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283 Comments
- duncanbell, on 10/18/2008, -6/+48"Umpteen number of reports have been published telling people why they should consider switching to the Mac OS now that Vista has failed, but not a single one has surfaced that spells out the merits of switching over to a variety of Linux."
It seems like there is at least one every week on Digg. - popzero, on 10/18/2008, -9/+47"Is it the snob value or stupidity that make people consider a Mac over Windows and not Ubuntu?"
Who is more snobbish, the snob, or the snob who calls the snob stupid? - samanathon, on 10/18/2008, -12/+48It all comes down to Apple's propeganda (I don't mean that negatively): their marketing department is on a roll. If Canonical (because Ubuntu is the feature of this article) had millions to throw into their advertising budget, you would see way more Ubuntu machines in the wild.
- thejoker86, on 10/18/2008, -45/+72honestly who gives a *****. i prefer OSX over ubuntu and windows. Linux users are as bad as jehova witnesses mostly... i dont give a ***** about your religion, so stop ***** waking me up at 9 in the morning on a saturday while im hung over.
- fragm29, on 10/18/2008, -2/+25It's a shame Adobe does not support Ubuntu, with Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash etc. Otherwise, I'd use Ubuntu as my primary OS. As it is, I'm stuck with Windows XP :(.
- safetysealed, on 10/18/2008, -1/+22Ummm... it's built on the Linux kernel, ergo, it is "tootallllllyyyy "a GNU/Linux operating system. Dude, just because Ubuntu users don't have to spend their free time with their nose buried in a ***** book to make their computer work, doesn't make it "not linux".
- mohtasham, on 10/18/2008, -4/+24Dude,
To install a program on Linux, all you have to do is find the program from the list in 1 second, select it in another second and press install. That's it. When I install a fresh Linux for my friends, I usually select all programs at once and it installs all of them automatically without visiting a website, spending some money, and press next next next agree agree agree next install , to install a single program. - Jibberwalk, on 10/18/2008, -10/+30I find myself in a relatively decent position to comment:
I've had a PC my entire life. My first laptop was a PC. And then windows upped and quit working one day. Like, it ate it hard.
It wouldn't even reinstall, so I slapped on Ubuntu Hardy Heron.
While I found it to be kind of bland initially, it was surprisingly easy to customize (dust theme anyone?). It was slick and sleek.
But with Ubuntu, and any Linux distro, the issue of software arises. The bundled programs just weren't that great. At the end of the day, I found my self really only using my Linux notebook for web-browsing and other basic functions. Sure, it was fun playing "wobbly windows" for a few hours, but Ubuntu began to lose it's shine.
Also, I had to deal with far to many hardware incompatibilities, from the internals of my notebook, to my printer, camera, and camcorder. Headaches I didn't care to have.
Recently, the new macbooks launched and I had some spare cash, so I replaced my laptop -- and in turn my operating system.
OS X is a dream. I haven't run into a single hardware issue. The programs are polished on the functionality front and the looks department. Also, things that I remember stuttering in XP, and vividly remember hanging in Ubuntu worked crisply in OS X (despite the two notebooks sharing relatively similar specs).
Also: The author comments on Compiz... and I can't help but address that: While Compiz or Compiz Fusion are pretty neat initially, a lot of the effects are kind of useless, and other just take obscure key strokes to initiate (which, admittedly you can reprogram). It's neat to see your menus burn up the first few times, but it quickly loses its luster. I don't think it's fair to say Compiz is a selling point for Ubuntu. I would argue Aero isn't a selling point of Vista, that XP -- while more drab, is an OS I still prefer.
TL;DR: At the end of the day, OS X is currently the better operating system to switch to if you can afford the hardware. Ubuntu, imho just hasn't matured enough yet. - shinaku, on 10/18/2008, -5/+23Windows build 6000,
Mac OS 10.5.5,
Linux 2.6.27.1.
That was easy enough. - inactive, on 10/18/2008, -3/+20I started out with an Amiga 1000. Then an Amiga 2000. Then I got a PC running Windows 3.1. Then I hated it so much that my next computer was a Power Mac 7500 (100mhz at the time, just to give a sense of era) running Mac OS 7.5, which was a nightmare...so before long I stuck MKLinux on it (Mach Linux, at the time based on redhat) and it stopped crashing and started working beautifully. But it was about that time that I got my hands on a NeXT color turbo slab and NeXT Step OS. I only had it for a few months, but I never forgot its elegance, stability, breathtaking ease of use.
After that Power Mac I started building my own Linux and FreeBSD machines. I did that for a number of years before I decided that I liked FreeBSD much better (the licensing was less "DO WHAT WE SAY OR ELSE" and a lot more "hey man, whatever"--which is much more up my alley) and stuck with that for a while. Professionally I'd been building and maintaining Linux, every BSD, Solaris, HP/UX and AIX machines.
After that series of BSD boxes I decided I really liked computer games, so I installed Windows XP on a ratbox I'd built just for the purpose. Compared to the Unices I was used to, XP was snappy and fairly stable, but very confusing. There were six tabs/radiobuttons/text boxes for every setting all over the machine, fifteen different ways to get to any one thing--half of which didn't work under $RAND_CIRCUMSTANCE, and it was very frustrating...but it was a great game box.
Then I noticed that Apple had released Os X and it was very heavily based on NeXT Step. I knew I had to have one, but I didn't want to be disappointed by the sure instability and wonkyness of early revisions, so I waited. And waited. And waited.
Until last year, when a Macbook Pro entered my collection of Unix and Windows machines. Within weeks it was the computer I used by far the most (I work in the network security field), and as of today, I can't remember even turning on any of the others except to grab some old file I was looking for.
I know Linux quite well, particularly the back-end, which is where most of my professional work is done. I like it almost as well as I know it too. Vista is sort of ok even if a bit reactionary and fascist about its licensing--it does play games pretty well and doesn't crash very much, so bully for Microsoft on that one. The straight BSDs are still my favorite UNIX-like systems. But my favorite operating system is OS X. It's got the fewest number of clicks on the path to any useful thing, and there's a sort of common sense about it that eliminates most of my frustrations with other operating systems. They seem to understand how a brain thinks over there at Cupertino, and have fashioned an operating system with that in mind.
I'd give OS X a fair shake if I were you, before diving into anything else sight unseen. - monkeyboyhero, on 10/18/2008, -4/+20Aside from obvious reason of Apple's massive PR campaign, one of the reasons that people won't switch to Ubuntu is because however much zeolots like this claim that it's completely user-proof and easy to use at some point you're going to have to do some technical jiggery-pokey on Terminal to something to work, and that is a total chore for any casual user who's used to a Windows or Mac.
My hard drive failed on my Windows PC so I used an Ubunutu Live CD for a bit - I REALLY wanted to love it, and have a sudden epiphany that this was the way forward and I'd buy a OS-less computer and install it on there but after the umpteenth time of having to look something up and coming across obtuse, overly technical instructions in a forum I got pissed off and installed Windows instead.
I think people who know a little IT take for granted how easy dipping beneath the surface of an OS is, and don't realise that most users wouldn't have a clue what you meant when you said "partition", "boot disc", or "go to root in Terminal", and that if you can't just double-click on something to get it to work they're not interested.
Articles like this piss me off so much - some superiority- complexed dick crowing over how AMAZING his OS is and how you should ALL try it and if you don't you're an idiot. It's like being trapped by a ***** going on about his skiiing holiday at a party - I'm sure it was great fun, but I DON'T WANT TO GO SKIIING!!
Where I think Linux will come into it's own - and already has to some extent - is in this new breed of "netbooks" which need a stripped down OS for browsing the Internet and not much else. That's where I think we'll see this kind of OS going, and maybe it'll even corner the market there. It seems perfect for it.
- digitalhippie, on 10/18/2008, -1/+17I think in order to increase overall market share Linux needs to get more established hardware manufacturer's like Dell, HP, etc. to start offering models with Linux and more importantly have them on display at stores like BestBuy, Circuit City, etc. Most people I've met have no idea what Linux is much less would actively search for an alternative. Just my two cents.
- popzero, on 10/18/2008, -0/+14Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. A very long time.
- infiniphunk, on 10/18/2008, -0/+14Ben? Ben Kenobi?
- doctoralf, on 10/18/2008, -13/+27When I can run SPSS, Papers and other specialist software in Linux I'll gladly switch. Until then, XP and Leopard for me.
- wastern, on 10/18/2008, -1/+14Its not only Apple's ad department. Outside of getting things going under Wine there aren't any commercial applications available in linux to speak of
People can get off of Windows and go to OS X while still keeping MS Office, Photoshop, Quickbooks, etc. I know there are open source equivalents, but face it, the Gimp isn't Photoshop. They can get the job done most of the time, but people have a hard enough time moving to a new OS, having the comfort of the big software companies they are used to supporting the system helps immensely - ahac, on 10/18/2008, -17/+29From my experience Apple fanboys are the worst, with Linux coming second.
- bitterbug, on 10/18/2008, -1/+11Actually you can get OSX for 125 dollars Canadian, certainly less in US at the moment.
And with a Mac you're not paying that premium for the OS, or even the hardware. You're paying for "the experience". Yes, it's lame.
Anyway, when it comes down to it each of the major operating systems have their positives and negatives. Windows has a vast library of software that dwarfs everything else, but it's weak on security and has other issues. I found OSX to be rock solid performance wise, but there's the smaller software library and those weird UI implementations that don't always seem intuitive. Linux is free, has a huge library of software, but the vast majority of that software lacks a decent UI, and anyone that says you can get by with just console commands is not helping getting Linux out there to a mass market. It's getting better but currently you have to have confidence, if not competence, to follow the instructions to do things such as install codecs.
In the end it just comes down to personal preference and what gets the job done for people. I have a fanboi friend (Hi Craig) who thinks anyone that doesn't use Windows is stupid, but I prefer OS agnosticism.
I wouldn't go work in a garden with just a ho. (I'd save her for after work *rimshot*) - reconsldr74d, on 10/18/2008, -2/+12@thejoker86
What makes you think that all open source developers are unorganized and under-paid? - Rizin, on 10/18/2008, -2/+11You can Organize the dock yourself, and well I know I can tell what application I am opening just from the Icon.
I will give you the resize thing though that is a fault. - ro4ers, on 10/18/2008, -0/+9Apple have been using their own, *NIX derived kernel for 20 years now. Its called Darwin.
- arjie, on 10/18/2008, -1/+10Fact: Most kernel developers are paid to do so by large companies like Red Hat, Novell. I've forgotten the link to the site where they checked the commits by email address, but that's the fact.
- Myrddin5, on 10/18/2008, -1/+9People don't switch to Ubunto because most users (like most of my windows-using coworkers) don't even KNOW what an OS is. They know for example Vista but they believe Office 2007 to be Vista too. People buy Dells or HPs or Apples. And because there's no Ubuntu-branded Computer they won't switch to Ubuntu.
- arjie, on 10/18/2008, -0/+8If you're using SPSS, you might be interested in http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/pspp.html
Coincidentally, I saw it mentioned in a Linux.com article just a few days back. - angusware, on 10/18/2008, -9/+17There's a difference between being difficult to use and being reluctant to change. Just because somehting is different and you're too retarded to change doesn't mean OS X is bad.
Here are some reasons you are an idiot:
1. You can hide the dock.
2. Dragging into Applications folder is easier than running some stupid installer.
3. Applications, not programs.
4. Mac OS X costs $129. Macs are expensive because they are overpriced, the OS is not what makes them expensive.
5. Not being able to maximise with a non-Mac OS X combo is not a problem with the OS, wtf are you on?
6. If someone with a Vista logo as their avatar rebuts your comment about Mac OS X, you know that you're wrong. - roccanet, on 10/18/2008, -4/+11as a software developer who works in the LAMP space - i believe i have gained the highest productivity increase via my recent desktop OS switch to ubuntu versus any other desktop OS change i have made in my career. I will also say that i spent approximately 20 hours to configure ubuntu to run properly on a bargain XP stock laptop to:
1. enable dual display monitor.
2. configure my wireless lan adapter
For the normal usage user upgrading to ubuntu is a bit of a stretch still. So my silly little recommendation to Joe the Plumber user is to buy your next laptop or desktop machine with a preinstalled ubuntu OS out of the box. It does all the same ***** the mac OS does and its a FRACTION of the cost. Its FREE and you can get a screaming intel or amd laptop for 500 bucks that can compete with any basic consumer apple box.joe the plumber. - inactive, on 10/18/2008, -0/+7Running something under wine is not the same as it running natively. Don't kid yourself.
- Sammi84, on 10/18/2008, -2/+9All fanboys are dumb.
But in my humble experience Windows fanboys are the most annoying and misguided kind. - inactive, on 10/18/2008, -1/+8Psh, my users couldn't answer "Quick, what color socks are you wearing?"
- infiniphunk, on 10/18/2008, -0/+7start downloading torrents and trolling 4chan
- MacParrot, on 10/18/2008, -0/+7I find it difficult to care about apathy
- inactive, on 10/18/2008, -0/+6salomejones, is someone who gets it.
Granted as much of a Mac person that I am, I still wish Steve would split the OS from Apple's hardware.
As innovative as Apple is with their hardware I do not think they are always in touch with users.
The newest Macbook's shows that. - uzusan, on 10/18/2008, -4/+10OS X has the exact same advantage over Linux that windows has had. Preinstallation. In the PC market, there are moves like dell etc offering Linux. This isn't going to happen with apple machines though.
I personally run a samsung machine with a triple boot of Debian Etch, Xp and Vista (though i think ive used vista all of 4 times since i got the laptop). However not everyone is comfortable with installing another OS. - Spr0k3t, on 10/18/2008, -4/+10Just think about that for a second... if every single last user of Linux would donate a single dollar, there would be no problems with an advertising budget. However, a smart consumer is aware of the difference between a product that thrives with advertising and a product that thrives on its own without advertising. If they both cost the same amount, would you rather your money go towards advertising or towards further development? I try to donate at least 3% of my yearly income towards open source development.
- mrsteveman1, on 10/18/2008, -2/+8"if every single last user of Linux would donate a single dollar,"
....they would have $15 dollars :D
KIDDING kidding - inactive, on 10/18/2008, -1/+7Digg is hardly mainstream media. This is mostly choirboys preaching to eachother.
- triont, on 10/18/2008, -5/+10If only it were easier. (Linux does NOT like my computer unless I pull my graphics card and use the integrated one)
- unknown32, on 10/18/2008, -0/+5As an Ubuntu user for 3 years (okay maybe I'm wrong... since 5.04) I will make a few observations. I look at distrowatch and see a top 100 list based on clicks: Do we need a top 100 seriously ? I am all about the open source movement but 100 ?? I only use Windows for 2 reason 1: work (service desk - 6 years+) and 2 ipod touch (too much of a headache with ubuntu). I think Linus or ubuntu/redhat/Mandiva etc.. have to get together and making true desktop standards software install standards a code of Hardware driver practices that makes sense... not always a hack job. It seems that it is time to do so. This article is trying to say that we should support Ubuntu, and that it is the best: Sorry but it took me almost a year to finally figure out broadcom wireless. (Without restricted driver support btw) Before people can say switch to ubuntu or any form of linux distrubtion major driver and standards problem have to be solved. Their was a post on Digg a while back where Shuttleworth was talking about standards: Isn't now the time to think about it. I understand Linux is a freedom of choice. But sometimes too much is also a very bad thing.
BTW I have nothing against Apple , or Windows. I have an XP pc for my ipod touch and I sometimes suggest Apple to some folks for ease of use based on how much they are willing to spend. "You have 1500 to burn ? and you want an apple go for it" I have said that constantly in the last 12 months. - safetysealed, on 10/18/2008, -1/+6"Your not gonna see AAC or WMA format on the Linux side."
Actually.......... https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormat ...
"Business people love XP because its stable."
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha............... sorry, utter bollocks mate.
Business people use windows because back when apple were floundering, and linux could fit on a floppy disk, windows was an industry standard system across all of the financial, industrial and consumer markets. now its a case of being cheaper for businesses to re-license and hire a tech support guy than roll out a new system from scratch and teach employees how to use it.
"If your surfing the web on an older pc then Linux is a way to go"
Actually i use my linux machine for all sorts of things, i record my music using ubuntu studio, i use blender and gimp for artwork and silly little video projects and such and while there i can have the use of a free office suite, messenger and the aforementioned "surfing the web".
linux is more than just a one trick pony. - hacheyc, on 10/18/2008, -5/+10You know what? Honestly? I really wanted to go with Ubuntu. I installed, and was excited, but I couldn't get my wireless to work. I tried to get the right drivers, but there was no simple answer online. And everything I DID try, just left me out in the dark completely, with no progress at all. It shouldn't be THAT hard. I mean, I'm quite proficient with computers, and what I don't know I usually can figure out, but this was just ridiculous. If someone is willing to try and help me, I would be MORE than glad to switch as I've seen nothing but good things.
- ArthurSucks, on 10/18/2008, -0/+5European or African?!
- cheeseplease, on 10/18/2008, -3/+8If you find typing "sudo apt-get install vlc" too hard, there's always the synaptic package manager app. Click search -> VLC -> install.
- computershack, on 10/18/2008, -2/+7"Traditionally Linux adoption on the desktop has been plagued by the notion that it was difficult to handle. Its really a misconception."
Tell that to a recent forum member on a non technical related website who lost their sound on their netbook recently. Lots of ***** around to get it back on. It wasn't a hardware fault - it was a bug in the sound server in their distro.
The Register is doing a series of articles to help newbies.
Article 1: Connecting to a Windows Network Share on an Acer Aspire One.
FTFA:
"We'll start by creating an empty directory, the 'mountpoint'. In accordance with long Unix tradition, this belongs under the /mnt directory. Navigate there with the following terminal command: cd /mnt
...and create the directory there like this:
sudo mkdir mountpoint
Of course, mountpoint is just an arbitrary name - you can call it whatever you like. Now we're ready to do the business:
sudo mount -t cifs -o user=bidmead,pass=whatever //192.168.1.11/MyShare /mnt/mountpoint
This kind of mount command can only be carried out by the superuser - the system supervisor - which is why we proceed the command with sudo. The -o flag tells mount that an extra parameter follows, and as it's only a single parameter there can be no spaces in the string defining the username and password. Obviously, you'll insert your own username and password here. Likewise, your networked machine's IP address and share name.
Now use the standard AA1 interface to run the File Manager app. By default, it won't let you navigate to the root of the Linux file structure, so you'll have to insert a / up in the navigation bar to get there. Now go to the mountpoint you created, and you should see your Windows files there. If you have trouble accessing them it may help to loosen up the permissions you've set on the shares at the Windows end."
So there's no browsing to the share through the GUI without all this ***** about. And if it doesn't work, you've got to basically turn off the security on the share on the Windows computer. Wow, way to go Linux - you'll get millions of converts now. - reconsldr74d, on 10/18/2008, -0/+5I find your comment pretty funny. I found the article rather annoying myself because he seemed to be a distro fan boy and I think that kind of misses the point as well.
On some of your other complaints, the fact is that if Windows didn't come preinstalled most people would never get that to work either. Not to mention it also comes with limited hardware support oob and requires you to install drivers from a cd or dvd or what have you. I don't think there are as many technical differences as people say there are. If Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint or any other 'user friendly' Linux came pre-installed on a system I doubt that many people would have a problem with it. Those that still did would be the same people that would have problems with Windows. - mizatt, on 10/18/2008, -3/+8I've run a zillion flavors of Linux, whether it be Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Redhat, Gentoo, Mandrake, and with almost every one, I had to install some obscure driver, run some goofy command line arguments or manually edit configuration files to get everything to work. I think it's definitely worth learning some of the stuff but Linux still has a ways to go before it's suitable for the average desktop user. I'm typing from Ubuntu on a laptop right now and I had to scour to find a way to get the wireless card in this thing to work. The progress Linux has made is definitely encouraging but people have been making this "Why doesn't everyone just use Linux??" about-face for years. 3 years ago people thought it was ready, now people think it's ready, but it still has some ways to go.
- spacey, on 10/18/2008, -2/+6When the hell are people going to just realize that everyone is different. For some people, Windows works great for their needs. For some, OS X, for others, Linux. Just because YOU run Linux doesn't make it the best OS, it makes it the best OS for YOU.
- regx, on 10/18/2008, -0/+4Agreed, Linux still has a ways to go in the pro-audio / video arena.
Unfortunately! - ArthurSucks, on 10/18/2008, -1/+5Unfortunately there are a few applications that people really want that are not available for Linux. They don't want to learn the alternatives, they want the same applications they've been using for years.
- mrsteveman1, on 10/18/2008, -0/+4Lots of things work in wine, but they function poorly and look horrible.
- Steeple, on 10/18/2008, -1/+5so did you build your own car from parts, or do you just want to ***** get somewhere .
the object of a computer for most people is to play a game or do some work- NOW -
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