Re: About the goals of Indy

["Bud Beckman" <n7su@micron.net>]

Jean,

Another revision.

I have tried not to be too strident, an informal look without blaming too
harshly any particular group. I think it better to try and embrace the
reader in our cause, especially if he is new to Linux, like me, and
looking for answers to problems or a distribution that will take his
needs to heart.
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What is Indy?

The new Linux user needs have been ignored. Mostly, a new Linux user,
"newbie" had to learn how to use Linux on their own, or to administrate
multiple computers from one. The newbie did accomplish this even though
given solutions by people with years of experience in Unix
administration, but the solution to a problem was extremely hard to find,
and, more to the point, not easily understood. One would look in the
Frequently Asked Questions, FAQS, the document files or the hundreds of
"HOWTO" files which are included on a distribution CD. Even though the
newbie Linux user has available to him/her various Linux distributions,
the problem still persists. How does one get Linux installed and working
on his computer? Indy is attempting to make installation easy and
available to all who desire to use an operating system that is inherently
stable.

At present, the distributions seem to treat Linux as an operating system
for hackers, however, more and more marketing people, musicians,
professors of literature, in fact, many academic groups are using Linux,
people whose skill and needs are vastly different from the traditional
Unix user.

Moreover, obsolete programs continue to find their way into distributions
due to tradition, or, by lobbying of a vocal minority of Unix interest
groups while far better and easier applications available to Linux remain
in obscurity and infrequently used.

All these problems have a common origin:
distributions treat Linux as a traditional Unix without noticing that its
small cost allows it to be used for tasks and contexts which Unix was
never used, more importantly, used by the typical home computer user.

Indy, with your help, intends to have Linux users take charge and build a
better distribution, to pay attention to our needs, our problems, that we
no longer have to rely on solutions coming from traditional Unix users or
from what are now obsolete traditions in many distributions. The newbie
should not need to re-boot to Windows to connect to the Internet.  And at
work, setting up a network should be intuitively supported to allow the
penetration of Linux into a Windows dominated office.

With your help, Indy can be the solution.

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I've added some of Brian's comments as well.

Bud