Linux with a good GUI

[William Grim]

I agree with the professor and his statement about GUIs, mostly.  There is a place for each, but the GUI is restrictive in many ways.  The console is restrictive in other ways.  This is why I approach a hybrid use of computers, using each when I find them necessary.

As for the CS414 course, as you say, they're in a Unix programming course.  If they didn't know Unix before then, now's the time to learn.  They wanted to be CS students, and part of that means learning things that are foreign to the user.  Plus, some of the people that complain loudly now will actually come to like Unix; I've seen it happen in the past.  I think they come to like it because once they start understanding it, they feel like they've triumphed over something important to them.

[Bryan]

computer science is a lot like politics, a whole lot of clashing opions and ideas.  And like politics I find myself straddling the fence on almost everything.  Meanwhile I have nothing but pity for those that are extermists in any one direction.

In other words, there is no one right way. EVER.

[Tyler]

Of course there's a right way--my way.  :-P

[Oxnard]

Comedy.

I remember when I first started learning Unix on an ancient Sun box how I hated vi.  It just seemed fucking retarded and how they should come out with something like notepad.  Now I use gvim in windows to edit anything of importance.  I write my English papers in gvim seeing as every command doesn't require me to take my fingers off of the keyboard.

This is pretty much like the transition to Unix.  You hate it at first but wonder how you lived without it once you've come to love it.  Everything is blazingly simple once you've learned how to use it.  Windows is very restrictive once you get past using the tools they give you.  Unix allows you to do anything and everything you want in a very simple manner.

[CSWizard]

I 've used RH8 and RH9 both have a very simple install. I use SUSE now and that install was very easy as well. The SUSE personal edition, downloadable from novell.com comes with KDE3 and the 2.6 kernel. Between the 2 flavors I like SUSE better.    I don't know how it would workout on the system you've described but it is worth a shot.