I’m not certain but I think I’ve been wrestling with SAM Linux for about two weeks now.   I can’t fault their support team, they kept plugging away until my video problem was solved but as soon as we solved the video problem other problems manifested.   I won’t go into it here but if you’re curious, check the forums for postings by "eldergeek" (that’s me).

Because I just acquired two more of the same computers (Dell, GX115, 600 MHz, P3 w/256 MB of PC100 RAM) I decided to try a different distro so I installed Mandriva on one of them.   With four CDs in the Mandriva set it took a while to complete the install.   The process was relatively user friendly but it would have been challenging for me in a couple of places if I hadn’t already had some experience with Linux and with this particular model of computer.   For example, having spent several days fighting with what was essentially a video problem (which prevented the Frozen Bubble game from working in SAM), I was aware that this computer has limited onboard video resources so I selected 1024 X 768 @ 60 Hz with 15 bit color and I selected KDE (because I don’t care for the other choices, which were Gnome or IceWM) as my desktop environment .   Mandriva surprised me by working beautifully.   Lisa and I took turns tweaking and playing with it for the next couple of hours.   Mandriva is a little different from any other distro we’ve looked at but we like it very much.   The next morning I had errands to run and it was fairly late in the day before I was free to tinker with computers again by which time I’d decided that, having one more GX115 with no Operating System in it, I’d try yet another distro.   A couple of hours later I’d learned that neither openSUSE 10.2 nor Freespire 1.0 was going to work for me on this system.   By which I mean to say that a more educated geek might well have known how to resolve the difficulties but they were beyond me.   At any rate, I started over with Mandriva and the installation proceeded without a hitch and, like SAM, Mandriva zips right along on these computers.

At this point I decided to check the SAM forums and found clear, simple suggestions on how to fix the other problems I was having so I “fired ‘er up” and gave it a try.   The suggestions were right on and the problems were solved.   It actually took longer for the computer to boot up than it took to fix the problems and I was pleased but, at the same time, annoyed.   Either Mandriva with KDE or SAM with Xfce would make an excellent distro for a first-time Linux user, with or without Windows experience, but an inexperienced computer user (let alone a beginner) would find it challenging to cope with the specific technical questions asked by Mandriva during the install or the post-install tweaking required by SAM.   I’m a geek, plain and simple.   I enjoy learning new things and solving problems so I’m having a blast with Linux but I’m giving one of these computers to a neighbor who’s never owned a computer before.   She wants to surf the web and exchange email with her friends and family.   I want her to have the most reliable, user-friendly, intuitive, cost-free Operating System available.   It bothers me that I still don’t know which distro best fits that description but I am narrowing it down.

The adventure continues…

Don Crowder

P.S.   I’m a long way from being an expert but if you’re having Linux problems, or have questions, such knowledge as I possess is at your disposal.