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123 Comments
- RMoore08, on 11/11/2008, -6/+95Daft Punk > Kanye West.
Just so you know. - Vancent, on 11/11/2008, -3/+88Do it faster.
- gotcheaprice, on 11/11/2008, -4/+89Work it harder
- craeyon, on 11/11/2008, -5/+87Makes us stronger.
- RMoore08, on 11/11/2008, -4/+60Our work is NEVER over.
- ShadowFoxxx, on 11/11/2008, -6/+57More than ever hour after
- ksong12, on 11/11/2008, -22/+69Move it better.
- EmitStop, on 11/11/2008, -1/+38The World > Kanye West
- kingfoot, on 11/11/2008, -3/+33Make it better
- inactive, on 11/11/2008, -2/+23I wasn't aware that this was a Linux vs. Windows article. Seriously, why do you ***** morons click on a Linux article just to post how you don't care about Linux? If it bothers you that much, filter out the Linux section, retards.
- ryananger, on 11/11/2008, -2/+21You obviously had something to do with them.
The joke here being that you are also gay. - AutomaticTLC, on 11/11/2008, -2/+15Daft Punk > The World
- inactive, on 11/11/2008, -2/+12Kanye is a dick who breaks people's cameras.
- inactive, on 11/11/2008, -2/+9whats with your gay face?
SNAP! - arjie, on 11/11/2008, -1/+7I'm pretty sure you have no clue how much things can be customized. Linux obviously isn't for you because you value your game (which is understandable, I have Vista because I play BF2 now and then) but I can tell you, it's incredible how much can be changed to be _just_ the way you want it.
- atezun, on 11/11/2008, -2/+8How does limited to your understanding NOT apply to any other operating system? You're less likely to do it in windows and mac because it isn't as prevalent or encouraged, but I'd say these tasks wouldn't be much easier on mac or windows. Hell some of the operations listed are impossible to do in other operating systems.
- LoopyChew, on 11/11/2008, -0/+6One of the biology teachers at our school once said something along the lines of, "there are numerous advantages of sexual reproduction over asexual reproduction, and I remembered some more last night."
- Zorkon, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5As a former Linux sysadmin and software developer who switched to OS X (on my desktop), I have a problem with the opening statement:
"One of the main appeal of Linux (and open source softwares) is the freedom of customization and the choice to do virtually anything you want."
Not true. Linux is an excellent operating system, but there are some things that are problematic in one OS, that are easier to do in another. It is *not* the single solution to all computing needs, despite what the fervent Linux supporters say (and I used to be one, "back in the day").
Linux is not the ideal desktop OS for everyone. It's not the best platform if you're into gaming. It's multi-media support has been improving, but you'll still be able to play back more media formats under Windows or OS X, with less trouble, than you will in Linux (note: this is due to the proprietary nature of the formats & isn't the fault of Linux - but it does contradict the opening statement of the article)
So in short, use whatever OS works best for you. Use several in fact. If you have issues with proprietary software, by all means use Linux, or one of the BSD variants. But keep in mind that *NO* OS is a one-size-fits-all solution to every computing problem. - rotten777, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5Both of you sound like you're about 15-16 years old (nothing wrong with that) and haven't realized that computers aren't JUST for gaming.
A lot of casual users don't even game on their computers (imagine that). They use it for photos, e-mail, video editing, surfing the web, IM, VoIP, music, and such. On top of that, they don't like paying so much for the OS, then anti-virus, then for the office suite, etc. when it can be had for free and (in some peoples opinion) better than the XP/Vista MS-Office offerings. - chubbstar, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5chould of be?
yikes. - MacHarborGuy, on 11/11/2008, -1/+6unless, of course, you pick up a specifically designed distro, like Mythbuntu. About the only OS interfaces you see are the system update program, the initial install and the advanced settings window. Other than those 3 things, you never really have to dip into the OS itself and are given a very easy to use front end that does most everything a DVR needs to do.
it is when you need to add support for other things, like the Firefly RF Remote Control, that you have to go deep into terminal commands, but not everyone that uses Mythbuntu will do that and will instead go out a buy an already supported RF or IR remote control. - BruceAnderson, on 11/11/2008, -0/+5I realised the sexual implications of using those words together twice last night.
It was wonderful. - arjie, on 11/11/2008, -0/+4Sokkratez: What you say about Flash is true. However, if videos on your hard drive are stuttering perhaps your video drivers aren't properly installed or something.
I cannot imagine how you can't find Workspaces useful, perhaps you should turn off the switching effects?
As for customisation: I will tell you what I remember (from the simple to the complex, as they come to mind) right now, not what I have right now, because I've just installed a vanilla copy of Ubuntu:-
1. Stripped down desktops for games. When I had a very old computer, I used to have a desktop that consisted of basically a terminal 'rxvt' and X.org. From that, I used to play Unreal Tournament, performance was nicer than otherwise. This is only good if you actually have games that run on Linux, I was fortunate.
2. Compiz has many features which are more than flashy. I had mine set to popup the Compiz equivalent of Expose for Mac (it's called Scale here) which shows all windows scaled down to one size when I threw the mouse to the bottom right corner. I found it useful.
3. At one point of time, I had a bad habit, I'd download flash videos from Youtube. I wrote a small script (trivially simple, because my knowledge of scripting is poor) which extracted the sound from the .flv (using mplayer -dumpaudio, IIRC), set the id3v2 tag (forgot the name of the utility), and wrote up a filelist of all mp3s that it converted from .flv in that directory (can be used with mplayer as a playlist).
4. There's another habit I have, when I see a list of thumbnail called 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg, it takes me a one-liner to download all 324 of them. I like that, it's convenient. My dad liked this very much because it was annoying to pick out all the pictures from the web page and save them (a lot of medical stuff is listed like this. Really they should offer a zip file)
5. My local mail client (which I use in addition to gmail) filters out unsigned mail. I find this useful because I use this account only for stuff that I know a certain few friends alone will send me. This part really isn't Linux-specific, because it can be done at the server too.
6. I only did this for fun, but it shows the ability of the system. My old computer was set up to dial out to a connection as soon as it turned on. At first this was a source of annoyance, but when I got my newer connection (charged on transfer rather than time) it was fun. You know why? Because I could set mpd to start at boot and play from radio. What this meant is that I was greeted with music while I was still logging in. I got this idea from a hilarious bug report which I can't find now but I think it was on digg.
7. I had one computer set up to download torrents ( The Project Gutenberg Torrents - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_CD_and ... | Ubuntu | Debian | nearly all the MP3 copies of Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull's albums that I have because a nice cousin left them here when he left for Leicester, England ) and to run a few programs that have to do with something my dad wanted done. This computer was just the tower, and it was set up in the corner of a living room, it had no monitor, no nothing, but I could use SSH to get to it. Tip that everyone knows: Screen is god's gift to everything, only second in awesomeness to testdisk.
This is not including the tiny things I like: I can change how window focus acts (follows mouse, follows click), the Compose key (so I can type » « ° é ¨ ©, this acts similar to how the Cmd key acts on Macs except I have it set to Caps Lock, which I never use), what trackpad gestures do (this is still in a bad state, you have to disable tap-to-click and normal touchpad working to make it work, there's an IBM article on it, search if you're interested), and stuff like that which I've taken for granted that I don't even think of it until I miss it.
And trust me, I'm no geek. When I was 11, I was copying shortcut files to a floppy thinking the program itself was copied. It's just that when I started using Red Hat 8 in 2003 (I was 15), and the Internet just opened up all these options to me. Things I didn't even think of changing before became possible (I'd never heard of the Compose key, or the different window focus options, or SSH, or scripts). I still don't know how to write a bash script very well (I google for syntax every time I write that for loop I mentioned above) but damn, let me tell you, I've saved so much time using the tools available on Linux that I couldn't before. - paulsmith288, on 11/11/2008, -0/+4Its like that all over the net these days - guess the advantage of gaining linux installs is that now more attention is paid by the MS bots. Ok you like you windows box, why tell us linux heads?
VIsta is so great it can control my kitchen sink and let me use water in accordance with the MS EULA. - Knet88, on 11/11/2008, -0/+4(assuming you are replying to r3negadeX)
You wouldn't see about 90% of what linux users say if you filtered out the linux section, there is how you make us "STFU". - farmerbb, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Dugg for Daft Punk.
- MacHarborGuy, on 11/11/2008, -1/+4free does not "always" mean better, like "free popcorn" that some video rental stores offer on occasion (bleh)
Linux, IMO, is far better as an obscure, yet community driven "utility" system.
Want to build a DVR? MythTV
Want to build a MAME system? well, MAME (and a big arcade cabinet, getting those woodworking geeks in gear)
Want to build a PBX system? Asterix
As a desktop system it has just never fit with me. While I am just "the exception, not the rule", there are plenty of other "exceptions" out there who would agree with me, just as there are many out there who would disagree. - Wonderama, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Shirley Temple > Kanye West, for cryin' out loud.
- LinuxCobra, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Kanye West Ego > Kanye West
- Sokkratez, on 11/11/2008, -0/+3Thanks for the reply and not assuming I was just looking to hate on Linux.
I looked over your list and looked for Windows alternatives to the tasks you were performing. A couple I didn't really understand, like the unsigned e-mail one, as I don't really use e-mail for much other than what various internet accounts and school requires of me. My 15 minutes of research was done in my Google Reader starred items where I tag Lifehacker articles that I think I may find useful in the future. And now they're becoming useful!
Anyway, let's see...
1. I'm thinking this example is just to show how a box can be a dedicated gamebox? Fine I guess, but I am not sure how useful it is for somebody playing games already. I'm more interested in having my desktop be a one-stop-shop for my computing needs like internet, games, media and production work.
2. I may not find the workspaces very useful because I usually have an extra monitor or two on hand, and it's hard to compare the two without having a clear winner each time, but i did try functioning with only the one monitor and workspaces. I found myself keeping things in the background like IM windows, media players and other background processes. I found myself using the extra desktop as more of a place to brush stuff to the side, kind of serving an artifical purpose where having specific windows take priority in a stack would suffice since I need to move my screen over to begin with in order to access the other stuff. Anyway, I did find a Windows solution in my starred items: 3D Desktop for Vista, uses Aero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmddYGw41zc
3. This program looks to do what you were doing, grabbing audio from FLVs etc, and it runs in AdobeAIR so it probably runs on Linux as well, yes?: http://lifehacker.com/5047229/richflv-mixes-and-co ...
4. Never have a need to do this really so I can't find anything I've spotted on Lifehacker, but a couple of quick searches for a free Windows image downloader came up with this which appears to do what you do, without scripting (which I wouldn't know how to begin to do): http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Download-Man ...
5. See above, I don't really use e-mail that way.
6. No comment! What is mpd? You may be fooling yourself when you say you don't have advanced know-how. I think everybody did that with shortcuts at one point or another ;)
7. This sounds like it could be accomplished with auto-grabbing with RSS through utorrent in combination with remote desktop or another free alternative. The built-in Windows remote desktop or through MSN Messanger has sufficed for me in the past.
Compose key stuff I don't understand, but mouse gestures are available in Windows either by using specific applications that support them (Opera) or using some freeware (Google for "Windows mouse gesture" came up with http://www.tcbmi.com/strokeit/, free for non-commercial use).
I realize it isn't specifically "Windows" doing all this as it is when you do it in Linux, but I think it kind of is. Being such a widely used platform, it's also widely developed for, and free alternatives to command line pecking or intermediate to advanced scripting are available with a bit of searching (as opposed to searching, comprehending, practicing and executing + praying as is my experience with looking for Linux ways of doing things like compiling a new version of VLC). There's almost always a piece of freeware out there that does what I need it to do (many times open source software -- I find that people tend to forget that it's available for Windows too). - danwallace, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2I'm pretty sure Daft Punk realized the sexual implications of using those words together seven years ago.
- Pixelpaws, on 11/11/2008, -1/+3I sincerely hope that was never even in dispute. The latter lacks anything that can be called talent.
- danwallace, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2Games are lacking. Applications are not.
- BruceAnderson, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2Free and open it is, preciousssss! Not closed and proprietary like those nasssssty Windowses and Macses!
- ch40sBr1ng3r, on 11/11/2008, -1/+3Good article, Dugg. The boot speed ones were pretty interesting actually, how they made it boot in 5 seconds by recompiling a new kernel taking out stuff they didnt need. Linux 4 life.
- removesstains, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2How about getting my laptop to sleep when i close the lid with ubuntu. instant fail with out basic features like that.
- danwallace, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2I don't give a ***** if you continue to use windows. I have a windows box because I like playing Team Fortress 2 occasionally and Wine is a little annoying to configure. However, I also have an Ubuntu box because I feel it's a better OS all around and I would rather use the wide variety of free, open-source, community-supported software than your precious "mainstream" software.
No "line of *****" here, just personal preference and common sense. If you want to continue paying for windows, go right ahead. Doesn't affect me one bit. - mrBitch, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2arjie, nice reply.
- inactive, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2FAIL FAIL
- rotten777, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2It doesn't hide its source code.
It doesn't charge me for an initial license for the OS or for productivity software.
It doesn't charge me for updates.
Its more secure.
It doesn't require me to spend money or processor cycles on anti-virus, anti-malware, etc. just to keep it safe while browsing the net.
It is more powerful when it comes to SMP performance.
It is exponentially more flexible.
I could go on but trust me, games are the last reason I want a computer to work. I'm more interested in making money and I can't do that with Portal or CoD4. - nikki2300dk, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2I know where you're coming from. I'm relatively new to linux and sometimes it is frustrating. I think maybe one has to kinda like 'fiddling around' to a certain degree to love linux. I just think it's awesome the level to which you can customize and optimize a system. I like the idea of my OS getting better and better as I learn about linux.
- rotten777, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2If you can't get a modern computer to function under any decent distribution, you need to check your head. And maybe learning something wouldn't kill you.
- derbestemann, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2*bookmarked*
- Knet88, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2rebooting? How many systems currently being sold are good enough for VMware?
- gotcheaprice, on 11/11/2008, -0/+2woops, never saw the first post, digg me down.
- bj1989, on 11/11/2008, -0/+1You are totally making this comment on the wrong article. These ***** "analytic" articles that brag about linux drive me crazy but this is actually interesting if you use linux(like me).
- hieveryone, on 11/11/2008, -0/+1"spend the next lifetime configuring linux so it looks and acts like Windows"
There's your problem. Just use linux as linux and don't try to make it look like anything else. Problem solved. I'll bet you'll spend a lifetime or more trying to get Windows to look and act like linux. While you're at it, spend another lifetime trying to make OS X look and act like windows and linux. - langzaiguy, on 11/11/2008, -0/+1That's what she said.
- evilgourmet, on 11/11/2008, -0/+1they have Linux ENVY, look how Microsoft is emulating the desktop look.
- antdude, on 11/11/2008, -0/+1And Scotter for the song name.
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