FC4 slimfast slimfest

[Michael A. Peters]

On 02/23/2005 12:52:35 PM, Leszek Matok wrote:
> Dnia 23-02-2005, śro o godzinie 21:16 +0100, Michael Schwendt napisał
> (a):
> > Then do a better job at educating that person about extra packages
> and
> > how to get them easily. His choice of words ("stupid") is
> inappropriate
> > already. More friendlier of him would be to ask about how to add  
> mp3
> > support, in case you had not warned him earlier.
> In fact I warn and give instruction how to install xmms-mp3, disable
> librh_mp3.so, install mplayer etc., but only to few of my friends who
> want to try out Linux and can count on my support. I don't sell
> copies,
> but I can imagine the hell any Fedora CD/DVD seller has to go through
> :)

I have gone through absolutely no hell.
When a customer asks how to play mp3's - I simply tell them how to  
import gpg keys to Fedora Extras and rpm.livna.org - and how to add  
them to yum.

Then - getting mp3 support is as easy as

yum install xmms-mp3 gstreamer-plugins-mp3

That then pulls in everything they need.
If they need it in sox - I provide a replacement rpm for them, if I  
ever get a "cease and stop" for that, I'll just provide the simple  
instructions (yum install mad-devel lame-devel; rpmbuild --rebuild sox- 
***)

> 
> The typical user who wants to try out Fedora is disappointed when  
> they
> install for the first time. I for one don't want Linux to be 31337, I
> want it to be seen as an alternative to Windows or MacOS even by
> Windows/MacOS users, and that can happen only if such user doesn't  
> get
> disgusted after even test installation. I don't care if the users go
> back to their systems if only they get the impression that Linux
> works.

It does work.
MS for eons did not ship an mp3 encoder, they still don't ship a DVD  
decoder. It's not hard to add the support, and certainly easier than  
Fedora going to a non free distribution method in order to pay for the  
patents.

> The bad thing is only if they go back and say "I had Linux on my box
> once, but it doesn't do this, this and this, and I had to find some
> third-party packages which I didn't know how to install, so it  
> sucks".

They have to get third party software, often $$$, to do stuff in  
Windows or OS X as well. Stuff that Fedora provides functionallity for  
OOB.

-- 
Michael A. Peters
http://mpeters.us/