I do like the idea linux but all of the mentioned steps could be acheived by xp literally at the click of a button, is it really worth spending days and days of your time just trying to get the thing to work right?I think linux is for the people who like a challenge and wouldnt be happy with something that works properly.
Hmmm weird how you posted that 3 post down from a reply where you said that "Don't blame Linux. Blame user ignorance."So lets blame ignorant users because they don't know the thousand distro out there, and that one might work? I frequently use Linux, in two different distro, and I have been known to dabble with Gentoo, but for me your post is the definition of Linux not fully being ready to use for the mass market.
It's a fair point though.Ubuntu (and most Linux distros) are easy to use until you run up against something that you just can't figure out how to configure - like your display settings or sound card. Then it's a matter of trawling for advice, and figuring out *just* the right lines to insert into xorg.conf.I use Linux at least 50% of the time, and it is very powerful and flexible. It doesn't yet compete with Windows on ease of use, but is getting closer with each release of Ubuntu, Fedora and SuSE.
To those who oppose Automatix: Yes everything can be done without it, but can you honestly tell me you can do those choir as fast and correctly as Automatix can? It's all about efficiency, right?
Excellent idea. Linux is not M$, yet so many posts seem to want Linux to do Windows specific tasks, play windows games, be Exchange-server, be some Adobe app, fill in the blank. However, I am not saying to aim low and not produce quality product. And don't get me wrong, don't take this as a flame of any sort, but if someone wants Photoshop, just-like-it-is-on-Windows, perhaps they should expect to pay for windows.I am what we all call a noob. For me, the moniker is not a pejorative. In fact, I am excited at the idea of running Linux at home and am like the proverbial ex-smoker; I think everyone should quit the Windows habit, if they can, and try Linux. My machine is only three years old, yet already too dated for Windows, hmm. For myself, the final straw with Windows was seeing a Vista dog-and-pony show, in which the UI had yet another layer of goo, and optimal OS requirements were 1GB of ram for Vista. Well, max ram on my machine *is* 1GB, leading me to conclude that now was a good time to jump.At its current state, things, truly, (mostly) just work. For protection, I like how my PC needs just a firewall - maybe, but not anti-virus, et, al... And that I do not have to 'defrag' periodically, just to keep performance up. Or that a locked program does not mean BSD. It's all good.Linux, FLOSS, Open Source, all of it, whatever you want to call it...is a gift. Personally, I am grateful. I mean, we get an incredibly cool OS, and commercial grade software, just for the asking, and a user-support community that is second to none - and the support is free, too. wow.Let's recognized Linux for what it is, an alternative...whose time has come.
"I don't want to start s**t here, I always appreciate your comments Roy and I am a big Linux fan but this time I do not agree at 100%. I think that for the average Windos user even following the step-by-step set of instructions can be difficult, you konw those noobs are always scared by command line prompt. Anyway I think that wine does a great job and indeed sometimes installing a Windos game on Linux is very easy for Linux users"Must disagree with Ace77. The statement, 'noobs are always scared by command line prompt' is a generalization and inaccurate. Speaking for myself, I used to write dos batch files in the mid-90's and so, was not concerned about the Linux cli as much as what I did not know about syntax and the classic dos bugaboo, needing to know the commands before I could type them. Sort of a seeing the forest for the trees problem. That is where the user forums have been most helpful and made taking the plunge easier. Personally, I ran Linux on vmware for about two weeks, checking off items on my gotta-have-list as i figured out how to make things work. Then, one day, after a Vista demo, I decided to just wipe my drive and just do it. no dual boot. If linux didn't have it, i didn't need it. Needless to say, the Linux environment has had what i have wanted, Scribus, VLS, gimp, blah-blah, and more. It's been a cool ride, so far. So, before tweaking noobs' noses, make sure you do not mind pulling back some goo. :)-d
kazsymondsJan 19, 2007
I do like the idea linux but all of the mentioned steps could be acheived by xp literally at the click of a button, is it really worth spending days and days of your time just trying to get the thing to work right?I think linux is for the people who like a challenge and wouldnt be happy with something that works properly.
Closed AccountJan 19, 2007
Hmmm weird how you posted that 3 post down from a reply where you said that "Don't blame Linux. Blame user ignorance."So lets blame ignorant users because they don't know the thousand distro out there, and that one might work? I frequently use Linux, in two different distro, and I have been known to dabble with Gentoo, but for me your post is the definition of Linux not fully being ready to use for the mass market.
paxmaniacJan 19, 2007
It's a fair point though.Ubuntu (and most Linux distros) are easy to use until you run up against something that you just can't figure out how to configure - like your display settings or sound card. Then it's a matter of trawling for advice, and figuring out *just* the right lines to insert into xorg.conf.I use Linux at least 50% of the time, and it is very powerful and flexible. It doesn't yet compete with Windows on ease of use, but is getting closer with each release of Ubuntu, Fedora and SuSE.
polymorphistJan 19, 2007
To those who oppose Automatix: Yes everything can be done without it, but can you honestly tell me you can do those choir as fast and correctly as Automatix can? It's all about efficiency, right?
deanshultzJan 19, 2007
Excellent idea. Linux is not M$, yet so many posts seem to want Linux to do Windows specific tasks, play windows games, be Exchange-server, be some Adobe app, fill in the blank. However, I am not saying to aim low and not produce quality product. And don't get me wrong, don't take this as a flame of any sort, but if someone wants Photoshop, just-like-it-is-on-Windows, perhaps they should expect to pay for windows.I am what we all call a noob. For me, the moniker is not a pejorative. In fact, I am excited at the idea of running Linux at home and am like the proverbial ex-smoker; I think everyone should quit the Windows habit, if they can, and try Linux. My machine is only three years old, yet already too dated for Windows, hmm. For myself, the final straw with Windows was seeing a Vista dog-and-pony show, in which the UI had yet another layer of goo, and optimal OS requirements were 1GB of ram for Vista. Well, max ram on my machine *is* 1GB, leading me to conclude that now was a good time to jump.At its current state, things, truly, (mostly) just work. For protection, I like how my PC needs just a firewall - maybe, but not anti-virus, et, al... And that I do not have to 'defrag' periodically, just to keep performance up. Or that a locked program does not mean BSD. It's all good.Linux, FLOSS, Open Source, all of it, whatever you want to call it...is a gift. Personally, I am grateful. I mean, we get an incredibly cool OS, and commercial grade software, just for the asking, and a user-support community that is second to none - and the support is free, too. wow.Let's recognized Linux for what it is, an alternative...whose time has come.
deanshultzJan 19, 2007
"I don't want to start s**t here, I always appreciate your comments Roy and I am a big Linux fan but this time I do not agree at 100%. I think that for the average Windos user even following the step-by-step set of instructions can be difficult, you konw those noobs are always scared by command line prompt. Anyway I think that wine does a great job and indeed sometimes installing a Windos game on Linux is very easy for Linux users"Must disagree with Ace77. The statement, 'noobs are always scared by command line prompt' is a generalization and inaccurate. Speaking for myself, I used to write dos batch files in the mid-90's and so, was not concerned about the Linux cli as much as what I did not know about syntax and the classic dos bugaboo, needing to know the commands before I could type them. Sort of a seeing the forest for the trees problem. That is where the user forums have been most helpful and made taking the plunge easier. Personally, I ran Linux on vmware for about two weeks, checking off items on my gotta-have-list as i figured out how to make things work. Then, one day, after a Vista demo, I decided to just wipe my drive and just do it. no dual boot. If linux didn't have it, i didn't need it. Needless to say, the Linux environment has had what i have wanted, Scribus, VLS, gimp, blah-blah, and more. It's been a cool ride, so far. So, before tweaking noobs' noses, make sure you do not mind pulling back some goo. :)-d