MEPIS Community Forum

I would not characterize my friend as dumb. He just has so many other interests and activities that he has not taken the time to learn the intricacies of a Linux system. And he has no desire to do so. He just wants it to work. That is why I have not encouraged him to install any software. He has what he needs, no need to introduce any possible anomalies.

to your point rich, like you say many people just don't have the time or willingness to learn new technology, so they're willing or need to stay with what they know. some people are not computer literate and can function only with what they've been shown, and others, like another the law professor who failed to realize his computer wasn't working because we were in the middle of a blackout, just shouldn't touch a computer.

the reason for the article posting was mainly to serve as a reminder (which i should have better stated) that we, read Mepis/linux advocates, should keep in mind that not everyone is going to be comfortable with a linux based operating - hell, i've even experienced a user having a meltdown after getting a new machine with the same OS and app load. why? because an icon wasn't present on the desktop and she had NO clue how to get the app running.

in the case of "beth", the author failed to realize that she had really no clue about tech. no amount of hand holding, etc. is going to help convert people if they aren't able/willing to learn new tech.

I've come to realize that attitude is everything, I've had users that thanked me even though they had problems (and they could have blamed me for those) while other users who didn't even have 1% of the problems the other people had (and it was clearly their mistake) bitched about me. People and people...

It takes all kinds.....

My friend is definitely a convert. By the way he is a former software engineer, who wrote programs for custom production equipment. The reason he is a convert and will not revert is that he cannot abide the incessant Windows updates. Also as many Windows machines, his slowed considerably. Since he does not want to mess with the OS, Linux and MEPIS is perfect for him. He need not upgrade, and does not need to worry about the crud that a Windows system can accumulate.

I have another friend, a former bank executive, who has no complaints about Windows. He is rigorous in keeping AV, anti-spyware and Windows updates current. When I try to steer him to Linux, his answer is, "Why I have no problem with Windows, and I do not need to learn another system". He is not a conversion candidate, in my opinion.

My attitude is I will explain the advantages of Linux, make a disk for you, show you a demo, but if you are not buying it, for whatever your own reasons are, so be it.

Apt post by lucky9 while I was composing this. I have two kinds delineated here, and not what I would expect. A techie who converted to Linux, but does not want to dig into it, and a business type who does not mind fiddling with Windows. Go figure.

Here Here i loved that show. and Leo is not down or out he is on Ustream.

btw new here to the forum but not to mepis. I had started with basic mepis then went to frontier mepis 3.0, but thats another story :)

Its Leo... live at live.twit.tv..

on the forum

I help two others with MEPIS - currently 8.5.

Dave is a friend who dual boots with WinXP (using the Space Shuttle Simulator). I'll likely spend the time
to get it running under WINE, eventually. I'll wait for MEPIS 11 to release first, though. I already know
MegaStar and VistaPro (renders Mars flyovers) will work under WINE. The rest of his software (aside from
the obligatory firewall, AV, etc.) is already open source with shared directories accessible from both OSs.
He claims he needs a computer with the simplicity of a toaster. Sometimes I believe him, other times not.

I switched my Mother (currently 80 years old!) over to MEPIS back at version 6.5 on a PII 400 384MB PC
originally. I weaned her from MS Office 2K on Win98 to all open source apps first. The change-over was
easy. She refuses to consider Windows these days - and waits to upate till I'm around to explain what's
what. Updates take only a few minutes at most on a Celery 1500 w/768MB and a 64MB GeForce 4 - while
she wears out another mouse playing Patience, word processing (DAR Pamplets creation and family stuff),
reviewing news (Drudge Report as a starting point), e-mails (Facebook is NOT trusted), and weather
(noaa.gov and weather.gov); usually while listening to music.

Welcome aboard GOTHBITES! :)

I have downloaded a few TWIT episodes, I get the RSS fed every week. I also miss the girls, Megan, Jessie, etc. I noticed that Erica Hill is now doing the CBS morning show. That's nearly enough reason to get up early every morning. (lol)