Linux vs Microsoft XP: Optimizations Make Linux the Killer Desktop

Consulting Times ^ | 23 May 2005 | Tom Adelstein

[blowfish]

Try the YaST installer on Suse and get back to me. It just doesn't get much easier to find and install applications.

[Bush2000]

Last weekend. I had to install a bunch of stuff -- and it wasn't pretty. It wasn't enough to install the RPMs. I had to dig through "docs" (quotes intentional) that were written by somebody with the literacy skills of a kindergartner. Then, I had to find a bunch of dependent tarballs on the Web (no links provided, of course). And then, after building, I had to deal with a cascading set of version incompatibilities. It took between 4 and 5 hours to do something that would have been effortless in Windows.

You're probably going to deny that people go through these kinds of problems with Linux. But, if you're honest with yourself, you know that this is commonplace.

[Bush2000]

It's great that you have the knowledge and time to geek it up like that. Most folks don't. For those who don't want to be their own IT department, the current Macs are almost unbelieveably well-executed.

You know, one of the reasons that PCs have achieved overwhelming market share compared to Macs is because of the vast number of choices available to consumers.

I agree that PCs, as configured by Dell and other major OEMs, are too difficult to manage. But, as I've said on related threads, this isn't due to a fundamental architectural problem in Windows. Windows, like OS X and Linux, has privileged and unprivileged accounts. OEMs chose to ship their products with accounts preconfigured with privileged access. They do this because there are many apps (notably games) which assume unbridled access to OS facilities. OEMs decided to err on the side of compatibility. I disagree with their choice. I think that, if PCs are going to run in a networked environment, they need to be fundamentally locked-down out of the box. MS has basically achieved that kind of configuration with Windows 2003 Server. It's pretty damned tight.

That said, it's a pretty simple matter to lockdown a PC. One of the first steps is creating and running an unprivileged account. Once you've eliminated that attack vector, it becomes considerably more difficult for malware to attack you. So, in my view, the 15 or 20 minutes that it takes me to lockdown a PC well justifies the wider range of choices that I have, with respect to software and hardware.

Macs aren't brilliant. They limit the range of choices available to consumers considerably. I simply wouldn't compromise, with that kind of tradeoff.

[Bush2000]

Funny how these guys that write programs for Linux just don't seem to be able to grasp that.

Yeah, a lot of these dorks think that it's enough to post "instructions" on how to install their software, rather than provide comprehensive automated setup. Sheez, what aquamaroons.

What's even better is that it appears that Apple has beaten the opensource guys, in less time, at their own game.

Agreed. If you have to go 'nix, go Mac or BSD or Slolaris.

[goldstategop]

I love Xandros 3.0. Its better than the Windows Me I used to run on an old laptop and one can set it up the way one likes it. I've never even had to use the command line. And booting up to the Internet is ridiculously easy. All the key tools are named just like in Windows. And the best thing about Linux, next to the free open source software, is the stability. It'll keep running when you find you have to reboot Windows. Thousands of Linux newbies have discovered the news that its not for geeks anymore!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goldstategop]

Xandros 3.0 IS a descendant of the old Corel Linux you worked with. Its by far the easiest to use Linux desktop I've ever tried. Its even available in a free open circulation version but I suspect most users will shell out the dollars for the deluxe product which comes with a bonus: thanks to a nifty Cross-over plugin, you can run certain Windows program within Linux! So you get the best of both worlds and can take the time to decide what YOU want on your computer, not Bill Gates. Today, the Linux desktop has come of age and as a very Windows-like feel. Forget the command line and the need to learn complicated commands. Just point and click. It couldn't be simpler!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[N3WBI3]

You have sworn in the past you dont let Linux boxes in your environment? What were you installing onto what platofrm. Fedora Automacially installs RPM's from web links..

Sound to me like youre just clueless, or really good at making easy things hard.. I never install from source any more! I think the last time I did was a POV raytrace app on RH8..

I administer 30 Linux servers at work and two at home, and I never install from source! ever!

[streetpreacher]

I have been looking at Linux and gaming as well.  Here are a few resources on the subject that are probably worth taking a look at:

Gaming on Linux - Will It Ever Become a Reality?

TransGaming Technologies - Cedega Allows Window-based Games to Run on Linux

TransGaming.Org Games Database

I thought I would ping you, rdb3 to ask if you are familiar with the Cedega product?

[streetpreacher]

Desert Combat... the only reason to buy BF 1942.

[streetpreacher]

I'm thinking of buying an X-Box, opening it up, putting a bigger hard drive in and hardwiring it to run Linux.

This would be to use as a PC only of course as it would be impossible to run games anymore.

[streetpreacher]

See my post #88.

[Swordmaker]

That means it wasn't intentional. So nobody "pulled anything" on the guys who did Stacker.

How do you then explain the Stacker code found in Disk Doubler? How about one of Stacker's coder's mother's name still left in the code?

They didn't even file off the serial numbers!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Yuppers, that's copyright.

[Swordmaker]

Too bad ... Swordmaker, N3WBI3, and HAL would be flipping burgers...

Find ONE instance where I have said that any of those OSes "Sucks" and I'll make you a hamburger...

[Born Conservative]

Desert Combat... the only reason to buy BF 1942.

Absolutely!

Which server do you usually play on? Which map is your favorite?

[Bush2000]

How do you then explain the Stacker code found in Disk Doubler? How about one of Stacker's coder's mother's name still left in the code? They didn't even file off the serial numbers!

Silly, silly little man: You've been taken in by urban myth scam artists with an axe to grind against M$. That nonsense is simply false. Here's a clue: If Stac had proof of such chicanery, it would have sued M$ not only for patent infringement -- but also copyright violation. Stac didn't do that -- because no such code exists.

[Bush2000]

It wasn't in my environment. I was configuring some software (bugzilla, CVS, mySQL, etc) for one of my colleagues at a local university using Red Hat 9.

I knew that you would deny that this is a problem -- or try to downplay it by calling people "clueless" -- but the sad fact is that other people on this thread (and FR) have no doubt seen similar installation/configuration issues using Linux. Some people like to say that Linux is "ultimately configurable" -- which means that proper installation/config is a highly labor-intensive activity. Anybody who denies that is full of crap.

[general_re]

I wouldn't say it is anywhere Dreamweaver MX 04, but it is pretty close to Dreamweaver 3.

I wouldn't say that, unless it's made a major leap since I played with it back in March or so. Unlike Dreamweaver 3, NVU has zero support for scripting. No JSP, PHP, ASP - nothing. Actually, that's being generous - it has less than zero support for scripting. Example: so NVU has no facilities to help you create scripts, big deal. Let's hand-roll a little script and import it in - easy, right? Now watch NVU corrupt your carefully hand-written script by treating it as a CSS object. Oops.

Bzzzt. Someday it might be useful, but as it is right now, it's not anywhere close to being useful on a day to day basis, let alone being as good as Dreamweaver 3.

[N3WBI3]

I knew that you would deny that this is a problem

Because, with any of the leading distros its not a problem. Everything I have installed for years has been RPM via either rhn, yum, or just clicking in a window..

or try to downplay it by calling people "clueless"

Hey if anyone around here downplays problems and calls people clueless its you. I do it from time to time when someone makes a statement so false either they are lying or clueless..

Im Microsoft, CompTia, and Redhat certified, I walso work with all Windows, and Linux all the time (including integration). I would like to point out in the very post you said I was denying things and calling you clueless, you turn around and call me clueless..

[N3WBI3]

I just installed it on my box and it does have jsp, and php support..