men.... feck linux!

[HopperJF]

pixie wrote:


I know that Linux is user friendly et all

It is!?  :-?

[HopperJF]

They're just kernels, sarge

[HopperJF]

fx wrote:
I don't think AmigaOS is much more user friendly than Linux to someone who has never used it before.

You're kidding?
I got my first Amiga in '99 and it was incredibly straightforward.
I was using it fine in a matter of minutes.
Linux took months of headaches, and I just gave up.
Sure, I could learn it all by "reading the {bleep}ing manual" and so on, but I dont want to read a manual for ages to learn how to do something as simple as use an operating system.

Operating systems should be simple, after all its just something for you to run programs on.
Anyone who thinks differently needs hitting over the head with a unix manual, because they are just limiting the amount of people who can use computers, or indeed be bothered to use computers.

[HopperJF]

The larger distros (Mandrake, Linspire, Fedora) are very easy to learn and use.  These have graphic installers and package managers that are quite a bit better than found in Windows.  But these distros need horsepower.  And lots of it.

However, some programs still will not run with the package managers/graphic installers and STILL insist on using CLI, leaving the average Joe Public confused and often frustrated.

[HopperJF]

Holley wrote:
There's three ways to look at it I guess - From the point of view of user-friendliness that is.  

User 1: As far as just someone getting work done most any modern user-interface is going to be 'ok' - you click on an icon or a menu, click some buttons etc and do your work or play a game.  

User 2: From the point of view of an advanced user how easy it is to install the OS, programs and tweak bits and bobs or whatever is always going to require some manual reading but it varies.

User3: Sorting out when things go wrong (as a user or support person) is another kettle of fish.

System7 on the Mac was about as friendly as it gets for the user 1, and hell on earth for 2 and 3 - ie. not much tweaking without going to extreme measures, and if networking didn't work right off there wasn't much you could do about it.  Workbench/Intuition is a bit of a mix and is pretty good for all three. Windows leans towards User 2 but user 1 can dip their toes in it, while user 3 cries into their MS technical reference.  Linux is heaven for 2, hard work for 3, and fine for 1 as long as they never have to touch anything outside if the GUI or upgrade at all.

I think Linux is a bit of a dangerous option for user 1, and there are a lot user 1's out there.
For instance, installation. User 1 probably wont install Linux successfully and when they do, it wont be runing at its optimum because they will be too nervous to delve into preferences optimising things and changing settings.
Linux aint friendly, its scary for user 1.

AmigaOS suits all 3, although user 3 will be at places like amiga.org and not Amiga technical support  :lol:

Mac like AmigaOS is also good for all 3, same for Windows. Not really Microsoft technical support, but the fact that there are so many PC users aroudn that one of them is bound to be able to help you out

[HopperJF]

Believe it or not, Mac's are gradually improving as games machines as the user base increases along with the demand for games.

You like Unreal Tournament 2004? You can get it on the Mac.
You'd be surprised how many PC games are available on the Mac, although granted there isnt enough games coming out for the machine.
Then again we dont want the danger of Mac becoming another Amiga, being regarded as merely a games machine with a keyboard and mouse ;-) by one half, and a great creative machine by the other half.

[HopperJF]

I don't have much experience with macs really, but the times I have used them they seemed very nice, although the dang dockbar always autohid, and if you left it alone to go get lunch (used some G4 OSx machines at an art class) the screen would blank into some kind of power saving mode that often involved photoshop crashing.

Like a lot of irritating things in operating systems, this can be easily solved.
Dock > System Preferences > Screen Effects and switch the screen saver off.
In that same preferences panel you can switch power saving mode off, just like you can on a Windows machine.
You can even turn the dock off auto hide. :-)

[HopperJF]

Isn't there a list somewhere of Guru meditation codes where it explains what each one means?
I think that would be how you find out what is wrong  :-)

[HopperJF]

Roj wrote:

No, AmigaOS is only a panacea in the mind of the few and the ignorant, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. They say "ignorance is bliss", and in this case it is most certainly true.

If the "ignorant" Amiga users are getting the things done with their Amigas that PC users who can only get work done if they're in front of a 3 GHz Pentium do, then the choice of the word ignorant is as poor as you can get. You may diss people who get work done with less. I've got nothing but respect for them. Having a faster computer doesn't make you a better person. A more arrogant person perhaps, but certainly not a better one.

I've always said, the less you know about computers, the faster they need to be. The only exception to this rule is the playing of games. I've worked with people who got more work done in a week on <20MHz processors (not Amigas) than many people with 3GHz systems will get done in a year. Which of those deserves more respect?

And, of course, I post this with only the nicest of intentions. :-D

I've been waiting for something like that to be said, and now you said it!  :-D
I would of but I would of phrased it badly.

[HopperJF]

AmigaOS is small and efficient. It is also primitive by modern standards and does a lot of things very badly indeed, if at all.

Because the latest version available came out in 2000, and wasnt much of an update over 3.1 (10 years ago).
Give us a break!
Don't expect a limping donkey (Amiga) to compete with the industry leaders at the drop of a hat, these things take time.
Amigas as they are, are small fast and efficient. If they dont do what the user wants, the user sticks around and makes do or switches to Windows/Mac/Linux.

For what Amiga users are still here for, the Amiga suits them fine clearly.