Greetings and Salutations,

     -=> Andy Roberts wrote to Linda Proulx <=-

 AR> Since OS/2 is a more technically sophisticated OS than most other

Which is why I want to use it.

 AR> popular OSs, it stands to reason that many of the users in these OS/2
 AR> echoes are Technicians, Engineers, Programmers, Computer Consultants,
 AR> Business owners, System Administrators, Old Timers, other

Love the thought of all that wealth of experience.

 AR> professionals, or those who just want reliability, who have a lot of
 AR> experience and do sometimes seem to speak a language that is almost
 AR> foreign to a novice.  And the topics often deal with issues and go into

Not totally foreign but has been many years since I've had to deal with
starting something like this from scratch.

 ML> Most people who have installed OS/2 successfully have not been
 ML> handicapped by knowing any guru.  I suggest you do what we have done:
 ML> learn by trial and error,

Which I intend to do.  I'm doing the install.

 AR> IMO "necessary" does not mean instead of reading the DOCs, nor instead
 AR> of trying first.  It is excellent for filling in small gaps in someone
 AR> else's experience and pointing towards other info or alternatives.  But
 AR> we generally expect our advice to be for DIY (Do It Yourself.)

And I am looking forward to it.  Love the process of setup.  Sometimes I
think that a project is an excuse to play.  The data/outcome is an aside
to the fun of creating it.  Managed to get a copy of 'Unleashed' &
reading it but I know that it will make more sense after the install.

 ML> Unless, of course, you can find a real OS/2 guru :-).

There are a few from my User Group days but they are very busy.  Sigh.

 AR> this echo. There are several people in this echo that make (or made) a
 AR> living installing and maintaining computer systems for businesses.  But

I use to once upon a time actually. Of course in the DOS world.

 AR> most end users can not afford the expense of such services.  There are
 AR> several of us in this echo who are slowly withdrawing from even
 AR> offering free support outside of our immediate family.  And the reason

I totally understand.  I use to help out but they would get to the 'a
little knowlege is dangerous' phase & get into the most unbelievable
situations, then blame me.  Now I do a 'decide what you want to do, this
is what you should look for, & don't go to these computer places' kind
of advice. I still maintain a few friends' stuff & assist in organizing
things, but that's it.  I did commit myself the other day, though, to
helping someone who was given a 286 recently who is a total computer
novice. Someone else is giving her a 386 board & I'm going to put in the
new board & load Geoworks on the system & do a Y2K patch, etc.  And help
her learn how to use it.  My contribution to helping someone become
computer literate.

 AR> or they are stuck in DOS-Think or addicted to M$.  Having a guru that
 AR> doesn't know much about OS/2 is sort of like all 3 of those reasons.

He's not my OS/2 guru, more of a hardware guru.

 AR> But even worse is when they have setup your system to be so unique that
 AR> it can not be dealt with using standard tools and methods.

It's not really that way, honest.

 AR> until you have your guru come back and do it all over again.  BTW, I'm
 AR> still waiting to see a really good reason why all that jerry-rigging
 AR> was necessary.

To be honest I forgot why but it has something to do with an inherent
weakness of logical extension partitions.  Have had no probs in the DOS
world.  (I know, things are changing.)  Also HS has access to an OS/2
Team person that I don't for conformation if necessary.

 AR> Many of the users of this echo post to help others because they too
 AR> were novices at 1 time and are returning the favor, like passing on a
 AR> skilled trade from 1 generation to the next.  Their only reward is the
 AR> good feeling they get when their advice has led to success.

And I intend to add to that success.

 AR> Personally I feel I am getting too old to deal with all that.  And if
 AR> you have a guru to help you then you don't really need my help anyway.

Now don't think like that!  I look forward to everyone's ideas &
suggestions.  And I appreciate the time & effort everyone is making to
help me prepare for the install.  And like I said, he doesn't claim to
be an OS/2er but he knows hardware better than I do at the moment.  I
was a talented setup person but I never got into the nitty gritty like
he did.

Onward.  And looking forward to your posts.

Anon,

Linda

... Every huge program has a small program trying to get out.
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