow. I want to get a little more experience with BASH.

What a nice world I have entered now! There is so love for linux? Splendid. I am now feeling that what is the actual power of linux. I am really feeling that it is a community and everybody here holding their glass raising their hands up and calling others "Hi.....if you wanna enjoy the power....let's come and enjoy........cheers" Yes, it is the power of linux. 100% support for linux, nobody tried to support windows. Still I think the forum would glow more if Mr. Bill would say something for his MS.....

I came over to linux about a year ago. Tried about 10 different distros which all had their merits but many frustrations for a Newbie like me until l discovered SimplyMepis which to me so far is the easiest distro for Newbies like myself. It was the turning point for me and probably kept me from going back to XP. I realize there are a lot of great distros out there for the knowledgeable geeks and techies but so far as the Newbie goes there is not much YET. I have no intentions of going back to the world of viruses, adware, spyware and Billware. I couldn't get onto rpms but these debs are great for me. Just had a buddy of mine install Mepis on his old AMD and he likes it great. So to all Noobs stick with it. Noobs are a stubborn and curious bunch and we didn't come over here to quit easily. Get mad, get frustrated and vent sometimes but DON'T leave. :-) And hopefully when you do get mad and you do get frustrated and you do vent that no one over here will flame you because we have gotten mad and we have gotten frustrated and we have vented. And besides we just like having you around :-)

Wayne

hi there

when i started with linux there was very little help for linux around me
but slowly i learned working on linux by tyring out varuos things and in the meantime i joined LQ,and from here i got to know a lot of things

and to see to it that my juniors at my colelge do not get to start from zero again i take conduct regular meets ,and just see what a change there is nowdays at my college

also i think with the advent of internet and sites like LQ in our lives,learning linux is little easy than it used to be

regards

Yeah, I've had my share of frustrations learning linux, and it took me a while to find the distro I really like, but I'm planning on being a computer science major and as a result my brain must be wired so that I actually enjoy tinkering with my computer and fixing it when its broken. And I have found linux massivly superior to windows when dealing w/ my hobby of 3d graphics. I know now that if I hadn't stuck it out through those rough first couple of months I would regret it now, and now I wish I wasn't forced to keep a windows partition on my harddrive.

keep on using gnu/linux, it is worth, every one will help ya, there are enough books/tutorials/howtos out there, and the most important thing: people who help each other

fuck ms with its crappy, closed software. and when somethin dont work: get it work. but windows isnt a alternative, even if nothing works

u see my english isnt the best one, but who cares, gnu/linux hold us together ;D

and dont forget about the gnu project... : )

I can see why people give up and go back, personally I've been using SuSe for what... two days now? I was pretty damned proud of myself when I managed to download firefox and set it as my default browser... I knew nothing of this tarball and gunzip stuff, so all I had to go by was the web, but it sufficed! All difficulties aside though, I HATE microsoft! Linux is worth the effort if only to get away from it all! Personally I really get a sense of satisfaction having learned something new about my computer, something that Linux allows me to do.

By the way, the version of Kaffiene which came with SuSe 9.2 won't play dvds... so I've tried downloading the latest version of Xine, but when I try the ./configure command it tells me that I don't have the appropriate C compiler, so I started downloading gcc 3.4.3, but once I began trying to ./configure that, it told me that I didn't have a working CC set in my environment settings... I tried (partially to see if I already had it installed) export CC=gcc (crude, I know but I was at a loss as to what I should do) and then I tried it again. The configure program did pick up on this setting however, and said that I had gcc installed, but I think it was just reporting back what I had written, as it said that I still didn't have a cc capable of writing executables. Help!

Sorry that I'm writing my problems here... The structure of the forum is as confusing as Linux is!