[ubuntu-uk] A GUI Grub editor?

[SteVe Cook]

alan c wrote:
> My world is mostly populated by windows users who are interested in 
> moving to linux - computer fairs, talks to local groups, friends etc. 
> They have more than a healthy fear of change and usually can not cope 
> well with command line or even file editing, certainly not at first.
> 
> A recent contact has just tried kubuntu, successfully (just) getting 
> it installed onto a resized second HD, but wants to have the dual boot 
> default to be windows, because linux is being 'tested', and anyway, 
> the customer is always right.
> 
> In the past, when I was personally in that same status of wanting use 
> of a lot of dual booting, with changes of mind, it happens I was using 
> suse which has an excellent gui grub editor (and a pretty pretty boot 
> menu display too). I used it quite a lot, even when starting with 
> Kubuntu, to manage my grub needs even when kubuntu became my default, 
> with no windows on the machine. Suse being used to help kubuntu use. :-)
> 
> My recent contact just about coped with the partitioning and install. 
> I suspect some fatigue has occurred with him trying to find what can 
> or cannot be done in linux land. It seems most of his MS office macros 
> do not seem to work, for example. The culture change and his 
> expectations are all a bit much for him I think.
> 
> Unfortunately, even the simplest (to me) editing of grub menu.1st is 
> he says 'over my head', and I get the impression that the dual boot 
> default to (k)ubuntu and the apparent difficulty in changing this to 
> windows, has spooked this person into feeling even more loss of 
> control than he had in windows.
> 
> This is a negative situation at a stage of linux introduction which I 
> believe is not untypical. It is easy to forget what it felt like when 
> first trying linux after years of couch potato use of windows.
> 
> The 'in-windows' exe installer which is under development will 
> certainly help of course, in time.
> 
> Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I make the point that a gui grub editor 
> would have a strong value for that precious breed - newbies. Maybe 
> there is a gui grub editor easily available  for (k)ubuntu, but it did 
> not appear in my searches.

This is one of several areas that ubuntu lets it's self down.  Home 
networking/internet sharing and dual screens are a couple of other areas 
that can be hard work, especially for windows users who are used to a 
simple GUI set-up.


SteVe