blender installation

Linux has a small market share for a reason. It is still not general user friendly, to say the least. It has taken me over 20 hours to install a working version, including wireless, on my laptop. Not good at all. Windows took 20 minutes and worked out of the box first try.
For example, I downloaded Blender and installed it into my home directory. Now when I click on Blender, nothing happens. What is with that???? It should be simple. Download and click. No reading forums to no end. No searching the internet. Nothing should be required.

No cryptic lines to type into a command box. No ********. Just download and click.

I will still fight it out because I am very stubborn, but please, as a community, don't say that Linux is superior when obviously it has a long way to go yet. And I mean years and years of experience to gain.

Ok, enough frustration ranting....it's been a long 20 hours. Can someone please help me get this Blender thing started?

Keith

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Originally Posted by keithclark

For example, I downloaded Blender and installed it into my home directory. Now when I click on Blender, nothing happens. What is with that???? It should be simple. Download and click. No reading forums to no end. No searching the internet. Nothing should be required.

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The easiest way to install any software in Linux is to use a package manager. It just works in a different way than in Windows, that's all.

The Linux distribution you are using (Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse and the likes) provides you a packages management utility, from which you can install any program directly.

If you want more help, just tell us which distro you are using.

Thanks! I'm using Mandriva 2007.1.

I know it is just different and I'm going to stick it out, and I'm sorry to have vented in my earlier post.

Keith

Well, have you already read the Linux is NOT Windows article? This is a common complaint from new users and is usually due to ignorance which makes them believe everything should behave like Windows.

I totally agree, and that is exactly why I converted my laptop over. I will stick it out. I tend to forget the 15 years of ingrained DOS/Windows experience. This is new. Windows was not that easy either in the beginning.

I will get there.

Keith

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Originally Posted by antidrugue

The easiest way to install any software in Linux is to use a package manager. It just works in a different way than in Windows, that's all.

The Linux distribution you are using (Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse and the likes) provides you a packages management utility, from which you can install any program directly.

If you want more help, just tell us which distro you are using.

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Ok, you are so right. I found the right install packages program within Mandriva. It is so easy.

Thank you so much for the great tip!!

Keith

Ok, I think the Linux community needs to inform potential customers of what it is not.

It is not windows. It will not install perfectly the first time...or many times after that.

You have to have two computers....one with Windows to enable you to find help online on how to install it. You will not be able to install it without such help.

It will not play DVDs.

Wireless is not an option out of the box. It will take that second Windows computer in order to find and download a driver. That is WINDOWS BASED.

I have been involved with computers for many years, and I am having difficulty grasping this whole thing. I can only imagine what the average user, like my wife, would do if she even attempted Linux.

This is an OS dedicated for those who like the nitty gritty of a system. Not for those who want to get actual work done. Like video editing, watching a DVD, Quickbooks. The real life apps. Not just surfing the net and emails.

You have a lot to learn from Windows I'm afraid. I've given it every chance since Mandrake 7.0 and things are really no better off!

I wish it were different, but I'm afraid not.

In the end, you get what you pay for I suppose. You pay for. You pay for Windows and it works. Plain and simple.

Keith

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Ok, I think the Linux community needs to inform potential customers of what it is not.

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Yes, that's why we have the sticky on the newbie section
It

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is not windows. It will not install perfectly the first time...or many times after that.

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This is not the case always, with my new laptop everything worked out of the box with Linux Mint (Ubuntu with extra bits)

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You have to have two computers....one with Windows to enable you to find help online on how to install it. You will not be able to install it without such help.

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No, you don't need two computers, the first time I installed Linux (Fedora Core 2), a year ago I just used man pages and the documentation on the CDs

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Wireless is not an option out of the box. It will take that second Windows computer in order to find and download a driver. That is WINDOWS BASED.

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Of course it's an option, as I mentioned earlier, my wireless worked flawlessly when I first booted Ubuntu on my brand new laptop, it connected perfectly to my WPA-PSK wireless network

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I have been involved with computers for many years, and I am having difficulty grasping this whole thing. I can only imagine what the average user, like my wife, would do if she even attempted Linux.

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This is you problem, for users completely new to computers Linux is MUCH easier than people that have been using computers (assume Windows) for years

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This is an OS dedicated for those who like the nitty gritty of a system. Not for those who want to get actual work done. Like video editing, watching a DVD, Quickbooks. The real life apps. Not just surfing the net and emails

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Some distros, say Gentoo or Arch is for people who want to tinker with their computers, but there are Linux distros like Ubuntu for people who want the computer to be useful at once.
I do some simple video editing with Avidemux and Kino regularly on my laptop, I watch a DVD every week day night with VLC, I also do most of my statiscts homework on my Linux box using Qalculate

Of course, I spend a lot of time surfing the net and sending emails

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In the end, you get what you pay for I suppose. You pay for. You pay for Windows and it works. Plain and simple.

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In Linux the motivation to create a great OS is not money, it is something even better, reputation and freedom

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Ok, I think the Linux community needs to inform potential customers of what it is not.

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I forgot the first part, there are no such thing like a "Linux customer" (maybe Novell, RedHat customers), we are users

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Originally Posted by Juan Pablo

Yes, that's why we have the sticky on the newbie section
It
This is not the case always, with my new laptop everything worked out of the box with Linux Mint (Ubuntu with extra bits)

No, you don't need two computers, the first time I installed Linux (Fedora Core 2), a year ago I just used man pages and the documentation on the CDs

Of course it's an option, as I mentioned earlier, my wireless worked flawlessly when I first booted Ubuntu on my brand new laptop, it connected perfectly to my WPA-PSK wireless network

This is you problem, for users completely new to computers Linux is MUCH easier than people that have been using computers (assume Windows) for years

Some distros, say Gentoo or Arch is for people who want to tinker with their computers, but there are Linux distros like Ubuntu for people who want the computer to be useful at once.
I do some simple video editing with Avidemux and Kino regularly on my laptop, I watch a DVD every week day night with VLC, I also do most of my statiscts homework on my Linux box using Qalculate

Of course, I spend a lot of time surfing the net and sending emails


In Linux the motivation to create a great OS is not money, it is something even better, reputation and freedom

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Well, you said it all.....new laptop worked out of the box......"with extras"

Keith

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Originally Posted by Juan Pablo

Yes, that's why we have the sticky on the newbie section
It
This is not the case always, with my new laptop everything worked out of the box with Linux Mint (Ubuntu with extra bits)

No, you don't need two computers, the first time I installed Linux (Fedora Core 2), a year ago I just used man pages and the documentation on the CDs

Of course it's an option, as I mentioned earlier, my wireless worked flawlessly when I first booted Ubuntu on my brand new laptop, it connected perfectly to my WPA-PSK wireless network

This is you problem, for users completely new to computers Linux is MUCH easier than people that have been using computers (assume Windows) for years

Some distros, say Gentoo or Arch is for people who want to tinker with their computers, but there are Linux distros like Ubuntu for people who want the computer to be useful at once.
I do some simple video editing with Avidemux and Kino regularly on my laptop, I watch a DVD every week day night with VLC, I also do most of my statiscts homework on my Linux box using Qalculate

Of course, I spend a lot of time surfing the net and sending emails


In Linux the motivation to create a great OS is not money, it is something even better, reputation and freedom


I forgot the first part, there are no such thing like a "Linux customer" (maybe Novell, RedHat customers), we are users

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Here is another Linux Developer idea. Who cares about all the flavours? Just make them for models of computers! I would love one that enables all the features of my Compaq R4000 Laptop. I don't care about Mandriva's needs, or Fedora's. I just want Linux to work with what I paid good money for. Out of the box. No extras. I would pay good money for that, in order to avoid Microsoft......who currently makes the only operating system that works with everything on my computer.

And don't bring up the argument of there are too many different models. I see lots of different distros of linux based on nothing better than a whim.

Keith