been trying to use ubuntu for a few years

[billcecil]

After trying to use ubuntu for several years, I've came to the realization that I must be a complete moron. I had only gotten a printer on linux once, and when the printer went bad, never again. if I try to get help, I hear sudo this, aptget that and none of it makes any sense to an idiot like me. As much as I hate paying billgates three or four hundred bucks a year, and macafee another bill, I give up. I suppose if everyone went to college for a decade to learn this linux stuff, then it wouldn't be free. If it were easy, then everyone would have it. At least with windows you know you're in trouble, just pay another couple of hundred bucks and you're good for a little while.

[HermanAB]

Howdy,

The problem is that Ubuntu is NOT a simple, new user friendly version of Linux. Ubuntu is intermediate to difficult, compared to other older distributions.

You would be better off starting with Mageia (http://www.mageia.org/en/), PCLinuxOS (http://www.pclinuxos.com/) or even Puppy Linux (http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%...%20Started.htm). Those versions have wizards for everything and you literally never have to use a command line.

[billcecil]

Thanks for the quick response.

[cincinnatus13]

I might throw a line in for PinguyOS too. Based on Ubuntu but complete. Lot of amenities with no real work involved. Truth is, Ubuntu is like having a house built that needs the inside to be furnished.
Others are just foundations and others are complete mansions that require no work.
There's a distro for all tastes.

[camurgo]

I think you should get someone to show you in person the steps you need to take to get things working, in front of the computer. Someone in you can ask "What is this 'apt-get' business all about?" And the person will give an explanation that will neither confuse nor tire you; Also explain to you the meaning of the msgs on the terminal and so forth. Getting things working is about standard sequences of actions for the most part. Don't give up, what's the fun in that?

[billcecil]

if there was such a person near me. I used DOS with no problem. I haven't met anyone that runs any Linux. I told myself not to give up years ago.

[monkeybrain2012]

Howdy,

The problem is that Ubuntu is NOT a simple, new user friendly version of Linux. Ubuntu is intermediate to difficult, compared to other older distributions.

You would be better off starting with Mageia (http://www.mageia.org/en/), PCLinuxOS (http://www.pclinuxos.com/) or even Puppy Linux (http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%...%20Started.htm). Those versions have wizards for everything and you literally never have to use a command line.

I found Ubuntu very easy, when I started I had no knowledge whatsoever on computers, I used Windows xp before that but I was the kind of idiot who didn't know how to set up the simplest things because I wasn't interested in computer stuffs, I just used one or two programs, going on the internet and checking email and that was it, I always had to call this guy to ask very simple question for which I am now embarrassed. I couldn't make a partition if my life depended on it.

But somehow two years ago I picked up a crappy old laptop from a friend and for some reasons that I still can't figure out I came across Ubuntu and live usb (maybe when I was randomly browsing Youtube) and found the idea rather cool, so I started playing a bit, installed Ubuntu on this laptop that no one would miss. It actually worked decently! (It had XP on it but it was so hot and slow that it was unusable) Somehow I was able to get the wifi to work (it wasn't trivial especially for someone with little background, for there was a driver conflict and I needed to blacklist a driver, i still don't know how I figured that out, I didn't know about the forum then)

It was a very cool experience, and it was not rocket science.

[mastablasta]

After trying to use ubuntu for several years, I've came to the realization that I must be a complete moron. I had only gotten a printer on linux once, and when the printer went bad, never again. if I try to get help, I hear sudo this, aptget that and none of it makes any sense to an idiot like me. As much as I hate paying billgates three or four hundred bucks a year, and macafee another bill, I give up. I suppose if everyone went to college for a decade to learn this linux stuff, then it wouldn't be free. If it were easy, then everyone would have it. At least with windows you know you're in trouble, just pay another couple of hundred bucks and you're good for a little while.

several years?

so you do know there are a couple of different interfaces (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu Lubuntu to name only a few..)? and you do know that when you asked for help you were given commands that work on all of them? i mean in case somoene else had the same problem all they need to do is use same commands to make it work.

further more you do know you can just copy and paste commands in terminal?! hwo hard can that be?

sudo is command that gives super user privileges and protect you computer from malware.

apt-get is command that gets programmes from repository.


for both there is a graphics interface. but see my first point. commands are same on all graphic interfaces, while graphics interfaces are different from one another. so command will work on all interfaces. while giving you GUI instructions (menues, pictures...) will only work on your specific interface which is probably not modified form stock Ubuntu. oh, the selfishness....

[monkeybrain2012]

I think you can do most things in Ubuntu without command lines. To really make sense of what they mean you may need to read a book. I know, I don't like copying long random looking commands without knowing what they do (and it can be dangerous if you copy and paste from dubious sources). Fortunately those situations are rare for common tasks and in many cases you can kind of guess what they do and even remember them.

So if you don't like sudo apt-get update you can use a gui like the Ubuntu Software Centre or much better, synaptic for managing your software.

sudo apt-get update = clicking reload button on synaptic --> updating repository indices

sudo apt-get upgrade= installing updates from synaptic

apt-get is a Debian thing to manage packages (there is also aptitude) and for other distros you have equivalence such as yum (fedora)

If you use kubuntu then instead of synaptic you should use muon (think that is installed by default) and it is similar.

Sudo is for tasks that involve modifying system files (anything outside your home directory) and if you want to start a gui application as super user (say you want to edit a system file with the text editor), use gksudo, for kde you use kdesudo etc.

[billcecil]

several years?

so you do know there are a couple of different interfaces (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu Lubuntu to name only a few..)? and you do know that when you asked for help you were given commands that work on all of them? i mean in case somoene else had the same problem all they need to do is use same commands to make it work.

further more you do know you can just copy and paste commands in terminal?! hwo hard can that be?

sudo is command that gives super user privileges and protect you computer from malware.

apt-get is command that gets programmes from repository.


for both there is a graphics interface. but see my first point. commands are same on all graphic interfaces, while graphics interfaces are different from one another. so command will work on all interfaces. while giving you GUI instructions (menues, pictures...) will only work on your specific interface which is probably not modified form stock Ubuntu. oh, the selfishness....

I suppose you were trying to help.