Defenestration

The Beginning: engine sees the light

[iamlost]

@engine:

As you know i'm getting to grips with my first Linux machine, and it's not entirely without challenges.

I use my own batch files to help carry out tasks in Windows.

What's the equivalent in Linux?

....

Bash, thank you, I appreciate your patience with this novice.

‘Tis a joy to watch someone’s first steps towards the light...
and away from the dark side’s window upon the world...

Welcome.

[engine]

Thank you.

It's a slow transition, and will probably take quite a while, and I can now see why those without any knowledge would stick to Windows or iOS.

I'd have to suggest that it's probably not total defenestration as I suspect that some of the software is not transferable, and there don't always appear to be alternatives.

Early days, slowly, slowly.

[RhinoFish]

Which is being tossed out the window, Windows or Linux?
If you're tossing Windows out the window, well, I think that's poetic.

[engine]

It's the poetic one RhinoFish. Yes, Windows out the window. I've seen the light!

[graeme_p]

It's a slow transition, and will probably take quite a while, and I can now see why those without any knowledge would stick to Windows or iOS.

I think the opposite. Its people with knowledge, who do more complex things, for whom the the transition is difficult. Most people want to know what to click to start the web browser and (maybe!) an office suite. The sort of people @tangor has been installing Linux for.

My wife and younger daughter (older one does have knowledge) have few fewer problems with the OS than I do.

[engine]

@graeme_p
Just installing it was a problem, and some of those problems continue. Fore example, the boot up on one of the machines keeps defaulting to Windows. The bios setting need resetting at every boot. That's a hassle that many would struggle with.

For me, i'm finding a shortage of the programs I use. Sure, it's got most things that people would use, such as word processing, spreadsheet, email, etc., and that's fine for many. For me, it's not the "free" aspect that's the driver for this, it's the usability.

[graeme_p]

@engine I assume that people who do not have the knowledge would either have someone else install it up for them. Ideally they would buy a machine with Linux pre-installed although that is rare (you need to buy online from smaller suppliers rather than in a B & M shop for one thing).

Your problem also looks specific to a problem with dual boot. That is again something only someone with knowledge would do (and is increasingly not necessary - better to use a VM in most cases).

Two questions:

1. What do you mean by free? "free as in speech" is more important to me than "free as in beer". I would say that slogan is weak though and most open source advocates are pushing the wrong thing - its about power more than anything else.
2. What are the usability issues that matter to you each way? What programs can you not find?