Why Linux?

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TrevorRC

Senior member
Jan 8, 2006
989
0
0
The average joe at home isn't going to contribute to open source software. They don't have the skills necessary to do so.

Until Linux is accessible (read: Easy to install and use) like Windows is, it won't take off for the mainstream user.
 

sigs3gv

Senior member
Oct 14, 2005
513
0
0
Originally posted by: mellowfellow0o0
It's powerful, its customizable, it's as affordable as it can get, but until it makes program installs and unistalls a matter of point, click, click, click, it will NEVER work in the avg home.
Eliminate TAR installs. Come up with a standard application installer that works across all major distributions with no deviations, include dependencies in the installs, and the most drastic of all. Do something about the file system structure. There is a lack of standards when it comes to where to put different files during installation. It is much easier to understand "Program Files" or "Windows".

Are you kidding me? Linux's file structure is vastly superior than that of Windows in terms of organization. Have you ever looked inside C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\System32? It's a complete mess in there. You have both executables and libraries jammed inside the same folder along with seemingly random bitmaps of wallpapers and screensavers.

In Linux, you have a nice organized file system structure with the executables in the bin directories, libraries in the lib directories, image files in primarily the icons/pixmaps directories, etc.

Furthermore, Debian-based systems (mainly Debian and Ubuntu) have the simpliest install procedure. Apt-get has got to be one of the best installer tools. It was a breeze to install mplayer and kismet in Ubuntu (whereas it took me a good 10 minutes to compile both and make install).
 

sigs3gv

Senior member
Oct 14, 2005
513
0
0
Originally posted by: TrevorRC
The average joe at home isn't going to contribute to open source software. They don't have the skills necessary to do so.

Until Linux is accessible (read: Easy to install and use) like Windows is, it won't take off for the mainstream user.

Windows and Ubuntu have about the same difficulty level in terms of installation. In fact, I believe Fedora Core and SUSE both have easier installs than that of Windows.
 

stash

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2000
5,468
0
0
Can't believe I'm doing this...

Have you ever looked inside C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\System32? It's a complete mess in there. You have both executables and libraries jammed inside the same folder along with seemingly random bitmaps of wallpapers and screensavers.
So? Users have no need to mess around in there.

In Linux, you have a nice organized file system structure with the executables in the bin directories, libraries in the lib directories, image files in primarily the icons/pixmaps directories, etc.
User's don't care about this. They just need a place to dump their docs, their pics, their music and whatever else. Abstracting the file system for users is a much better alternative than a mess of directories, no matter how organized you think they are.
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
0
User's don't care about this. They just need a place to dump their docs, their pics, their music and whatever else. Abstracting the file system for users is a much better alternative than a mess of directories, no matter how organized you think they are.

Exactly, 99% of the time a user only cares about what's in his home directory. Who cares where a program is installed to as long as there's a menu entry to run it.
 

kamper

Diamond Member
Mar 18, 2003
5,513
0
0
Originally posted by: Cerb
Hurd is the future. It will remain the future, too, just as it was the future when Linux started .
lol
<br
Linux is free and will be forever.
No, Linux is Free, and will be forever. You can pay for support and get it to cost you. They could even make it per CPU. They don't largely because they need to be cost-competitive with MS.
I don't see them ever charging per cpu. Their product is support, not an operating system. They will charge based on how much support they promise and/or deliver.
Linux is here to stay, but it is creeping in, one disenchanted Windows user (including network admins) or business at a time.
Sure, but windows is also creeping in, one disenchanted, overpaying old-unix user/business at a time.
 

rbrandon

Banned
Oct 10, 2002
423
0
0
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Linux is the future.
Linux is free and will be forever.
Linux is supported by the open source community.
Linux is secure.
Linux is not Microsoft.

Linux is the future.
In the server market continues to outpace Microsoft in server deployments. The desktop arena continues to see spectacular growth, especially with the exploding popularity of Ubuntu Linux in just the past year and a half. Linux will be used as the main operating system in just about every devices including PDA's, Cell phones, pocket PC's, notebooks and desktops, and media centers.

Linux is free and will be forever.
Unlike Windows, Linux is free and under the General Public License (GPL) should remain free forever no matter how many times you install it. Windows charges for every computer and every processor their operating system is installed on. So if you replace your CPU under their licencing agreement you will have to pay for a new copy of Windows every time.

Linux is supported by the open source community.
Linux is supported by thousands and thousands of individuals who are committed to and skilled in their work. As an open source project code is updated constantly and fixes are developed quickly. No more waiting months for security patches and updates.

Linux is secure.
As of right now there are more virus written for Windows than any other operating system. And with help of the open source community, patches and fixes for future virus for Linux can be resolved as soon as they are written. Not weeks or months.

Linux is not Microsoft.
Linux is not Microsoft. You don't need to listen to the Microsoft start up theme music, watch the Microsoft logo as Windows loads, or use the Internet Explorer to view your files, or have microft software bundled with your OS. Or believe that everything Microsoft has handed you in the PC world is the way it should be. You can used tabbed folder view instead of pressing "back back back" to navigate through your folders. You can customize your splash screen to replace you Windows loading logo. You can make your OS look like a Mac if you like.

And now Linux is supported....
Adobe has created a Linux division, most hardward OEM's bundle Linux drivers with their products and as of now Ubuntu supports the vast majority of hardware pluggins right out of the box. Believe it or not Linux is here to stay.

Please contribute as you wish to this thread..


troll much?

 
Jan 24, 2006
42
0
0
Originally posted by: Nothinman
Installation of software is a lesson in what frustration means.

Right, because Synaptic is so hard to use. I'd much rather download random shareware filled with spyware and install that!

Frankly I haven't clue one what that is, I do know that I am much more surprised when an intall just works on Linux than when I have to drop to a command line and figure out what switches I need to add.

Yes there are different schemes to help overcome this but they vary for each distribution.

There are differing schemes for operating a car, but people cope with that.

Yeah but not many people would put up with having to put in new seats just to install a stereo. I too can use obtuse analogies

All modern windows applications install with a few clicks of a mouse.

And yet people still manage to do it incorrectly. There is nothing that will help those people that aren't willing to learn.

Stereo-typical elitist reply. Most people are perfectly capable of installing most software. If there is a problem it comes from the fact that they install the wrong stuff.

Linux so far as as usability goes, is in it's DOS/Win 3.1 days.

While I think that's a totally incorrect statement, Windows is just now catching up to Linux in the reliability department. Both systems have different focuses on their development, MS is just recently working on reliability and security and Gnome/KDE are working on usabilility now. And the best part is that MS changes their UI around with every release making their users relearn large portions of the system, so what better chance to jump ship than when Vista ships and does it all again?

Ok, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing I really can't tell.


It's powerful, its customizable, it's as affordable as it can get, but until it makes program installs and unistalls a matter of point, click, click, click, it will NEVER work in the avg home.
Eliminate TAR installs. Come up with a standard application installer that works across all major distributions with no deviations, include dependencies in the installs, and the most drastic of all. Do something about the file system structure. There is a lack of standards when it comes to where to put different files during installation. It is much easier to understand "Program Files" or "Windows".


Installation of software on Linux is many magnitudes simpler than it is on Windows, no one uses tarballs anymore except as a last resort. If your distribution doesn't have a piece of software packaged ask them to package it and/or ask the developer of the software to provide packages for your distribution. Do you complain about Windows because you can't install iDVD?

And the filesytem layout will not change, there's no reason a user should ever even see anything other than what's in their home directory.

If someone wants a piece of software, they want it NOW. Same reason why store sales still top web sales. Instant gratification. It's the American way. I sure as heck don't want to wait while someone may or may not package something so that I don't have to deal with the problems of software installation on my OS.
Now I haven't tried a desktop version of Linux in over six months, but I know ther were several applications that did not have installers for Mandrake or Suse(the last two I played with) and I had to use Tars


Like it or not Linux is going to have to dumb it's self down if it ever wants to reach the mass market in the home. The best solution I can see is a shell that hides all the arcane aspects and Unix heritage. Makes the file structure look simple and understandable to the barely computer literate. It would hide those options that are advanced but still make them easily uncoverable to those who desire them.

You just described Gnome, have you tried it lately?

Ok that only helps with the casual interactions. Prefer KDE anyway. Not the underlying problems.


Some of this is starting and I mean just starting to form, but too much of the Linux community does not understand nor care to understand that the common person does not want to jump through hoops to use an OS. They focus on trying to make it look as much like the popular OSes as possible but don't try to make it function like them.

We don't want it to function like them, emulating the competition (if you consider it a competition) doesn't help anything. IMO most things works better on Linux than they do on Windows, sure right now some of them require a little extra work to get them going but once they're setup they run forever without any intervention.

For instance, the latest Epiphany packages include support for the Avahi ZeroConf stuff. What this means is that if a device supports ZeroConf and publishes bookmarks they'll automatically appear in Epiphany's bookmark list, does anything like that exist on Windows? How convenient would it be if you could turn on a new SoHo Router and have it's admin page automatically bookmarked for you?

Don't want to emulate the compitition? ROFLMAO. No, they don't want to do that. Linux GUI's look and act nothing like they are trying to emulate Mac or Windows. Yes I know Mac got the idea from Xerox and MS got it from Mac. Doesn't change the fact that Linux tries to emulate them. BTW I don't think this is a bad thing.
Also, why would I want anyone adding bookmarks automatically? I get pissed when software installs do this without asking.


Then they decided that the server need a point and click interface and an easier to user management console. They chose JAVA. WTF. The slowest and most hardware intensive programming language I have ever seen in my life.

That choice also made it so that their admin tools could be run on Linux. No, it wasn't officially supported, but it worked and was significantly faster than running them on Windows.

Still not even close to NWAdmin32

Really they left us no choice. We could no longer use hardware cost savings as an excuse to stay with Novell. We needed the true IP support of a next gen NOS. Managment loved the $$$ savings with Novell, but once that was gone. The allure of MS was too much for them and they made us change over.

Money savings with Novell? What crack are you smoking? NetWare itself is expensive as hell and their user licensing is comparable if not worse than that of MS but the kicker is that Novell actually enforced their licensing. If you bought 100 user licenses for your NDS tree only 100 people could login, not like Windows where the system allowed as many logins as it could handle no matter what number of licenses you told it you had. And on top of it all, the admin tools are irrelevant performance-wise, you never admin a NetWare box from it's console so the fact that X, Java, etc were on the box didn't matter one bit.

Do you even read what you are replying to? I was refering to the cost of server hardware. BTW no, Novell Licensing was actually cheaper than MS. Not by much, I didn't deal with that end of it too much but I do remember my boss talking about that being a consideration. Don't know if it was because we were an educational institution or whatever. I do remember with 4.11 we only purchased the connection licenses that were needed for each server and no more.
Also adding java components to the Novell OS slowed it down horribly whether or not you allowed Console One to load on the server. So, ya it did matter


Anyway my point is Linux needs to adapt to the needs of the common Joe, to make it into the home, but it needs to do so with out losing the things that make it great. Maybe I am a a glass half full kinda guy, but I don't think that will happen.

Then help make it happen, Linux is a community effort. Sitting on the sidelines and saying "You guys need to fix this" doesn't cut it.

I would love to help but unfortunatly I am not a great programmer. I only know RPG II, COBOL, and VB 6. Frankly the only thing I use any more is VB 6. Yep, it's cause I am lazy. I usually only do simple database front ends and I do not want to have to do the extra code to draw the forms. Saves me time. Since every one has moved on to web based stuff, I only program for myself anymore.
That's not the point though. Frankly like I say I will be perfectly happy if Linux never changes from it's current for. I love it just like it is. It makes the best server platform out there for my needs. Though I do kinda like NDS running on a windows server. Anyway, all I am saying is what needs to change if it is ever to make it in the home as a desktop OS.
 

drag

Elite Member
Jul 4, 2002
8,708
0
0
Seriously. You guys use QUOTES instead of BOLD when making a reply to a person.

It's not that difficult...
 
Jan 24, 2006
42
0
0
Sorry woke up at 1AM and couldn't get back to sleep. I am still getting used to the particulars of these boards. The reply window is kinda confusing. "Don't use HTML" but yet it's scattered with pseudo HTML tags. Too much for my insomniac brain to process. Chose the quickest method I saw to set apart the text.

I will do better next time
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: rbrandon

troll much?
This is simply an idiotic statement. If you had any real insite you would have something smart to say rather than a smart ass response.
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: mellowfellow0o0
Originally posted by: Nothinman
Installation of software is a lesson in what frustration means.


Right, because Synaptic is so hard to use. I'd much rather download random shareware filled with spyware and install that!

Frankly I haven't clue one what that is, I do know that I am much more surprised when an intall just works on Linux than when I have to drop to a command line and figure out what switches I need to add.

If you don't know what synaptic package manager is you shouldn't be writing in this thread.
 

gsellis

Diamond Member
Dec 4, 2003
6,061
0
0
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Originally posted by: rbrandon

troll much?
This is simply an idiotic statement. If you had any real insite you would have something smart to say rather than a smart ass response.
No, his insight is clear. This is trollish.

 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Linux is the future.
Linux is free and will be forever.
Linux is supported by the open source community.
Linux is secure.
Linux is not Microsoft.

Linux is the future.
In the server market continues to outpace Microsoft in server deployments. The desktop arena continues to see spectacular growth, especially with the exploding popularity of Ubuntu Linux in just the past year and a half. Linux will be used as the main operating system in just about every devices including PDA's, Cell phones, pocket PC's, notebooks and desktops, and media centers.

Linux is free and will be forever.
Unlike Windows, Linux is free and under the General Public License (GPL) should remain free forever no matter how many times you install it. Windows charges for every computer and every processor their operating system is installed on. So if you replace your CPU under their licencing agreement you will have to pay for a new copy of Windows every time.

Linux is supported by the open source community.
Linux is supported by thousands and thousands of individuals who are committed to and skilled in their work. As an open source project code is updated constantly and fixes are developed quickly. No more waiting months for security patches and updates.

Linux is secure.
As of right now there are more virus written for Windows than any other operating system. And with help of the open source community, patches and fixes for future virus for Linux can be resolved as soon as they are written. Not weeks or months.

Linux is not Microsoft.
Linux is not Microsoft. You don't need to listen to the Microsoft start up theme music, watch the Microsoft logo as Windows loads, or use the Internet Explorer to view your files, or have microft software bundled with your OS. Or believe that everything Microsoft has handed you in the PC world is the way it should be. You can used tabbed folder view instead of pressing "back back back" to navigate through your folders. You can customize your splash screen to replace you Windows loading logo. You can make your OS look like a Mac if you like.

And now Linux is supported....
Adobe has created a Linux division, most hardward OEM's bundle Linux drivers with their products and as of now Ubuntu supports the vast majority of hardware pluggins right out of the box. Believe it or not Linux is here to stay.

Please contribute as you wish to this thread..

Father! i sense the good in you! Let go of your cheapness! Buy windows! The open source community hasent completely turned you to the dark side!
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
0
0
Frankly I haven't clue one what that is, I do know that I am much more surprised when an intall just works on Linux than when I have to drop to a command line and figure out what switches I need to add.

Then you're not experienced enough to talk on the subject, grab a copy of Ubuntu and try it out.

Yeah but not many people would put up with having to put in new seats just to install a stereo. I too can use obtuse analogies

No, but they do put up with having to buy kits to make the stereo fit properly. I can't think of a single instance in Linux where I've had to mess with software completely unrelated to what I was trying to accomplish, which is what your analogy implies.

Stereo-typical elitist reply. Most people are perfectly capable of installing most software. If there is a problem it comes from the fact that they install the wrong stuff.

No, it's a realistic reply. I worked on my employer's helpdesk for several years and I got to see the best and worst Windows users and the worst far out number the best and usually they're not even willing to learn anything, they just want it to work and most of the time Windows doesn't 'just work' how they want.

Ok, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing I really can't tell.

I'm disagreeing. The usability of KDE/Gnome might not be where you think it should be, but IMO it exceeds Windows in a lot of ways and lags behind in others. And they've been under development for less time than Windows so the fact that they've gotten as far as they have is remarkable and there's no telling where they'll be in 1 or 5 or 10 years.

If someone wants a piece of software, they want it NOW. Same reason why store sales still top web sales. Instant gratification. It's the American way. I sure as heck don't want to wait while someone may or may not package something so that I don't have to deal with the problems of software installation on my OS.
Now I haven't tried a desktop version of Linux in over six months, but I know ther were several applications that did not have installers for Mandrake or Suse(the last two I played with) and I had to use Tars

If you're that impatient then you'll have to deal with a little extra work, no way around it. Throwing your hands up in frustration or throwing a hissy-fit cause you didn't get your way won't get you anything.

Ok that only helps with the casual interactions. Prefer KDE anyway. Not the underlying problems.

The casual interactions are the main point, most users's don't give a sh!t about the underlying infrastructure. They just care that the icon on their desktop runs Firefox or that the menu entry for gaim was added automatically by the installer. And if you prefer KDE I can understand why you think Linux isn't ready for the desktop...

Don't want to emulate the compitition? ROFLMAO. No, they don't want to do that. Linux GUI's look and act nothing like they are trying to emulate Mac or Windows. Yes I know Mac got the idea from Xerox and MS got it from Mac. Doesn't change the fact that Linux tries to emulate them. BTW I don't think this is a bad thing.
Also, why would I want anyone adding bookmarks automatically? I get pissed when software installs do this without asking.

Some themes try to emulate them, of course, people will always do that because they like the look of a system but don't want to have to use it and you can't stop them. And on top of that the basics have to be similar otherwise the system will be unusable, no one's come up with alternate ways of doing certain things yet. But frankly with Vista it's MS who's emulating Linux, their 'bread crumb' navigation in Vista's explorer is taken pretty much verbatim from Gnome's Nautilus. And they even switched to using little triangles just like OS X and Gnome instead of the plus signs in Explorer.

And the bookmarks comment was about ZeroConf adding/removing bookmarks are you join/leave networks, not software installation. If you don't understand what I mean, do some reading on ZeroConf.

Still not even close to NWAdmin32

I don't know, our NetWare guys seemed to get along with it just fine.

Do you even read what you are replying to? I was refering to the cost of server hardware. BTW no, Novell Licensing was actually cheaper than MS. Not by much, I didn't deal with that end of it too much but I do remember my boss talking about that being a consideration. Don't know if it was because we were an educational institution or whatever. I do remember with 4.11 we only purchased the connection licenses that were needed for each server and no more.
Also adding java components to the Novell OS slowed it down horribly whether or not you allowed Console One to load on the server. So, ya it did matter

Then your argument is even less relevant because real supported servers have been able to run NetWare+Java+X for a very long time. No one in their right mind would buy a 486 and try to run an important server on it these days or even 10 years ago. Being an edu makes a huge difference and if you didn't even get to look at the numbers why are you talking about them?

I would love to help but unfortunatly I am not a great programmer.

Irrelevant, you can still help put on documentation, graphics, UI design ideas, bug reports, testing new software, etc.

 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: gsellis
No, his insight is clear. This is trollish.

Answer me this. Have you installed and used the latest version of Ubuntu, Fedora Core, or Suse? No? I thought so.

 

gsellis

Diamond Member
Dec 4, 2003
6,061
0
0
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Originally posted by: gsellis
No, his insight is clear. This is trollish.

Answer me this. Have you installed and used the latest version of Ubuntu, Fedora Core, or Suse? No? I thought so.
Or you Vista? No?

Sorry, I only have copies of Lindows and not gotten an update since the Linspire change.

Glad you re-enforced the case.

 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Yes, I re-enforced the fact you have no experience with the latest Distro of Linux and have no clue what this thread is about? Lindows is not what was mentioned, Tell me about it after you get some experience with Ubuntu, Susu, or Fedora Core.
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: gsellis
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Re-enforce what?
That you just did this as a trollish religious exercise. Dude, it is just software.

Let's see... You come into this thread, insult the OP without having any experience with the software in question and you're calling who a troll? Don't be silly.
 

gsellis

Diamond Member
Dec 4, 2003
6,061
0
0
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: gsellis
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Originally posted by: gsellis
Or you Vista? No?

Where can that be purchased?
It's FREE!

Link to Microsoft's Vista giveaway?
CTP man...

A note why there is not been widespread corporate adoption or swing from MS, cost. As an example, consider a $300m yearly budget to run IT that supports windows dev, 45000 sets, Sun Unix, HP-UX, and some IBM big iron. 60%+ of the infrastructure is geared for the MS platforms including Dev. To switch to Linux, you need to maintain the current infrastructure of a hortizontal corp, continue with the MS Win updates already in progress for the customer, and spin up dev to replace all of the code (30 million lines of code as a WAG for the one I am thinking of). Throw HP-UX and Sun into that for another 3-5million lines. It would be about a 5 year project, require a large staff increase, and cost would parallel. A wag would be $1b to convert over 5 years. Some execs will not chock that down to be free from MS.

 
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