Bohdan,
I think that most Linux users (fanatics even )
would agree with you that there is a tradeoff in choosing between Linux and
Windows. Granted that if I go to the store and buy a big-brand computer it with
Windows it will just work. And I can go buy hardware and software and it will
just work mostly. So while many Linux'ers might say or think that Windows is
"bad", it does basically do the job that it is meant to do. So what do you lose
by running Windows?
* The main thing for me is it's opacity. After 6 months
when my Windows computer all clags up with software that has never been tested
to work together, how do I fix it? I might be lucky and be able to uninstall and
reinstall, muck with the registry or somesuch. But inevitable I will have to
reinstall - and the reason is that so much is hidden from the user. Not being
transparent and open may mean I have to pay someone a lot to fix it. I might
have to wait for the vendor to come up with a fix, or even have to pay for the
upgrade when it comes. I will find it difficult to be able to trace what is
going because of the closed nature of the software limiting my visibility. (Yes
there are books and specifications and the like, but these only go so
far).
* Because of the need to support very old APIs (going
back to Windows 3.0 even) and without publishing how these things work, the
software needs to become big and bloated. It even needs to support previous
mistakes made by application developers, and support that software in the same
way it used to on every new OS upgrade. Hence it consumes far more resources
than is needed by Linux to do the same job. ( I am at this moment running a 2GHz
Laptop with WinXP with 768MB - it feels less responsive than a 800MHz laptop
with 256MB of RAM running Ubuntu Linux. And this is basically untuned - by
judicious decisions on what daemons should run, what kernel functions I really
need, you can probably make this better). Unfortunately with Windows it is very
hard to know what to tune to fix these issues.
* There are lots of applications for Windows that will
meet by needs. But unfortunately until I buy them I can't really try them. In
Linux and open-source I don't have that constraint. I can also seek to change
the application to suit my needs, if directly by hacking the code (or paying
someone to do it for me) or indirectly through filing bug requests, and the
like.
So why is Windows the main game
still?
* Yes it does work quite well and is feature rich. But
this is really because of it being entrenched in the market more than anything.
Sadly this means that for games vendors and hardware vendors (that make drivers)
that directly need/want to make money from the sale of product, this is where
they will be aim for. However if Linux breaks through (and it is IMHO slowly but
surely) then this will get there attention.
* Because of the market size it is the "safe" and
default option for home and business alike. There are load of people that know
the quirks of Windows, experienced in supporting it, and so forth. Support
services for Linux based systems are still not yet ubiquitous (at least not as
accessible as those for Windows). Again, I believe this is changing quickly -
many of my work colleagues who had basically only ever worked with Windows (not
even UNIX) have now had a chance to play with the modern Linuxes. Many of them
like what they see (but of cause the bulk of the work is still for Windows
customers - so the cycle must continue for a little while
yet)
So I will grant you that Linux is still a bit hard. It
is a bit like moving to another country where they have a different language,
different voltages and power points, and they use imperial nuts and you just
bought new metric spanners.( I have pretty well all the hardware working in
Linux on my laptop now - it hibernates and wakes-up, my camera, printer and
scanner "just worked" - though I had to compile the kernel module for orinoco
USB wireless chipset. However I have PCMCIA smart card that will basically never
work - because the vendor is closed source only). Yes, I do tweak config
files with a text editor. But a lot of that is simply because I like to - and
also because I don't probably explore the Gnome menus enough. I am trying to
force myself to use the GUI - just so I can be my own n00by. I feel that many of
the distros are reaching the "nanna" point - ready for deployment on you
grandmother's computer who lives down the coast.
But Bohdan, stick in there, it is getting there. Linux
is breaking through - quicker than ever as the community grows and people begin
to realise it's value. It does take all of us though to make it better. So get
in there , join the support forums or IRC channels, write up a blog of how you
got something to work, write an update to a manual page, or sit down with a
friend who can't affford a grunty box to run Windows and install Linux and watch
their eyes light up. There are lots of things to do make Linux really go places
- just a little work and patience and probably a lot of love, but that sounds a
bit mushy :-)
Regards, Martin
Martin Visser
Technology Consultant
Consulting &
Integration
Technology Solutions Group - HP Services
410 Concord
Road
Rhodes NSW
2138
Australia
Mobile: +61-411-254-513
Fax:
+61-2-9022-1800
E-mail:
martin.visserAThp.com
This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify HP immediately by return email and then delete the email, destroy any printed copy and do not disclose or use the information in it.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bohdan S
Sent: Thursday, 16 March 2006 6:48 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected]
Subject: [SLUG] Re: [SCLUG] Re: Interesting view
so lets try and get more windows and linux together and less baggin windows because all us leet *nix users who cant play games or use our usb toys (hehehe mug warmer.....) but have a OS noone else understands lol.
Well thats MY 2cents now i gota hide me email so i dont get flammed lol (j/k)
On 3/16/06, Matt
Palmer <[EMAIL PROTECTED] >
wrote:
On Thu, Mar 16, 2006 at 08:24:11AM +1100, ashley maher wrote:
> An interesting interview.
>
> http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/3629/106/
>
> <quote>
> Windows is more reliable than Linux.
> </quote>
It's all about perspective. When it comes to relying on your OS to be full
of holes and chock full of viruses, you'd have to admit that Windows *is*
far more reliable than Linux.
- Matt
--
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.
-- Bjarne Stroustrup
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