I just recently finished the Fedora Core 3 and I tried it out in the system. It worked great, with many new features such as YUM & wireless function were integrated to the core. After installing the whole thing to the notebook, I was able to connect to wireless.

But that was the first problem to come.

You see, Linux has no problem connecting to the wireless network but in my office environment, it was protected by the Microsoft based PPTP encryption VPN. Ops, for those who's not technically savvy, that means my Linux is having problem talking to the wireless network in my office because the main server is running Microsoft Windows. So I guess I have problems connecting through the wireless network. You guys probably know that Microsoft doesn't like Linux anyway...

Tried it out with the wired LAN line and it worked fine. So the first thing I need is a software that is able to access the Microsoft based PPTP encryption VPN. So I turned to PPTP Client and the installation looked simple. I just need to download 6 files to get it running. And the website has even examples on installing the stuff.

So, after downloading the files, I proceed on with the installation. And that's where the nightmare comes. When installing the 4th file, suddenly the installation process gave me an error: "Dependencies Error. GCC needed for xxx-xxxx.x.xx.rpm" Crap! I checked with Ms. Ong/Mrs. Khoo and the Linux guru said I need to install the development kit.

I went through the whole process only to find that Core 3 has problem connecting to the CD drive. Tried manual mounting¹ but still failed. So I tried the Microsoft Dark Side's rule of engagement: I rebooted the Linux.

After rebooting, the system worked fine and the installation managed to run fine. Now, as the 4th & 5th installed properly, the 6th file generated another "Dependencies Error." When I looked through the file, I cannot find it over the whole CD package. No shit.

So, I'm forced to visit Fedora Forum, a place where all the Fedora gurus dispense advice to the questions asked. I'm a passive person so I tried searching through the web first. I was shocked to find the answer. There are at least 20 dependencies that I have to download manually to get the thing running!

ARGH!!! So I stopped for the moment now. I don't think I can continue further on. Let me get my balance straight before proceeding on to play with Linux. After I went through with the ordeal, I realized how much Microsoft has progressed to make the life of a computer user much easier. No, I'm not getting soft on Microsoft. At least not yet until they can come out with something equivalent Mac OS X or something like that.

However seeing how Microsoft Windows work was really amazing. How everything was weaved and woven till this stage and how much they have progressed since MS-DOS. Can any of you remember how we ran Microsoft Windows 3.0 over DOS? How those days where nothing hangs except the program that you're running is poorly written? How much patch do you see on a game?

Whoops, I think I better stop, better not run into that Those Were The Days shit again... I'm afraid to put my dear readers all to sleep!

¹ The CD-Rom in Linux does not work like Windows. Every time you put in a CD-Rom, you need to run a program to tell Linux that there is a media in the drive. And the lousy thing is that when you need to remove the drive, you need to un-mount it before removing the media.