“I freely admit that I am the most clueless Linux user in the
world. My two favorite commands are “point” and “click,” and I
often screw up when I try some of the more advanced ones, like
“cut” and “paste.” Obviously, Windows is the operating system
someone like me is supposed to use, except for one thing: It is too
hard to install and configure, so I’m forced to stick with
Linux.“
“Microsoft touts Windows as the operating system for
know-nothings. Being a know-little, which means I’m just smart
enough not to drool on my keyboard, I should have been overjoyed to
find that my new laptop came with Windows 2000 preinstalled. In
theory, all I had to do was enter things like my name and address
and type in a long, obscure registration number, then go to
work.”
“But there’s a ringer in my life: because both my wife and I
work on the Internet all day long (and often half the night), my
home/office computers must be connected not only together but also
to a printer a scanner, a backup storage device, and to a cable
modem. And, since Comcast@home cuts out on us five or six times in
the average week, we must have a backup dialup connection available
at all times. Add in the factor that we often have guests who have
their own laptops, and need to plug them into our network while
they’re here, and suddenly my home computer system becomes as
complicated as those you find in most small businesses.”