From: Chris Robinson 

I think it was Monday night that I decided to nuke XP and install RedHat on
my box at home.  I've installed Linux before but never really done much
else with it so I thought I'd give my initial impressions so far. Bear in
mind that I am a total Linux Newbie but a bit of a Windows geek so I'm
probably typical of a first time mover to Linux from Windows.  I think in a
way it's more irritating for someone familiar with Windows to move to Linux
than someone who's never used either because for the Windows experienced
you're used to knowing how to do everything.  To go back to being a newbie
is a hard thing to do.

1. Installation:
The distro I chose was RedHat 8.0 (not particularly geared for super ease
of use for a newb but the only one I had available at the time).  I cleared
my XP partition so I had free space on my HDD before installing (I took an
image of XP first should I need to go back).  I'd describe the installation
of RedHat as being as easy as the installation of any version of Windows. 
In the past the setup of Linux (especially partitioning!) has always put me
off but RedHat's installer (Anaconda) has a wizard for everything.  In a
nut shell the install process involved me clicking "next" a
number of times and that was about as complicated as it got - simple!

2. First use:
As I selected "personal desktop" as my configuration, RedHat had
installed pretty much everything I needed to get going.  I have an e-mail
client, office software (OpenOffice - compatible with MS Office), browser,
CD-R software, Games, the list goes on.  Naturally I was most impressed as
the second thing that worried me about Linux was the installation of
software - this was now something I could learn to do at my leisure rather
than needed to learn quickly in order to get up and running.

3. Learning:
Nothing has gone wrong since I've installed RedHat.  There have been a
couple of things I've had to find out for myself but, like most information
on Linux, it's easy to find on the web.  The things I've had some problems
with are below:

    - NTFS Support:  I had other Windows drives with all my MP3's etc on
so my second major task was to find out how to how to access these.  A
quick search revealed that Linux doesn't really support write to NTFS but
does support read.  It was a fairly simple procedure to get an RPM for my
Kernel version that added NTFS support and to then mount my NTFS partitions
(and have them auto mount when I boot up).  This worked fine.

    - MP3 Support:  RedHat haven't included MP3 support for XMMS (a
Winamp clone, and a good one at that!) for legal worries but again, a quick
search on the net got me a patch that added this support and hey presto! 
MP3's a go-go.

    - Network Browsing:  I'm yet to be successful at browsing my home
network but haven't really given it a proper go yet.  There was a tool
called Lisa included in RedHat that was for network configuration.  I let
it auto-configure (nice feature) and have been able to see other PC's and
their shares (all XP boxes) but can't see any files - I'll have to continue
looking into this.

    - Digital Camera:  I use a Casio Exilim EX-S2 and was worried that
Linux may not support it.  I needent be however because all I need to do
was mount it with a simple command and I could access my photo's as easy as
in Windows!

4. Things I really liked:
The setup process couldn't be easier IMO - I really welcomed that.  I also
liked the add/remove programs equivalent in RedHat and the more wizard-like
approach it took to everything (only if I wanted to though - the advanced
stuff is still there if you need it).  I also like the customisability of
it - the little things like adding a weather report icon to your panel are
great.  I know that many experienced Windows users get really peaved at the
hand holding approach taken by Windows but that's because it's done all
worng.  A lot of things in Windows force you into a hand holding way of
working and turn things on by default that you may not want.  This is where
Linux shines.  Whilst it has all the wizards e.t.c for nebie's like me,
it's still a highly configurable, do what you like OS - it's so nice to
tell an OS what you want to do rather than the other way around.

5. Notes:
In general I've been very impressed with my first propper attempt at using
Linux and I really think it's moving somewhere in ease of use terms.  It
should be noted that I used RedHat 8 which is not really geared to the
Newbie.  For example, Mandrake 9 (which I'm soon to try out) includes NTFS
support built in (as do most Linux disto's except RedHat - unlucky huh?)
and also MP3 support.  Mandrake also automatically mounts USB mass storage
devices (like my digital camera). Once I get it I'll test the LAN browsing
out but out of the box I think Mandrake will do almost everything I need
without me having to lift a finger - now that's ease of use for you.

If at this point I had to describe using Windows and Linux I'd say this: 
Using Linux is liek having a butler.  You can ask youe butler for anything
and he'll happily oblige, or you can do it yourself - it's up to you. 
Using later versions of Windows (like XP) is like having a tour guide
intead of your butler.  Your guide will say "now over here we
have....." etc and will probably shout at you should you try to go
exploring by yourself - watch out!

Chris.

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