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47 Comments
- LoneWolf01, on 01/01/2009, -5/+25You can tell it's a power user when there's 2 comments and over 100 diggs.
- DangerCollie, on 01/01/2009, -1/+20You can argue ad infinitum about the year of the Linux desktop, but '08 was the year I converted a corporate office from Windows to Linux. Started with the development environment and then the desktops. So far it's been great.
One thing I can say for Windows networks, they're job security for admins. Once we had the Windows boxes off the core network we were able to automate most of the routine administrative tasks. We don't need a full time admin now. Once you try it, you'll never go back. - inactive, on 12/31/2008, -3/+20http://www.google.com/trends?q=ubuntu
Slowly climbing, with a spike at every release. - JshMRsn, on 01/01/2009, -2/+17At least in education, apps like Open Office are becoming stronger as well.
- rolf, on 01/01/2009, -3/+14Well, I've never had that problem. Each set up presents it's own challenges. For exampe, my Windows would never go to sleep and I wanted to save energy. Several hours later, looking for the problem by going though the hardware one by one, it turned out to be the wireless keyboard and mouse. A MICROSOFT (5000) wireless keyboard and mouse. Turned out that Vista actually needed the driver of those installed, otherwise they keep the computer awake.
OTOH, I never had those exact problems you described on Ubuntu, but I've had others. And the first time I tried it on a notebook was about 2 weeks ago with no problems. But by then they greatly enhanced wireless installation with 8.10 more or less. I guess different people have different experiences, huh? Still, for a computer that would be used for browsing only, if people keep coming to me with a broke computer, I try to convert them to Ubuntu. The distro becomes easier to install every time. - techdever, on 01/01/2009, -1/+12... and the comments section is filled with text ads
- ardembiniwoot, on 01/01/2009, -1/+9With prices going up it's a given that we'll want more free stuff...
- tmatyt95, on 01/01/2009, -0/+6I just plugged my keyboard in (Tesco Technika wireless ~£12 with a mouse) and it auto detected and set it up for me without me doing anything.
- BradOFarrell, on 01/01/2009, -5/+11I hate the whole open source scene thing (I'm already getting dug down for that) but in it's defense, it's entirely possible that a decline in searching for the term "open source" is a result of the fact that "open source" as a term, is more well know and less researched, isn't it? Why not comparing the rankings of individual open source programs?
- dechah, on 01/01/2009, -10/+16I have wasted more time trying to get my wireless keyboard and mouse, and my wireless networking to work with Linux, just so I could use the machine for browsing, than I did setting up Windows and maintaining it for the same purpose.
- 3242130193, on 01/01/2009, -1/+7I honestly doubt that FOSS is ever going to get anywhere on philosophical grounds. Average users that aren't computer savvy won't understand it at all (come on, if you asked your parents/family what source code is or where programs come from, do you think they'd have an idea?) and quite frankly, it's just too narrow of a topic for any serious political debate.
The way for open source to move up is only if it performs better than alternatives. Firefox is the best example. Hopefully other software like Linux and OOo can make the same achievement. The FOSS community has its own problems (programs that fail usually lack leadership, organization, goals, developers, etc.), but if they can hold it together, they have a good change of succeeding against their close source counterparts. - rolf, on 01/01/2009, -11/+17People who only use the computer to browse, I've been converting to Ubuntu. Maintaining windows is a waste of time just for that.
- dent42, on 01/01/2009, -0/+6How, exactly, have Apple and Microsoft stuck up for you? They try to lock you in with their products, use questionable business practices to defend their monopolies, and are constantly seeking new ways to nickel and dime you. None of these things are in the interest of you, the consumer.
- sirhomer, on 01/01/2009, -1/+6@computershack
VBScript?
But really the reason large corporations use Windows is because they haven't discovered how much better Linux is for workstations yet. Or they have some kind proprietary Windows-only software they use. Domain management, package management, SNMP, etc. all this stuff is fairly easy to set up on Linux. Really, it's not hard to switch over to Linux at all, even within most large businesses. There are easy to follow books written about how to switch an entire enterprise off of Microsoft software if you are interested. - phrstbrn, on 01/01/2009, -0/+5@ethana
I buried you because you're just a blatant troll. - rotten777, on 01/01/2009, -3/+8Re: "dechah"
I'm not trying to be rude, but, well it doesn't sound like you're very good at it.
I'm on bleeding edge workstation with all sorts of toys and everything works great. I've only had to use a "driver" once and that was to load the PCI 802.11n card on my main workstation. I built the workstation from the ground up. All hodge podge parts including a 9800 GTX, 2 eSata hard drives, firewire dvd burner, 1 usb hdd, external usb card reader, 8 port usb hub, m-audio 88 key keyboard with usb to midi adapter, sound blaster live platinum with all its bells and whistles.
My laptop has Intel wireless and works without any work. It's an Inspiron 6000 in case you were wondering. The ATI video works great and the wireless works out of the box. Even the media keys on the front of the laptop worked without touching anything.
My server never had to get any drivers installed. The RAID controller was picked up without the ole F6 and a floppy disk. The network hardware all worked out of the box. And I didn't pay $800 for the operating system, database server software, mail server software, and file sharing software.
I support all operating systems for a living. That's what my company does. Windows is terrible at device support. - BradOFarrell, on 01/02/2009, -0/+4Um, you just said what I originally said. But longer and in a contradictory tone.
- DangerCollie, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5Yeah, we had VBScript, ASP.NET, linked spreadsheets, Access db's, the whole brew. It really wasn't that bad to convert. We left the sales staff on Vista laptops and had to leave a Windows kiosk in accounting for some Windows only software they needed. That's better than trying to carry a Windows app on Wine...depending on the app.
We moved email to Google corporate, that made the transition a lot easier. It really wasn't as hard as I expected. We had to cut a couple .NET developers who didn't want to learn a new environment and we have one big app left to convert. But in the next six weeks we should have the last Windows server, SQL Server and Exchange completely off the network. - dent42, on 01/01/2009, -1/+5I don't get why people enjoy thrashing GNU/Linux (yeah, I'm a naming zealot). Since when it's cool to stick up for corporations?
- sirhomer, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4norman619:
What enjoyment do you seem to get from trolling Linux news all the time?
But really, your opinions are not fact. I also worked in IT for awhile, and we used Firefox and tons of open source software. - tech42er, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3What's T? I know PEBCAK.
- tech42er, on 01/01/2009, -0/+3If he's saying he chose IE over Firefox, he's obviously a troll.
- ethana2, on 01/01/2009, -1/+4Same here, except I don't support anything else, at all.
- zwaldowski, on 01/01/2009, -2/+5If you're having that much trouble with a mouse and keyboard, I'd have to say there's a PEBCAT. And, if you can't get wireless working by this time, you truly aren't reading from the right places.
- Shananra, on 01/01/2009, -1/+3Funny thing is, it takes me about two hours to set up a windows machine by the time I have to hunt for drivers and get everything working. 20 Minutes for Ubuntu, and most of that is just waiting, at which time I probably would just walk away.
Oh, and installing software. I have to sit there and hit next for each one multiple times in Windows, visiting websites individually and waiting for downloads. With Ubuntu I could use the gui, but I find it more convenient to just open the terminal and have aptitude install the entire list of programs that I intend to use all at once. Unattended. So when all is said and done, and you consider software installation part of the process, it takes me all day to setup Windows but only a few hours with Ubuntu and almost all of that few hours is unattended, so I can go do more important things. Even the wireless works out of the box for me now.
There was once a day where Linux was only free if your time is worthless, those days are not only long gone, but the tables are reversed and Windows is the one that's a hassle and not worth the time. - bluechild, on 01/02/2009, -0/+1"In an economy where things are good opensource can't compete with commercial applications which tend to be better designed, more robust, and have better support."
There you have it. Design, robustness, support. I gave you only 4 examples that demonstrate how wrong you are and you reply on what ? On an other topic (business needs) ? You fail again :) - TheWindBlows, on 01/07/2009, -0/+1This just shows people not looking for the word open source as much. In actuality this means very little as people create websites for open source and people go straight to that instead of google searching.
- norman619, on 01/01/2009, -2/+33242130193 :
LOL!!!! When it came out it only ran well on highend machines as designed. Today those highend systems are the midrange systems of today and fast becoming the lowend with the dropping prices on hardware. $1000 system the day Vista was released is a very different machine than the $1000 system of today. You have ANY understanding of hardware? - factotum218, on 01/03/2009, -0/+1I don't know. Once I saw the Gtrends images I lost a sense of credibility with this. People aren't looking on Google for information about Linux related topics as much. Could it mean that people might actually be retaining some knowledge, learning, and remembering things? Or even settling in and getting some actual work done with their once newly installed OS? I would hope so.
- bluechild, on 01/01/2009, -3/+3Apache ? Firefox ? Eclipse ? Java ? Fail ? Epic ?
- 3242130193, on 01/01/2009, -2/+2Just don't buy an underpowered machine. Exactly - why don't you spend $1000 for a machine with an OS that'll cost $300 on top? Perfect selling point.
In any case, can it run on 1.5GB RAM? No? Then why is Microsoft blocking OEMs from selling a 1.5GB machine with XP instead of Vista? Microsoft is creating their own problem with their ***** up licensing rules. They deserve every penny they lose.
And in case you haven't noticed, software crashes on Linux all the time as well, but Linux doesn't crash. A simple killall command and you're fine. You know why? Cause it's the kernel that's responsible for managing programs that go haywire, so you can't say that software is the issue - it all comes back to the OS. - norman619, on 01/01/2009, -3/+3eqisow :
Notebooks are no threat to MS since it's a software comapny not a hardware company. It's OS is on over 90% of laptops as well and will continue to be so as long as the major software vedors and developers target Windows for the most part with later soppurt, sometimes, for Linux and/or OSX. Your words have been repeated MANY times thought the years and they have NEVER even come close to being reality. W7 is a much more efficient system and will placate the masses. And it has the added advantage of being able to run over 90% of the software out there. Linux does not have that and it will not have that for a VERY long tiem if ever. - ethana2, on 01/01/2009, -3/+2I stick up for corporations that stick up for me. ..and I don't think that was buried by windows/osx users, I think that was buried by all the non-ubuntu linux users.
- eqisow, on 01/01/2009, -3/+2You're right, sort of... Vista was designed to push high end hardware. But what features does Vista have that legitimize a doubling of the memory footprint? It's not Aero, because Ubuntu manages to feel snappy on my mom's desktop with 512MB of RAM and an old MX440. Not the new indexing service; Ubuntu has that too. Sidebar gadgets? Turning them off barely makes a dent.
Actually, here, you tell me where the justification is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windo ...
How does it not upset you when a software company purposely disregards performance to push hardware sales? I can only assume that's what they're doing, because the only other option I can think of is utter incompetence. Microsoft may be a lot of things, but incompetent isn't usually one of them.
Watch how fast Windows 7 will be, because netbooks, which can't run Vista, are become a threat to Microsoft's market share. Three out of 10 are selling with Linux pre-installed. If they can cut Windows 7 to a near XP memory footprint (and I think they will), then you have to ask yourself what the hell happened with Vista. - Sokkratez, on 01/01/2009, -7/+6Vista is good.
- norman619, on 01/01/2009, -4/+3Vista is fine. Just don't buy an under powered PC with insufficient ram and it runs great. Been running it for a year now and never had a crash. Only issues I did have were software realted not OS related. I wish it had a few other features they promised us but it works just fine as is. There is so much FUD out there regarding this OS being spread by people like itop10. Fact is the OS was designed for a highend machine when it was released. Only now are we seeing basic system specs where they need to be for this OS.
- norman619, on 01/01/2009, -5/+3and in a few years when the economy picks back up price will be less important than quality and how robust the application is for the money. In an economy where things are good opensource can't compete with commercial applications which tend to be better designed, more robust, and have better support. I don't call forums where arrogant users talk down to you for daring to ask for help with a particular issue you are having with the software.
I speak from experience since in my 10+ years in IT my employers have saddled me with the task of researching opensource (free) applications we could use to replace the costly applications we were using. Almost w/o fail I found the opensource apps to be fine for home use but not good enough for enterprise use. - norman619, on 01/01/2009, -5/+2bluechild:
Your comment demonstartes how little you know of business needs. IE is FREE and has less issues with all of our customer's website. Firefox had many issues so no we did not adopt it. JAVA is a PROGRAMMING language. Apache has long been the #1 choice for webservers. Not sure what your point is there. Fail? Yes you demonstarted FAIL quite well. - inactive, on 01/01/2009, -8/+5...and there are several people whining about how power users control digg.
Seriously, just bury the story then, and get a mass following of "buryers" to bury stories along with you any time they come from a power user. Then I won't have to see all your bitching and complaining all over Digg. - JQP123, on 01/01/2009, -7/+4"... it's entirely possible that a decline in searching for the term "open source" is a result of the fact that "open source" as a term, is more well know and less researched, isn't it?"
It's also entirely possible that most people are more interested in products, solutions and service rather than politics or source code. The way the term "open source" is being applied in actual practice, it's often not a particularly good indicator of anything significant to the general public.
Just as an example:
SugarCRM - Open Source, hosted on-line professional version is $40 per user per month.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Closed Source, hosted on-line professional version is $39 per user per month.
Unless you just happen to have an inherent bias one way or the other, these look rather comparable at first glance. Whether it's open or closed source means very little to someone seeking a real solution. - itop10, on 01/01/2009, -6/+3i too have Vista installed few days back. but it is very annoying & slow from a developer's point of view. Has Vista been a success ??
- ethana2, on 01/01/2009, -9/+4.....and now, for my favorite:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=apple%2C+ubuntu%2C+ ... - computershack, on 01/01/2009, -10/+2"Once we had the Windows boxes off the core network we were able to automate most of the routine administrative tasks. "
Obviously you're completely ***** useless. One of the reasons LARGE corporations use Windows desktops is because of the ability and ease with which you can automate administrative and other tasks. - tarrantule, on 01/01/2009, -10/+2who needs opensource&
- rocksun, on 01/01/2009, -10/+2I will started some FOSS in 2009, I want to get profit from opensource too.
- itop10, on 01/01/2009, -15/+5I love Windows because it is very user friendly. I don't know about Windows Vista.
- abhiroop, on 01/01/2009, -19/+3http://ubuntuextreme.blogspot.com/
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