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Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

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Soyuz
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Joined: 2014-12-27 17:51

Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#1 Post by Soyuz »

Now.
Linux developers are making a tremendous job creating wonderfull software.
But - alas - so many of them do not know anything as to explain how to do stuff.
I have recently tried to burn a Knoppix bootable CD reading through pages upon pages on the Internet.
In some of those pages, which all promised that I could make such a CD by reading those pages, I was presented with pages upon pages about how CD-Rom drives are working, the inner working of a Linux Kernel, and in some instances I was also told the nuts and bolts about, how a CD-Rom was produced in the first place.
In none of those pages was there a simple recipy on how to actually grab my Debian, put in a CD, point to the iso-image of Knoppix and burn a bootable CD!

That is: from a commercial point of view, all that information was UTTERLY USELESS!!!!!!!!!
Wake up, developers.
I do not want a lot of <beep>ing technical nuts and bolts information. I want the job done!!!! Tell me how I can do that, and I might be more than willing to listen to all the technical stuff afterwards. I SAID: AFTERWARDS.
That is also what your manager on your job wants you to do - not telling how your clever little program was compiled in a genious way, but how the user can use the program to get the job done, and preferably how it is done. Not WHY it is done.

In many companies, if a Linux developer delivers info like in the above, he or she will eventually become booted! (I myself would - in many instances - use both left and right boot when booting people who explains all the inner workings without explaining precisely how the produce can be brought into use.
For Pete's sake: It is like they sell you a commodity without delivering a proper users manual).

BTW: I am - as of this time stamp - still not running Knoppix, as there seems to exist no such thing as a proper explanation about making the bootable CD with my running Debian.

:twisted:

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#2 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Soyuz wrote:as there seems to exist no such thing as a proper explanation about making the bootable CD with my running Debian.
Use xfburn
deadbang

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dasein
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#3 Post by dasein »

Soyuz wrote:That is: from a commercial point of view, all that information was UTTERLY USELESS!!!!!!!!!
But since Debian is not a commercial distro, then maybe this feedback is the ultimate non sequitur.
Soyuz wrote:I want the job done!!!!
No problem. Custom-generated professional user assistance content costs roughly $50 per page to generate. I'll get right on it after your check has cleared. (I SAID: AFTERWARDS.)

Alternately, you could invest your own time and effort to create your notion of an absolutely perfect newbie-friendly HOWTO, which this forum will even host for free. Your first contribution is eagerly awaited.
Soyuz wrote:For Pete's sake: It is like they sell you a commodity without delivering a proper users manual).
At the risk of pointing out the incredibly obvious, no one is trying to sell you anything. Rather, someone spent literally thousands of hours creating a wonderful gift which they then handed to you for free, and you have the sheer gall to piss and whine about the fact that that was all they did for you.
Soyuz wrote:That is also what your manager on your job wants you to do...
Wow, you must be a real treat to work for (not to mention shop for).

But that gets back (for the third time now) into the whole thing where my employer is paying me, so s/he has a right to expect, even demand, that I do certain things, to a certain standard, even in a certain way. (See: "as soon as your check clears," above.)

Speaking of demanding, remind yourself that this forum is also volunteer venue, full of Debian users (not developers). Barging in and demanding better service, as if this were some paid customer service department, may prove suboptimal as a method of motivating volunteers. (Just sayin')

P.S. I did a swipe-and-right-click on a proper explanation about making the bootable CD with my running Debian and got the answer on the very first Google hit. That means that 97% of the electrons in your OP were wasted unnecessarily. Somebody who worked for me and expended 20x the energy necessary to get a job done would need to clean out their desk immediately.

(Sheesh. Some peoples' kids :roll:)

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buntunub
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#4 Post by buntunub »

I still can't get past the fact that the OP actually posted on Debian forums that he/she needs a "how to" to burn a cd image. :lol:

My 5 year old kid knows how to burn files onto a cd.. Do you want him to tell you how to do it? Maybe your poor kid can show you (if you have one).

What I can tell you for 100% sure though is that Linux is not for you!

tomazzi
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#5 Post by tomazzi »

dasein, I don't like You (saying gently) - and You know why...
but this time, I'm fully agree with You, since that moron didn't even ttried to read available docs and is complaining about non-existing problems.

Explanation (for those who need it): the ISO images provided by Debian are conforming with a RedBook specs, so they can be burned on a normal CD/DVD or or dd'd to a USB drive - each modern BIOS should have no problem in booting them.

What to do with the installer is another problem ... ;)
Odi profanum vulgus

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vicshrike
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#6 Post by vicshrike »

Just dd the iso to an usb-stick, problem solved!

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thanatos_incarnate
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#7 Post by thanatos_incarnate »

Answer: because both filtering the proper information and reading it is hard.


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RawMustard
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#9 Post by RawMustard »

We are surely seeing the results of a dumbed down, public, western, education system.

Give me a fish!
No, I don't want to know how to catch a fish, I just want a free fish!

We're all doooooomed I tell ya, dooooooomed!

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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#10 Post by edbarx »

Once upon a time, people had a mind of their own...
Debian == { > 30, 000 packages }; Debian != systemd
The worst infection of all, is a false sense of security!
It is hard to get away from CLI tools.

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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#11 Post by Bulkley »

edbarx wrote:Once upon a time, people had a mind of their own...
Thinking for oneself requires effort. It is not putting one's hand up and hollering, "Help!" Thinking for oneself requires time. The best tools are often a large mug of coffee, a note pad and a pencil.

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Issyer
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#12 Post by Issyer »

Soyuz wrote:For Pete's sake: It is like they sell you a commodity without delivering a proper users manual).
Here we go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf00mEe9EOs

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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#13 Post by Deb-fan »

Well OP, am sure somebody's already pointed out that you're a troll and you ARE, shrugs. Though am actually going to take the troll bait and reply. The main reason why ( imo), is because you haven't bothered to learn anything for yourself. Whether that's just because you're dumb, lazy etc etc, doesn't really matter.

Though getting back to the original question and jmo on it. It's because there are TONS of people like you around, they haven't bothered learning anything either. So it's a case of the blind, leading the blind and people who can't find their arses w both hands trying to teach someone who can't find their arse either how to find it, more shrugs.

Also there's the very real prospect that you just can't find a good tute on whatever it is you're trying to do and/or can't follow it correctly and/or a combination of all these things ... ending shrug. Thank you for playing whiney Debian troll. Please come back soon with other trollish/stupe questions ... kay ?

Oh yeah and just for the record. Imo you're not just a fektarded troll, you're also a liar. If you started using gnu/nix back when it was actually hard ( now a one eyed retard could easily install 100 distros on a system.) and yet you can't grok simple tech obstacles and say things like you've posted ? Gimme a break, know you're just doing what tarded trolls do but don't expect me to believe you're anything but a tarded troll dude.

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dariusdor
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Re: Why are so many "How To' s utterly useless?

#14 Post by dariusdor »

My take on how-tos:

The how-to will often have one step left out. This step will be crucial, making it impossible to complete the task without it. I've run into this from way back in my Amiga days through many operating systems through to now.

Why? My theory is this: the how-to is usually written by the original programmer. The step left out will be so obvious and intuitive to the programmer that he will not consciously think about it. He will not see that he is missing the step. So he won't write it.
The really successful criminals never break laws. They make them.

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