[pri.gnhlug@iadonisi.to: Dialup with RH72]

[jbk at mail2.gis.net (jbk)]

I never followed the instructions in the new user guide, I just clicked on the
'desktop' Internet Configuration Tool and answered the prompts with the required
information, and it worked when I was done.
I agree that a lot of times the User Guides are not up to date with the features.

Paul Iadonisi wrote:

> Figured I'ld try this list to.  Any ideas?
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Paul Iadonisi -----
>
> Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 20:37:52 -0500
> From: Paul Iadonisi
> To: gnhlug at zk3.dec.com
> Subject: Dialup with RH72
> User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5.1i
> X-List-Info: gnhlug at zk3.dec.com; Majordomo 1.92
>
>   With all the recent talk about gpg/pgp and how easy it is to forge email,
> some people are surely going to think this message is forged.  Paul Iadonisi
> is actually going to gripe about Red Hat. ;-)
>   For a moment, pretend I am a newbie Linux user (all right now, stop the
> snickering).  I want to configure dialup internet access (I SAID, stop that
> snickering).  I don't ever want to see no stinkin' command line.  So I
> follow the documentation for getting online (Getting Started Guide, Chapter
> Five).  I got through the Internet Configuration Wizard and enter my
> provider's name, phone number, my login and password and I'm done.  Or so
> I thought.
>   The next subsection of the manual talks about the Network Administration
> Tool (neat), so I try that.  This tool seems to be more comprehensive, so
> I try tweaking various options in the GUI like adding usepeerdns and
> defaultroute (like a newbie would really know this), but I don't think
> I'm doing anything useful.  I give up, save what I have and try to see
> if I can initiate a connection.  The manual says that just launching an
> internet application like Mozilla will initiate a connection, but it doesn't.
>   I search through the Gnome foot menus and find the RH PPP dialer (gee,
> what's PeePeePee, anyhow?)  I try that and I get a list of 'interfaces'
> to choose from, whatever they are, but I pick ppp0 since that's what I
> set up earlier, or that's the closest to the PPP dialer that I just clicked
> on.  I now get a stupid little window with nothing to click on and a right
> click just lets me do some more configuration (am I done *yet*?).  The
> 'connect to ppp0' and 'disconnect to ppp0' are both greyed out.
>   So how the *&^^# to do I connect?
>
> ====
>
>   Now stop pretending and remember that I'm a Linux guru^W^Wexperienced Linux
> user (;-)).  I know enough to type 'ifup ppp0' and tweak the ifcfg-ppp0
> file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts until it works right.  But why all
> these fancy gooies if they don't do what they're supposed to?
>   Am I really that clueless when it comes to navigating GUIs that I'm doomed
> to forever resort to the command line.  Not that that bothers me, really,
> I'm just trying to come up with a setup that's not scary for the computer
> newbie.
>   Or is what I think it is -- that Red Hat needs to do a lot more work to
> make this useable for the average non-techie user.  I know it's not their
> current focus, but they do seem to be putting a lot of work into the deskop,
> so why not get it right?
>   Any ideas?
> --
> -Paul Iadonisi
>  Senior System Administrator
>  Red Hat Certified Engineer / Local Linux Lobbyist
>  Ever see a penguin fly?  --  Try Linux.
>  GPL all the way: Sell services, don't lease secrets
>
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> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> --
> -Paul Iadonisi
>  Senior System Administrator
>  Red Hat Certified Engineer / Local Linux Lobbyist
>  Ever see a penguin fly?  --  Try Linux.
>  GPL all the way: Sell services, don't lease secrets
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