SAM it am, but Not a Man

SAM is the Xfce version of PCLinuxOS.   I’ve installed SAM in two 600 MHz, P3, Dell, GX115’s, each having 256 MB of RAM, over the last couple of days and been very impressed with it’s performance.   When you drop in a CD or plug in a USB drive the appropriate icon appears on the desktop; right-clicking and selecting "Open" from the context menu brings up the CD (or USB drive) in a window..   Moving files to or from the hard drive is simply and easily done via drag-and-drop.   Neither computer has a CD burning drive (CDROM only) so I don’t know about burning CDs but I had no trouble copying files to the USB drive.   The sound and video were both configured perfectly following the installation procedure.   I visited Pandora.com, which runs in Flash, confirming that Flash was installed and working in Firefox and after clicking to agree to the EULA in the installed copy of Real Player for Linux I was able to listen to Blues On Air, KOQX and some nice smooth jazz I found on Shoutcast.

SAM is a Live CD which is also installable to the hard drive.   The installation procedure for SAM isn’t as easy or intuitive as some I’ve used but next to the "Install to hard drive" icon on the desktop is an "Installation Help" icon which opens clear, detailed instructions on how to perform the installation.

The Frozen Bubble game (this link points to a version that’s playable online) didn’t work and setting a user auto-login worked when accessed from the Xfce menu (System/Login Window) but not when set from the PCLinuxOS Control Center.   Without the auto-login feature a user must log into the system each time it boots up (unnecessary extra steps for most of us).   I registered and visited the SAM Forum and I think I’ve got a handle on the problem with Frozen Bubble now.   If following the instructions I was given doesn’t solve the problem I know getting additional help won’t be any problem.   That simple reality is one of the main reasons I’ve had so much fun learning about Linux.   I’ve been able to get knowledgeable, competent assistance with every Linux problem I’ve encountered.   As a newbie, more often than not, my problems were "user errors", you know, what a mechanic refers to as a "loose nut behind the wheel" but that’s the best way for newbies to learn.   Competent, knowledgeable people know this because it’s how they themselves learned.   As long as one is willing to patiently ask for help, keeping in mind that the quality of the answer is directly proportional to the accuracy and detail with which one describes the problem, one will have no trouble finding assistance.   Linux users, like virtually any minority group, tend to have strong feelings of solidarity.   That being said, if you get into Linux, go looking for help and experience any sort of trouble at all, feel free to contact me.   There’s an awful lot I don’t know but I can usually figure out who to ask and I have "dues to pay".