Unix/Linux documentation and the rite of passage

[Jamie LaRue]

Exasperated by a series of problems I seemed to lack the wit to solve
(finding printer setup utilities, getting the M505 Palm Pilot to talk to
a USB port, to install Shockwave for Mozilla, to download and install a
couple of interesting programs like Lyx and ToutDoux) I finally PAID a
Linux guru to sit down and take a whack at it.

It was eye-opening. First, I found that a lot of compile tools standard
in some distributions had not be installed by YDL. They were on the CD,
though. That included the printer-install GUI, which seems like quite an oversight.

Second, I find that even to the Linux guru "documentation" is a highly
dynamic experience. Over and over, he would pop into Google and do very
precise searches: exact error messages, for instance, then load the
cache hits from Google.

Of course, most of the hits were the forlorn newbie postings I make:
"how come this won't work? Here's my error message, etc." Way more
questions than answers. 

My observation, too, is that Linux software, while free, lacks one-click
installation programs and the step by step, soothing documentation that
attends software with version numbers greater than 0.9.

And yet, I find myself strangely bemused. I'm getting it, a little. It's
a totally non-linear experience, like finding yourself hanging from a
cliff face with a bagful of unfamiliar tools. The motivation is there.

As to those problems. There are some good web descriptions for getting a
patch to the gpilot-link to let you talk to your M505 through a USB
port. My guru was unsuccessful, but will contact the guy who wrote the
patch to see what's up -- and possibly, my USB cable is bad. There is a
known problem getting Shockwave to work with Mozilla on the PPC. The
Mandrake distro people don't seem to have it, just YDL. And with the
proper files installed, I even downloaded and brought up OpenOffice.

Hang in there, everybody. All we have is each other.