>
> I like Ubuntu, and I like Linux (especially on the server end of
> things), but we are so incredibly far away from the "year of Linux on
> the Desktop" it's sort of laughable.
>
That is funny. I laugh everytime someone says year of Linux on the
desktop because I've actually been using Linux as my sole desktop on all
my computers for something like 8 years now. The last 5 years of which
have been really great with no major issues and all the applications I
need. And Virtualbox ensures that I'll always have a solution for
running Windows easily if anything special comes up (not often).
The only issue I do have are ones that can't really be helped easily like
Flash crashing frequently in 32-bit firefox on a 64-bit machine. But I
usually get around that by running Galeon for flash stuff and keeping
Firefox for non-flash stuff.
Most people critize what they don't understand. I do it too. For
instance, recently I've been going back to Windows sometimes to learn
new things there and I sit in front of it and wonder how I'm going to go
about running a program or configuring Windows to do something or fix
something that is wrong. The same thing happens when I sit in front of
a Mac. I know what I want to do and I have a general idea of how to do
it, but I don't know how to get started.
Does that sound familiar to anyone? I hear those exact complaints
about Linux and people think its Linux, but its not, its simply lack of
familiarity. For me, Linux works in a predictable way. And when it
breaks, it usually breaks in a way I understand and can easily fix. If
it doesn't, I can easily get at the internals to fix it and often
searching for an error message on Google reveals the solution. And the
solution usually works. I usually have my workstation running for
30-60 days before I have to reboot. Usually I end up breaking
things because I try to do too much, like foolishly trying to run some
huge scene in Blender that requires several GB of RAM.
On Windows, I can't tell you how many times I became frustrated with
Windows because it gave me some obscure error message or situation that
offered me no way to fix, get at the internals, and few people online
talked about the same issue. As Tim Bradshaw once said:
"Sure it's `easier' but this is in the same way that Windows is easier
than Unix: it's faster to learn, but eventually you just get so
frustrated you have to take an angle-grinder to the computer, and it
really takes ages to get all the little bits of computer out of the
carpet."
This is why I don't like Windows, it doesn't break in realiable ways.
Its like having a crazy girlfriend. Its really annoying and hard to
break things off with. If they've somehow fixed that in the past 8 years
by giving it a prozac, then I'm sorry but its too late, I've already
found my soul mate of an operating system and until it becomes old and
decrepit I ain't leaving. But probably by that time I will be old and
decrepit too so it will work out ok.
As for Mac, I can't say anything about the Mac Mini I have because it
hasn't really broken on me yet. Its actually pretty nice and I respect
Apple for making something better for the consumer. But there are still
some things that you have to do from the terminal in OS X. Unless
someone knows how to mount a samba filesystem through the GUI (without
installing some 3rd party app). OS X will be my mistress OS.
--
Mark Krenz
Bloomington Linux Users Group
http://www.bloomingtonlinux.org/
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