community.zdnet.co.uk — With new releases of several major Linux distributions coming up in the next few weeks, I would like to take a few minutes to debunk some of the more blatant inaccuracies which are circulated about Linux.
Oct 25, 2009 View in Crawl 4
hortnonOct 26, 2009
The part where I've had comments like that said to me in all seriousness. I can never tell with Linux zealots.
javaroastOct 26, 2009
Ah yes the myth of market share. By your rationale McDonalds is the best restaurant on the planet. The reality is that market share isn't the be all and end all.
hortnonOct 27, 2009
It is. Why do you assume it isn't?
hortnonOct 27, 2009
It's actually not that rare to have to hand edit a config file. And I am a genius, thanks.
archiesteelOct 28, 2009
Funny how no one ever faults Macs for not being compatible with all PC hardware...Look, folks, it's simple. Before using Ubuntu (or any other flavor of Linux), check to see if the hardware is supported. And if you're *already* using Ubuntu, check to see if hardware is supported before buying it.That's just common sense, something that many posters here seem to lack.
methodoneOct 29, 2009
I sugggest you get an HP printer, which are almost always supported. Even the scanner in the all-in-ones works.
quantumstatejimOct 29, 2009
OpenOffice is definitely extensible. I have never tried in either MS Office or OpenOffice however so I do not know how they compare.
quantumstatejimOct 29, 2009
I most certainly agree with this. I have only had to drop back to recovery console twice however with my latest install (4 months). I use Linux as my primary OS and it is great but it does have the temptation to play with it until it breaks. Like when I installed Fedora in a dual boot I thought it would be a great idea just to share the home directory with my Ubuntu install. Unfortunately I found that Fedora uses a different UID for the default account to Ubuntu so my file ownership got completely messed up in Ubuntu which destroys Gnome since it likes to have config files accessible. Easy command line fix though.
akpangaOct 30, 2009
You really are in my thoughts mate. I really hate this nonsensical obsession with always benchmarking Linux against Windows rather than telling people how the damn Linux thing can help them achieve what they do with Windows
drsjlazarNov 2, 2009
@ultraseamus: Sorry, I am not a coder... my knowledge in Linux is more on the side of system admin, so I cannot help with the problems your are having. I did, however, check out your threads on the VLC forums and I cannot falter your questions there... which I find to be the most common reason for questions going unanswered. Many people simply do not ask properly. They either do not provide enough information to elicit a meaningful response or have an off attitude on forums. I do not see this in your posts. I also did not see rudeness in the responses. Maybe that was in the PMs.This leaves one other possibility - no one else on the forum knows. I have found myself increasingly in such situations and I understand your frustration. Most of the system admin problems I now face go answered on forums and I end up devising my own solution or using an alternative method... which I see you have done also.But you see that the problems you and I face are deep in the realms of application development and/or complicated system workings. These are not problems most people would face. In such a scenario the advantage of the source code being available is apparent when compared to building on a closed base. Since you are well versed in C++, you could go in and see how you could solve your problem... or out source the work. That is part of dev work. Someone not taking up an offer to work for money does not equate to rudeness or unwillingness to help of an entire community. That gives me an idea of the task at hand.Back to the point of the attitude in the community, it has been ages since I have seen a rude RTFM (or similar) response even when the answer was well documented and easily found with a quick search. I don't think technical issues such as the ones you are facing (video buffers, dropped streams, variable frame rates, etc) fall into the category of Linux myths being implied... after all, you are developing the application for Windows as well.Sorry, I couldn't be of help. I hope you finish your application in good time.