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Rickford Grant Interview
An anonymous reader writes "An interview was recently conducted with Rickford Grant, the author of "Linux for Non-Geeks" and the new "Linux Made Easy". Grant is outspoken in his opinions and offers a number of unique views on topics as diverse as Windows Vista, desktop Linux, GNOME vs. KDE, and lots more. Part of the interview is spent talking about his new book but the bulk of the interview is a discussion of his views on pertinent topics and news. The author is a strong supporter of desktop Linux and has been getting quite a bit of attention for his views on the subject."
I know, that nothing comes close to Ableton Live, but I like the combination of seq24, ZynAddSubFX and LinuxSampler. I haven't tried FreeWheeling so far, but it looks very interesting. Absolutely not comparable to Live, but a very interesting approach.
I have not used Windows since 1995. I fully admit that Linux has long been an operating system that requires more experience, thinking, problem solving, and learning than the average person wants to invest. Most people certainly would never immagine running an operating system where they ever have to edit a configuration file by hand - fstab? huh? I would say that that has changed quite a bit in recent years. I am now running Ubuntu and can honestly say that this is the first time, after a decade as a Linux user, that I have installed a distro and not once had to touch a configuration file or manually set up anything. My sound, wireless, X11, etc. were all correctly configured. We have now gotten to the point where Linux is very much "ready for the desktop" with one little catch: It is perfect as a primary operating system for anyone with broadband internet. Dialup users would be unable to install or update software without a lot of time and hassle. Windows makes more sense for dial-up users, but no sense for anyone with a broadband connection.