rygD
Nihilistic Mystic
@Klumpen As a kid I didn't know what I was doing and frequently opened things up our tried to "fix" or improve things. I lived with my mother at the time, and I got in trouble for messing with those things that weren't just mine. (Had I lived with my father I suspect this behavior would have been encouraged.) Did getting in trouble stop me? Nope. I kept poking around and "fixing" (sometimes breaking beyond repair) things. And I started messing with public stuff and other people's property (when given permission, for that last group). Along the way I learned a little, and grew to disregard, or sometimes be straight up defiant, about what I was "supposed to" do or not do.
Kids today still have that attitude, and much of the sort of things I messed around with are cheaper now (like computers...remember I told you I wasn't allowed to use the one at home. Now you can go buy one for next to nothing, and many people will give you there old ones if you ask.) Kids today are also just as lazy, but now being lazy kinda goes to extremes (I am pretty sure technology leads to this anyway, as people don't bother with those essential basic skills to stay alive one they have have something that will do it for them...now they just don't need to bother learning or remembering since Google can usually feed them the answer in a couple seconds) and this is with kids and adults.
Maybe one the Borg generation reaches adulthood things will be better, but I suspect it will be mostly what you see with Hugh and Seven (unable to function effectively as individuals until they learn those skills that most of us matter pretty early on), and the various groups that were cut off from the collective (requiring someone, anyone, to guide them and show them how to live and give their existence purpose, even if it is one of slavery and pointless sacrifice).
I do understand being scared to mess something up or do wrong. You can't be crippled by that though...even drinking a glass of water could be lethal if done incorrectly, but not drinking water will quickly result in death. Learning how to use computers properly is not quite so dire. Yet.
If the average Pyra user eventually is someone that views the device and the OS as a black box they will either need to try to figure some things out on their own, or there will be a lot of time spent by them and the technically proficient users trying to fix their problems. By then they will probably not want to waste their time with it anymore.
And this isn't a Linux only problem. I spent a long time fixing Windows problems for friends and family, with my advice and instructions being ignored and usually requiring me to keep helping them out. I got tired of it. Instead of asking for payment, I just told them I wouldn't help them anymore. Some, probably most, turned to others for help (with some later asking me to fix what they have already paid someone else for). Some tried to figure things out on their own, and now they know how to do the basics, fix common issues, and how to avoid problems. When they hit a wall they use resources they have (Google isn't all bad**), and then if they call me I am more likely to help, and they actually listen when I explain things, like /path/to/file is not an actual path to a file.
A user will need to know how to do the basics. I don't care if you don't want to become an admin or a mechanic, you still need to be able to use the command line in case it goes to shit, and you need to be able to change a tire. It is probably also a good idea to know how to manually login and fill the gas tank, because you may not be going anywhere without that sometimes.
If you are going to be using *nix systems, you should understand the differences between them, and what to do to accomplish the same thing. I know too many people that think they know it all and then can't install something from a repo because they only know one distro...and they are supposedly sysadmins? Also, a distro (or DE ) isn't best just because someone knows how to use it. They need to try others to see what works best for them.
This may not be a requirement with the Pyra, but it is definitely a very good idea for someone that is going to start messing with x86 Linux. If they happen to be a Pyra owner they may want to bring their favorite distro along, too. If a user is unwilling to learn how to use their tools there is a problem.
Your LibreOffice pros, artists, musicians, programmers, AND gamers all probably understand that you need to know how things work and how to use something to accomplish what you are trying to do. If they want to use a Pyra they should probably try to learn some of that as it applies to the Pyra and Linux. @Yerffej was trying to do just that by creating this thread and asking for a recommendation for a distro. Thumbs up to people like that. We need more of them .
**we should probably debate that in another thread if it is worth discussing.
[doublepost=1478231908,1478231742][/doublepost]I should probably avoid this thread in the future. I doubt anyone wants to read these long posts with my opinion.
Kids today still have that attitude, and much of the sort of things I messed around with are cheaper now (like computers...remember I told you I wasn't allowed to use the one at home. Now you can go buy one for next to nothing, and many people will give you there old ones if you ask.) Kids today are also just as lazy, but now being lazy kinda goes to extremes (I am pretty sure technology leads to this anyway, as people don't bother with those essential basic skills to stay alive one they have have something that will do it for them...now they just don't need to bother learning or remembering since Google can usually feed them the answer in a couple seconds) and this is with kids and adults.
Maybe one the Borg generation reaches adulthood things will be better, but I suspect it will be mostly what you see with Hugh and Seven (unable to function effectively as individuals until they learn those skills that most of us matter pretty early on), and the various groups that were cut off from the collective (requiring someone, anyone, to guide them and show them how to live and give their existence purpose, even if it is one of slavery and pointless sacrifice).
I do understand being scared to mess something up or do wrong. You can't be crippled by that though...even drinking a glass of water could be lethal if done incorrectly, but not drinking water will quickly result in death. Learning how to use computers properly is not quite so dire. Yet.
That is how I do it, too, if we don't have much time. Otherwise I try to remember how to get there on my own. I frequently get lost like this, and in addition to learning alternate routes (which may save me time in the future) I also get to see things I wouldn't otherwise. I recently drove through a rich neighborhood and saw some interesting massive houses, and all sorts of wonderful trees after I took a wrong turn down a one way road.It's like a brain assist, but it's there to build up your awareness and abilities, not make the driving situation completely mindless. some people like that, but i want my mind engaged... I usually tell my co-pilot to silence the smartphone, and just tell me the next thing...
My goal was to have an OS on my recently purchased refurbed laptop. Being broke, my options seemed limited, but I was aware of Linux. Based on the little info I had, it was way beyond my skill level, and in many ways it was. I didn't fall in love with *nix until I stayed working with Solaris. The main things I learned with that laptop are what not to do when installing an OS, and that is for both Linux and Windows.Your objective was to 'Learn Linux'. Admirable as that may be, that is not going to be everyone's goal.
If the average Pyra user eventually is someone that views the device and the OS as a black box they will either need to try to figure some things out on their own, or there will be a lot of time spent by them and the technically proficient users trying to fix their problems. By then they will probably not want to waste their time with it anymore.
And this isn't a Linux only problem. I spent a long time fixing Windows problems for friends and family, with my advice and instructions being ignored and usually requiring me to keep helping them out. I got tired of it. Instead of asking for payment, I just told them I wouldn't help them anymore. Some, probably most, turned to others for help (with some later asking me to fix what they have already paid someone else for). Some tried to figure things out on their own, and now they know how to do the basics, fix common issues, and how to avoid problems. When they hit a wall they use resources they have (Google isn't all bad**), and then if they call me I am more likely to help, and they actually listen when I explain things, like /path/to/file is not an actual path to a file.
A user will need to know how to do the basics. I don't care if you don't want to become an admin or a mechanic, you still need to be able to use the command line in case it goes to shit, and you need to be able to change a tire. It is probably also a good idea to know how to manually login and fill the gas tank, because you may not be going anywhere without that sometimes.
If you are going to be using *nix systems, you should understand the differences between them, and what to do to accomplish the same thing. I know too many people that think they know it all and then can't install something from a repo because they only know one distro...and they are supposedly sysadmins? Also, a distro (or DE ) isn't best just because someone knows how to use it. They need to try others to see what works best for them.
This may not be a requirement with the Pyra, but it is definitely a very good idea for someone that is going to start messing with x86 Linux. If they happen to be a Pyra owner they may want to bring their favorite distro along, too. If a user is unwilling to learn how to use their tools there is a problem.
Your LibreOffice pros, artists, musicians, programmers, AND gamers all probably understand that you need to know how things work and how to use something to accomplish what you are trying to do. If they want to use a Pyra they should probably try to learn some of that as it applies to the Pyra and Linux. @Yerffej was trying to do just that by creating this thread and asking for a recommendation for a distro. Thumbs up to people like that. We need more of them .
**we should probably debate that in another thread if it is worth discussing.
[doublepost=1478231908,1478231742][/doublepost]I should probably avoid this thread in the future. I doubt anyone wants to read these long posts with my opinion.