----- Original Message ---- From: Tracy R Reed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Main Discussion List for KPLUG <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 6:56:35 PM Subject: Re: Three Scenarios For How Microsoft's Open Source Threat Could End -- Microsoft Takes On Open Source
Ralph Shumaker wrote: > I *almost* thought I would never hear that, specifically: > >> Linux has better driver support than [Windows] > > Ahhhhh. What a relief it is. You know, I hadn't actually realized it but you are 100%. It really is a nice change! Linux has incrementally improved slowly but steadily over the years and I guess lately I have come to take for granted that just about any hardware I am likely to buy (I don't buy cheap crap winmodems, printers, webcams, etc. I'll take a real UART, network attached postscript, and firewire, thankyouverymuch) and haven't fought with drivers in years. > I don't remember how I became aware of Linux. But I was searching the > internet for it. (The search tools back then were not as good and my > ability to use them was even worse. (I have gotten better at it, though > sometimes it doesn't seem that way.)) I found ultraviolet.org and an > email address for Tracy. Ahh...the memories! Actually, I had completely forgotten about helping you back then but I bet I have our initial conversations archived away in email somewhere. Someday I should make all of my private email searchable somehow now that I have the disk space and cpu power for that kind of thing. I discovered Linux thanks to a fellow named wingnut (Dave-something IRL) on #startrek on EFnet IRC back in '93/94. I was tired of Windows and was looking into OS/2 and since I couldn't afford to purchase it and couldn't pirate it. He mentioned Linux and sent me looking for the TAMU distribution. But TAMU had just recently stopped publishing their distro and while reading the Linux FAQ on rohan.sdsu.edu a fellow named Stafford Rau noticed what I was reading in the process list and sent me a talk request. We ended up meeting for lunch where he loaned me his stack of 3.5" floppies containing an early version of slackware. I printed out literally everything from the relatively small Linux Documentation Project and spent the next year reading, experimenting, and re-installing. I would say it took me two years to really come up to speed on Linux. Of course I still learn new things all the time. No idea where either of those two are anymore but I certainly owe them my thanks. > It was a fairly steep learning curve. But trying the things that one No kidding. Like I said, it took me a couple years to really become proficient with it. But now I consider it time well invested because learning Linux has paid off well in terms of actually giving me a career. I relied heavily on IRC and the fledgling www to get up to speed. The Linux Documentation Project was key back in the day also when there were not yet many Linux books out. > and miss. Video drivers were an issue with many advanced cards. Video drivers are still an issue if you want 3d but I hope in the next few years that problem will be solved also. > Fortunately, after USB came into common use, and Linux finally got good > support for it, printer and scanner drivers were becoming less and less > of a problem. By the time I went to get a new printer & scanner, I I was quite skeptical of USB at first, especially before Linux really supported it well. But now I use USB keyboards, mice, and especially external hard drives for backup purposes and I am quite pleased with how it has worked out. > With all this, I just find it soothing to hear someone say: Getting customers to upgrade to Vista is easier than it seems for Microsoft. If they see that customers are not upgrading than announce a early end of life for XP. The question is what will their larger business customers do. It's really a mystery why Microsoft did not try harder to get hardware manufacturers to write drivers for Vista sooner. But this goes to show Microsoft's disregard for their customers needs. Microsoft dictates to their customers when to upgrade and how the software is to be used via the EULA. > >> Linux has better driver support than [Windows] Yep. What I wonder now is: for how long will this situation last? Vista is relatively new. It may catch up and pass Linux once again in terms of driver support if MS is successful in getting everyone forced over to Vista so that all of the hardware manufacturers have to make drivers for Vista. -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
