Posted on 09/17/2007 1:58:54 PM PDT by TChris
This column is written for mainstream, nontechie users of digital technology. These folks aren’t necessarily novices, and they aren’t afraid of computers. They also aren’t stupid. They simply want their digital products to operate as promised, with as little maintenance and hassle as possible.
So, I have steered away from recommending Linux, the free computer operating system that is the darling of many techies and IT managers, and a challenger to Microsoft’s dominant Windows and Apple’s resurgent Macintosh operating system, OS X. Linux, which runs on the same hardware as Windows, has always required much more technical expertise and a yen for tinkering than average users possess.
(Excerpt) Read more at ptech.allthingsd.com ...
Tech ping?
I like Ubuntu just fine, but then again I’m not a typical user. Shoot, I’ve dual booted Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (its most stable version) and Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (beta version, final release due sometime next month) before just for s**ts and giggles. I’ve always been of the mind that you go with what works for you. I like Linux. My husband is a gamer, so he runs XP. Someone else likes Macs. If it works for you, then there ya go.
I have Kubuntu Feisty for dual-boot on my notebook, with XP for primary. I was mostly happy with it, except for the horrid mess that is Linux wireless support. That killed it for me.
I don't mind tweaking things a LITTLE, but the idea of doing an NDIS wrapped kludge of a driver for my wireless just turned me off.
I'll wait 'till later.
Oh no, I completely understand the wireless support issue. It has its own section on the Ubuntu forums. I’ve been lucky so far *knock on computer desk* the only thing I’ve really had to work at was getting my webcam up and running so I can video chat with my niece (and so my mom can see our sons. Gotta have those Grandma moments *s*)
Tried to put Linux (Puppy Linux) on a computer, and it was very difficult to get it to work. Actually, it didn't fully work.
When they make a free operating system that installs easily and then functions easily--and, as freepers on one of the EU court decision threads stated, when more software comes out that works on Linux--then there could be a flood of people to move to Linux (it is free, after all).
It’s ready for me. I went DOS—>Windows98—XP, over 14 years. Last winter, I installed Kubuntu and went cold turkey. Likewise my65 year-old brother whose user profile is like mine—long time Windows user. We thumb our noses at MS updates and viruses.
Kubuntu is great.
Why should Linux install easier than Windows? In fact I could argue that, since it's a one-time event, the install should be irrelevant.
Once installed, though, I have found that Linux is usually easier to run and operate than Windows.
But that's just my $0.02. :)
Not only that, but most of the applications you'll need are already installed too!
> Why should Linux install easier than Windows? In fact I could argue that, since it's a one-time event, the install should be irrelevant.
Point well made. Most users do not, in fact, install their Windows either -- it came pre-installed on the hard drive. And after a year or two, when their Windows install is stale and corrupt, slow and unstable, and they are faced with the necessity of re-installing Windows, they... BUY A NEW COMPUTER WITH WINDOWS PRE-INSTALLED.
Ease of installation is a canard.
> Once installed, though, I have found that Linux is usually easier to run and operate than Windows. But that's just my $0.02. :)
Depends on what you're doing; I find them about equal overall. As you know from my previous tech posts, I'm a Linux user, also a Mac user, also a Windows user, also a NetBSD user, and my job is as a Sys Admin using them all, plus Solaris. None are perfect.
For the past year my personal systems have been Macs. Before that for 5 years they were Linux boxes, before that, for a long time, they were Windows. Before that, Macs. Before that, DOS, Unix (Sys5), and a variety of homebrewed microprocessor systems.
I have no religion with regard to operating systems.
So two days ago, at a company function, a businessman introduces himself to me, and says, "You're an IT guy, answer me this. I'm just a guy running a business. I need computers to get and place orders with thousands of customers and hundreds of vendors. I am sick of Windows and its vulnerability to viruses. I want something better, but I don't know whether to go with Mac or Linux. What should I get?"
I asked, "What are your mission-critical applications?"
He said, "Outlook, Excel, and a big accounting package. Outlook is essential, most of my customers and vendors use it. Excel helps me organize, and the accounting package runs my business front-to-back."
I asked, "Do you have any computer support (IT) people at your business?"
He said, "No, I just take my computers to the local repair shop when they break."
I asked, "What operating systems does your accounting package run on?"
He said, "Just Windows. Although I suppose I could convert to another accounting package if I had to, but I'd be hurting bad if it took more than a couple of days."
I said, "Sorry to say this, but if you are wedded to Outlook and a Windows-only accounting package, and you don't have in-house IT support, I cannot in good conscience recommend that you move away from Windows at this time. Your situation is that you're stuck, until such time as you can find a highly-trusted consulting outfit that can plan and execute a major shift in your business tools. In the meantime, learn to love good anti-virus and anti-spyware packages."
Sure, I know about Evolution and I use OpenOffice myself on all my systems. I hated to say it, but Linux would not be for this guy -- it could literally put him out of business. Even a shift to Macs would be more risky than dealing with the devil he knows already.
Damn Microsoft. Software didn't have to turn out this way. It sure wasn't like this when I started in the early 70's. *sigh*
I burned the Ubuntu CD and boot off it occasionally.
Aside from losing all my settings when I shut down, the thing that turns me off more than anything else is the fonts.
Some sites render readable fonts but a few sites I go to, ugh!
After reading several horror stories from folks that attempted to partition and install Linux on their Windows comp. I decided to try it only off CD.
Funny thing is that I know Linux fairly well (I run Gentoo on my laptop and on my home server, an old white box), but I couldn't get Puppy to install, either. You would almost certainly find that openSUSE (which I highly recommend) or K/Ubuntu is much easier to install.
Frankly, I'd argue that if Linux isn't ready for Joe User then neither is Windows. I grow weary of hearing the memes about Windows "it just works" and "it's easy to use".
Most issues that people cite as making Linux harder to use than Windows are usually tied to setting up the computer (getting drivers installed and printers set up, for example). In this arena, Windows only "just works" because they got it preinstalled. If these same users had to do a vanilla Windows install (i.e. from a retail box, not the Dell-ified ones they get with their PCs), they would find that "hard", too.
I've had to set up Dell boxes with Windows and then scramble online to get the drivers (even drivers for the network card!). If Windows had the level of support expected of Linux, you'd never need a driver disc with a printer or scanner. It would all be there. The truth is that Linux has built in support for more hardware than any other system on the market.
Another one is that they say that they shouldn't have to go to the command line and edit /etc/some-file.conf to get their printer running. Fair enough. But let's keep the playing field equal here. Do you think that the registry settings are easier? That being told "run regedt32 find key {002300323432-A34jq23942} and change BZORK to true" is better than editing a conf file? I remember sitting in a Chinese restaurant waiting for an order, picking up a paper and glancing at the tech column. Some user (an average joe, from all indications) had written that Outlook Express had conked out on them. The solution? Edit some obscure registry setting. Is that less opaque? I don't think so.
The biggest reason people feel that Windows is easier to use is inertia. They've been using Windows their entire computer lives. They kinda know their way around in it and can survive. By "Linux is hard to use" most of them really mean that "Linux isn't like Windows!". But if Linux were just like Windows, there would be no need for Linux, now would there?
Sure there would. Half of what's wrong with Windows isn't Windows, it's Microsoft and the degree of control they can exert over your computing experience. If there were a public, free, GPL'ed binary-compatible version of Windows, I'd install it today. Half my Windows problems would be solved.
After some of the installs I've been through, I don't think so. SuSe 9 (10?), was really great except that the install display was split into four raster images in a quartered display. It was very hard to puzzle out and answer some questions -- the worst install I've had since the original Win95 which hung if the mouse was attached.
Kubuntu 7.04 wins my prize for the most effortless Linux install I have yet seen, equal to the best Win installs.
True enough.
If there were a public, free, GPL'ed binary-compatible version of Windows, I'd install it today. Half my Windows problems would be solved.
You're not the only one who thinks so. There is already such a project underway called ReactOS (http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html) . I don't know how good it is. I played with it in a VM for a few minutes and that was about it. Can't hurt to drop it in a lab machine, VM, or spare box somewhere and give it a whirl.
I’m familiar with the project (or at least aware of it’s existence), but I haven’t had time to install it yet. Installing in a VM is a thing I like to do when trying out new OS’es too.
Dell, HP, and Lenovo who sell to the average user disagree..
Well said.
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