Hi. If you want a Linux system to come up automatically to a GUI,
just start a display manager during the boot up process.
I don't know about xdm, but you can configure gdm to automatically
log in a user account at boot. This solves your idea of a Linux
system starting a GUI without asking for a log in. It has to
be a user account, not the root user for this to work. The GUI
user can do things that require beeing root if they know the password.
If the system runs Gnome for its desktop, the Windows user won't
have problems. They should be encouraged to read the help to
find out all the new things they can customize.
If they need to swap files with friends who still use Windows,
they just have to save a copy in MS format for there poor friends
still stuck in Windows.
You can press control alt f1 through control alt f 6 for a
text console log in.
True hardware detection isn't perfect, but it's improving. I
haven't been in Windows in a while, but I remember having problems
with Window's hardware detection on occasion.
I think you are confused about single and multi user run levels
in Linux. Your idea of a system behaving like a windows system will
require the system to be in multi user mode so it can do everything
a home user would want.
Single user mode or run level 1 is only good for certain system
changes. For example, I put my system in single user mode when
I changed the file system from ext2 to ext3.
I didn't quote your message, so let me know if I missed any points.
Kenny
