<quote>Why Linux isn't ready for the desktop</quote>
wow - this is a huge generalization, and like so many generalizations just simply false
I do _not_ run a Linux desktop on a daily basis as my main working desktop, so most people would conclude that I'm not a raving maniac Linux zealot. On the surface, I'm a person, who should agree with your statement, since the main reason, I'm not running Linux as my main desktop is the lack of easy out-of-the-box, or easy download/install hardware driver support for my main machine, a rather new Toshiba laptop. WiFi G and Sound are the obvious trouble spots, I haven't even tried CD burning or other higher end activities. So the machine is a dual boot system at the moment. But since WiFi and sound are rather high priority items for me for daily use, my Linux installation for now is just a secondary boot, when I want to mess about with something Linux.
So why do I still disagree with the generality of your statement?
Because _no_ operating system (and hardware drivers) runs on any and all hardware. Try running Windows on a sparc chip based machine from Sun Microsystems for example, or on a PowerPC based chip from IBM. And I bet, that quite a bit of hardware out there does _not_ have drivers for Mac OS/X. Concluding, that Linux is not ready for the desktop, since certain hardware can't be used for certain Linux distributions, is as silly as saying that Mac OS/X or WinXP is not ready for the desktop.
If my priority would have been to run Linux on my Laptop, I would have chosen a different laptop. Just as people, who's priority it is to run Mac Os/X, will chose an laptop from Apple, rather than one from Toshiba. So why did I chose a Toshiba? Simply speaking, my priority was the hardware spec of the machine, especially the 1400x1050 display (I love all those pixels!)... Other people, end up running OS/X, because they love Apple's hardware.
So, we all have to chose: Pick our hardware, and live with the consequences of now being bound to certain operating system(s), games, productivity and other software. _or_ Pick our OS, and live with the consequence of being tied to certain hardware choices (and software choices).
If I hadn't been so pre-occupied with picking hardware over software, I most certainly would have been able to get a really nice desktop system, which would run quite a number of Linux distro's wonderfully well.
A sort of reverse argument: I most certainly have found incompatible server side hardware (e.g. RAID cards) with certain Linux distro's, kernel versions etc. But just because of that, not many serious people would argue that Linux isn't ready for the server room.
You can run Linux desktops on many more hardware combinations, than you can run Max OS/X (and arguably Windows). And I don't think, that many serious people would argue, that Mac OS/X isn't ready for the desktop.
If a certain software stack is a priority to you, chose your hardware accordingly. This has been the case in computing as long as I know.
my CAD 0.02
...Niels
Andrew Graupe wrote:
Let me start by saying: I like linux. I think the world would be better if everyone used it, and at least a bit more spyware free. That being said, I have just spent most of the day trying to get 3D acceleration with my integrated S3 UniChrome chip. I will say this in favor of nVIDIA and ATi, at least they're common enough that people have come up with workarounds for the various linux bugs. I write this near midnight, after a marathon session of patching, kernel recompiles, and other unpleasantness. That being said, I will still have to reboot often if I want optimum performance because gentoo-dev-sources (which is fast for normal things) can't be patched to work with VIA video chips. I think I'll stay with this for now. At least if the Neverwinter Nights install (the entire reason I'm doing this) goes without a hitch, it will mean a great advancement in terms of linux games. I guess we don't hear about linux games that much because it's so phenomenally hard to get to this point.
I don't mean to flame or troll, but this is the truth. Linux could be a *TEENSY* bit more userfriendly. If the patches for VIA support are out there, why haven't they been merged into the main kernel tree? I have to think that VIA is a fairly big value-mobo manufacturer (the PC in question is an HP; imagine how many are out there), so it's not a fringe brand. At least it's done now.
Regards,
Andrew Graupe
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