Dipping My Toes In

I'm looking to move over to Linux, since even the idea of using Vista makes me want to curl up under the desk and cry. And Mac's lock-in is worse than PC -- at twice the price. Linux is the third, and looks tasty. I love the eye candy of desktop managers that rotate in cubes and splat and wiggle windows, combined with the old school flavored tinkering in terminal windows -- very William Gibson. And you never even have to spend any money! Delicious!

But the trade off is that you have to swim the Linux Moat to get to the castle. Even though some new Linux flavors ("distros" to the hip) are user-friendly enough to look approachable, Linux still has a long way to go before it is a viable alternative to the average user.

By "average user", I don't mean the PEBKAC types who don't want to know how to use a computer, they just want to do stuff on a computer and become aggravated when stuff doesn't just happen. Linux will probably never be suitable for those types.

But there is still some way to go even for more responsible users who don't mind a learning curve and some DIY in exchange for independence from expensive "gurus" who make money by counting on their customers' ignorance.

I'm starting to think these are problems of perspective on the part of the Linux community, not function.

There are two main issues confronting the new Linux user:

1. It's not Windows. Trying to interact with it the way you interact with Windows is like trying to give specific directions to a New York cab driver. It smiles and nods, yammers back at you, and who the hell knows where you'll end up. Also, there is no Make This Thing Work Button.

2. Most of the documentation and support tends to assume a level of knowledge on the part of the user that probably does not exist.

It's the last part that is probably more likely to turn off a potential Linux convert than the first. To the uninitiated, Linux seems glitchy and clunky enough to create a thick layer of doubt: am I not doing it right? Is it a bug? Or does my computer just dislike this flavor of Linux? Including combinations, this makes a total of six impenetrable obstacles for the new user.

So you RTFM, and they tell you to:

1. Click on things that aren't there,because the documentation is three version behind, or
2. Rekafooble the flotutran by typing nimnumnuts at rt pleh%, (without bothering to explain what the flotutran is or how to find the thing that rekafoobles it) or
3. Do things you can't do because the thing you need to do them is the thing that isn't working.

So you head off to the FAQs and spend about three hours sifting through forums, finding the same as above, even if the person who asked the question explicitly stated he is a total noob and is completely lost, or complaining that the thing doesn't work/can't work/will never work, or someone asking the EXACT same question you were looking for - eureka!!- and following his post with "Hello? Anyone there?" .

If the instructions and support forums have no compassion for this noob perspective, the new user just feels barricaded. I mean, I'm trying to get away from having my computer be a tooth-gnashing, hair-pulling ordeal. At least Windows and Mac put out some sort of welcome mat (even the Vista welcome mat has a flaming bag of dog poo on it).

But it doesn't have to be like that. For one thing, you can tell they're trying to help, but either they take their own knowledge for granted or they're no better at figuring it out than you are.

And more importantly, I am now the proud owner of a laptop that runs nothing but Fedora 9, and I couldn't be happier. If I can do it, anyone can. Because everything just works. And I also know that in exchange for a little learning curve, even if something doesn't work or stops working it will be OK -- because there is a way to make it work.

This is the fundamental perspective of Linux that makes it so attractive. It's all about getting things to work. I think it could argued that Windows and Mac spend way more energy on finding ways to make things not work. How much time do you think they spend figuring how to get your Ipod to NOT work with anything but Itunes? And I'll bet MS has an entire zip code of buildings filled with people whose sole job is to sabotage Firefox and Winamp.

So here's my ongoing story of dabbling in Linux, written from the perspective of someone who is reasonably competent with XP, does not want Vista, and is just as lost as you are. It will be beyond the scope of this blog to get into specific errors -- unless there is some general knowledge to be gained, or unless it's funny. There are no universal solutions that will work for everyone except one: use your noodle and don't be afraid to get dirty.