Wow! That's really a refreshing viewpoint. I have this love/hate
relationship with Linux. I started out as a GUI programmer in the NT world,
and currently I write backend network management systems for Solaris/Linux
as well as GUIs on NT - so I "wear two hats" so to speak in my career as a
programmer. In general, I like Windows and I like Linux; however, I have
not been able to afford the Linux religous zeal because my ability to eat
and buy computer equipment was/is contigent on writing GUIs for Windows.
I have always had this nagging feeling that the unix/linux community
couldn't care less about user interfaces almost to the extent that GUIs were
pretty much plain evil. If you think about it, all computer interfaces are
GUIs whether it is a CLI terminal window or the GIMP. The GUIs in MAC,
Windows, and BeOS are all really pretty good, they behave pretty much
intuitively. Linux GUIs on the other hand are generally pretty crappy, maybe
that's why a lot of Linux folks are always bemoaning GUIs? GUIs themselves
are not road blocks, it's the design of a particular GUI that is a road
block.
I would have hoped by now, nearly 10 years, that someone out there in the
Linux community would sit down an write something on par (IMHO) with MAC,
Windows, and BeOS. Enlightenment is really cool, and so is KDE, but there
is a consistency that is missing -- little trivial user feed-back things and
navigation issues that don't have the maturity of the other GUIs on the
market.
I would be willing to pay as much for a decent GUI IDE for Linux as I do for
Visual Studio/MSDN. KDevelop is realy great - a godsend in fact - but you
get what you pay for. Just because it runs on Linux doesn't mean I will
refuse to pay for it, or that I must have the source code for a particular
product. Actually, for a majority of software products I could care less
about owning the source code. It's not that I want an AOL-type OS, it's more
that a lot of times I have other things to do than to tinker with my OS.
I don't think the advancement in human-computer interfaces will ever be
found within the Linux community - i think that's too bad. It will probably
be this one thing that keeps Linux as a server/embedded OS or something for
the OS hobbiest.
I would really love it if Adobe, InstallShield, Quicken, etc, and even MS
would develop products for Linux; however, if MS starting writing products
for Linux I think many many people would chunk Windows in a heartbeat.
ps: too bad that BeOS is de-emphasizing their place on the desktop - to me
it was what Linux could be as a desktop OS...
-----Original Message-----
From: Brendan K Callahan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2000 4:34 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [newbie] WIll this thread end?? lol
OK, time for my 2 cents, lol
I always enjoy having a Linux box--connecting a LAN to the internet is so
stable that way!
I also enjoy the *wealth* of apps available for Windows.
Each OS has different consumers, and end uses in mind--the only real
solution
I've ever seen is to have at least two computers--one with Linux, and one
with
Windows. Each has it's strengths and weaknesses. Linux has gained on
Windows
for ease of use and installation in the last few years. WIndows, IMHO, has
improved over the years. It's not perfect. Linux is not easy (but getting
there very fast.). As my Canadian guest has said, the OS that combines the
best of both, will win.
And if you want to talk dumbing down of users by OS, I think Mac takes the
cake
for *that* one!
Brendan K Callahan, Grinnell, IA, US K0EES, Extra Class License
http://www.mp3.com/darkmare_romeo
K0EES, Extra Class License <dahdidah dahdahdahdahdah dit dit dididit>
