Linux Ready for Prime Time?

[troy]

On Wed, Jun 21, 2000 at 08:39:49AM -0700, Nancy Harrison wrote:
> Thanks, Eric (I think!) although I have met some grandmas on line
> that liked the challenge of Linux and were sick unto death of
> Windows!
>    The thing I find still daunting about Linux is not the install,
> I mean of the OS, but adding new software. I'm using a Mac mostly
> now, and I really like the ease of installation of all sorts of
> freeware gizmos as well as big apps. I'm actually *afraid* of this
> aspect of Linux.
>    Not ready for prime time yet in this regard. - Grandma Geekly

Installing new software on Linux is not as daunting as it might seem.  It's
usually just 'rpm -i package.rpm' Pretty easy!  Any problems
are almost always dependency issues which are spelled out in the failed
install error message.   It's not always obvious which package you need to
grab to satisfy the dependency, but a search on freshmeat or Google usually
nets a quick answer.  Failing that, you always have your friendly
neighborhood LUG :)

It *can* be a pain installing software on a Linux system that hasn't been
maintained as you spend more time upgrading libraries than you spend
installing that nifty new widget you wish to use.  Once you're current,
though, you're set!

-t