[H-GEN] Availability to help very new user

[Anthony Irwin]

Rohan Walsh wrote:
> 2 - I am not going to be available to help him after the install, even
> online, for quite some time.
> 
> I was going to install CentOS5 + Dag, but if HUMBUG or someone on the
> list is going to help him learn, I will install what is your preference.

I would have thought that Ubuntu would be a better choice for a new 
user if he plans on using the system as a desktop. Centos is better 
suited for servers as it is an enterprise system. A desktop user is 
probably going to want newer software which Ubuntu provides.

> Glenn lacks knowledge, but appears to be willing and able to learn. His
> reasons to try linux are at least partly ideological, so he will likely
> be willing to put in the effort.
> 
> So:
> Will anyone help this guy?
> What distro do you want installed?
> What lists/pages ought I point him towards? (Yes, I know ESR's page,
> already on my list)
> 

I would imagine if the guy is willing to learn then he will find 
people that are willing to help. If the guy is a beginner the a 
beginner distro will probably be easier to get help with as they are 
more set up to help beginners.

There are many forums around with people that are willing to help, for 
example there is http://ubuntuforums.org/ which even has an absolute 
beginners talk forums section with people that monitor it to answer 
beginner questions.

While centos is good for servers I personally would not want to run it 
as a desktop as the software tends to be a bit older and I prefer to 
have newer software on my desktop systems.

Also if they guy really gets stuck then I am sure someone from humbug 
would be able to help on list or worst case he makes a trip to a 
humbug meeting.

-- 
Kind Regards,
Anthony Irwin

http://www.irwinresources.com
http://www.makehomebusiness.com