[GRLUG] newbie distro

[john-thomas richards]

On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 10:40:53AM -0400, peyeps at iserv.net wrote:
>    This Ubuntu 9.04 seemed to install quite easily.  I don't know why it
> would not be a good distribution for a new user.

I'm not sure anyone said it would not be a good distro for a newbie.
However, "newbie" can mean many things.  Grandma may well be a newbie;
for her it means she's never touched a computer before.  Neighbor Ned
may be a newbie; for him it means he has had little involvement with
computers beyond developing databases for Fortune 500 clients.  First
Time Fred may well be an MCSE but has not touched a UNIX-like system.
Ubuntu (or Debian, or Fedora, or SUSE, or whatever) may not be a good
choice for some of them and it may be an excellent choice for some of
them. 

I'm a Debian user.  I love Debian.  I think it is the best distribution
out there.  Debian's innovations continue to be adopted by others (apt,
menu, etc.)  That being said, I could not recommend Debian to Grandma
unless I knew I would be available to help her along the way.  By "help
her" I mean remotely connect to her box and make sure all the security
updates are installed, etc.  Fred may learn to love Debian very quickly
for its power and stability---and its familiarity with the UNIX systems
he's familiar with.  Ned could probably learn Debian, too, since as
an MCSE, he is probably well-versed in finding help online or in various
user groups.

No computer system that requires anything like system maintenance is
good for a complete newbie who is unwilling (or unable) to learn how to
maintain a computer.  The same applies to Windows.  Can Grandma really
navigate XP/Vista's interface and make sure all of her updates are
installed correctly?  C'mon.  Grandma wonders what's wrong when that
little picture ("icon") on her screen disappeared so she can't open the
greeting card program she loves.

Bottom line: if a newbie is willing to learn and has someone (such as a
LUG) willing to help, any distro (maybe not Gentoo, unless one is
willing to tackle a much steeper learning curve) will work.  As has been
pointed out a couple times, the software available on the various
distros is essentially the same.
-- 
john-thomas
------
The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason He makes so
many of them.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S. (1809-1865)