Fedora Core 2 - review.

[Sean Estabrooks]

On Sat, 22 May 2004 10:23:33 -0500
Mark S Jones <msjones773 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I have successfuly dual booted with xp and fedora core 1. I have no dual 
> boot issue currently as I have read the bug reports and forums and know 
> of the dual boot issue that makes it  difficult to boot into windows 
> once installing Fedora core 2, so I have decided not to upgrade at the 
> present time. Many people have reported that they even tried wiping out 
> their hard drive and reformating with no success. This bug has persisted 
> through test 1, test 2, test 3 and final release. I am not so sure a fix 
> has been found, although some users have reported success.

The problem only seems to affect people who ignore a warning about 
LBA when they install FC2.   Even then there is a simple fix that has 
been found.   So this is no longer an issue at all.

> There is some software that is not included in Fedora core 2. There's 
> nothing wrong about this but some users are asking why. I do not have 
> any software license issues. I am responding to the remark,
> "I agree it should be easier, but I'm also a bit annoyed with people who 
> think everything should work like Windows right out of the box. . Why 
> not just use Mandrake? =)".

Ok, then this too is no reason to avoid FC2.

> The problem I want to address is exactly what your reply is about. 
> Please read my post. There is no reason for sarcasm just because a 
> windows user is asking for help. I don't think that Windows users really 
> expect Linux to act like Windows. They just want to learn how to use it.

People are people.   We sometimes dip into sarcasm if we're frustrated.
This has little to do with FC2.

> I did not say that the mission statement of Fedora says anything about 
> being for the major segment of computer users. If Fedora is happy with 
> less than 10 % of computer users in the world, so be it. What I said 
> was, if Fedora wants to promote itself to the other 90% of the world, it 
> will have to deal with Windows users. There are a lot of Windows users 
> who are looking for another operating system and are having some 
> difficulties understanding a new operating system. What's the sense of 
> being on the "leading edge" if you are going to discourage people from 
> using it. I feel that Fedora would like to see more Windows users 
> converting to Linux (just my opinion). Maybe for some members of this 
> list that means some of the questions asked on this list will sound  
> lame. But the reason they are being asked is because someone wants to 
> learn.

There are very few people who want to discourage new Linux community 
membership.   On the other hand, it's not the goal of the Fedora project
to convert anyone from another operating system.   To the extent that
the primary goals of Fedora go against providing a smooth migration from 
Windows, the primary goals win.    There are lots of people who want to be
on the "leading edge" and nobody who can accept the associated 
ramifications is discouraged from using it.    Every decision has a cost and 
a benefit, the set of costs and benefits have to be assessed by each person to 
see if Fedora is the right choice for them.   Fortunately the Linux landscape 
provides many choices and everyone is bound to find a distribution that is 
right for them.   And by the way, lame questions on the list are usually fine 
as long as they're accompanied by a good attitude and a willingness to 
learn and do some research.

Regards,
Sean.