Re: [tlug] Self-introduction

[Darren Cook <darren@example.com>]

>> Linux for the personal computer does not offer "zero-configuration"
>> installation, and probably never will.
> 
> Well, I will disagree: An old guy here wanted to switch from Windows, and
> came to my home for me to install the system.
> He wanted for some reasons the "Mint" distrib. My job was to boot on CD,
> and enter his name and my wifi password.
> 
> I was a little afraid of his printer, as he did not have it. Later he told
> me that he just plugged it, and it worked (scanner included).
> 
> Today, many distributions are really "zero-configuration". My Ubuntu is
> (except when I upgrade, coz' my own changes), that Mint was too.

Exactly my experience for the past N years (I think N is about 10, but
can't be bothered to go back and fact check). For those N years,
everything but one thing has just worked with Linux, whereas on Windows
there have been half a dozen things that have not just worked, and
general setup has been harder too.

(The one thing was the Brother DCP-7055 printer/scanner: printer was
fine, scanner did not work during 2014. This year scanning magically
started working too. I think it was the move from Mint 17 to 17.1.)

I might moan about the IME support in Linux, but that is because I tried
to have compose/Japanese/Chinese/Arabic/Russian input all on the same
English UI system. (I do in fact have them, just a bit fiddly to switch
between them.) If all I wanted was a Japanese IME in an English UI, that
is easier than on Windows.

Darren