Windows 8 Features With Linux Antecedents

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Windows 8 Features With Linux Antecedents

Posted by timothy on Friday February 10, 2012 @07:38AM from the all-stolen-from-vannevar-bush dept.

itwbennett writes "As details about new features in Windows 8 started to be discussed in the Building 8 blog and bandied about in Linux/Windows forums, Linux users were quick to chime in with a hearty 'Linux had that first' — even for things that were just a natural evolution, like native support for USB 3.0. So ask not 'did Linux have this first', but 'does Windows 8 do it better?'"

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"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by eldavojohn · 2012-02-10 07:40 · Score: 5, Funny

The Microsoft twist: No Linux distro does ISO mounting as easily as Windows 8, as it requires some command line trickery (or, again, third-party tools).
Here's your "command line trickery" (once you've gotten superuser):

mkdir -p /mnt/iso mount -o loop image.iso /mnt/iso

Did you see that trickery? Someone call the pope, I'm well on my way to sainthood after that "miracle." Hahah that's funny though, this guy should see some of the command line paragraphs I've typed out for stuff like ffmpeg back in the day. I think the author doesn't understand that there are many linux machines that are servers or headless and many distros that love to leave you the option of not having to run a window manager. As a result, it's almost always up to you if you want to run a heavy GUI to execute two whole commands.

--
My work here is dung.
1. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by Microlith · 2012-02-10 07:53 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Not for anyone who has bothered to learn how to use their computer. But then, that's just one way to do it on modern Linux distributions, which now simplify the process by letting you right click and mount the volume.
  And has since the days I was using Daemon Tools on Windows.
2. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-10 07:58 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Or you could click on it in Gnome/Nautilus (and probably whatever file manager KDE uses), but don't let that get in your way of your rant.
3. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by Medievalist · 2012-02-10 08:06 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Wow, that sounds hard! You have to do all that? Windows 8 must really suck!!!
  In modern linux distributions, if there's an ISO on the media, it appears the same as any other container object, except the icon's a shiny CD looking disc instead of a manila folder. You click on it like any other container object, say for example a folder or an archive file, and it opens.
  Why do you use windows if it makes you do all that crap?
4. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by 0123456 · 2012-02-10 08:09 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Linux requires root for too many things. You shouldn't need root to mount a file/device.
  So you're saying I should be able to plug in a USB stick with a setuid root shell on it, mount that without root permissions, and own your system with almost zero effort?
5. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by RCL · 2012-02-10 08:22 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  That is why KDE and Gnome make this stuff easier. But there SHOULD be a way to do everything with shell commands, for users who are willing to learn them. Without that, I just don't have the feeling that I'm in control of the machine.
  
  BTW, Windows actually has plenty of command line tools (made by Microsoft) which allow you to script much more than one might think without ever touching the GUI. Too bad a lot of the said tools aren't included by default and need to be searched for in various * Kit packages from Microsoft.
  
  --
  Coding etudes
6. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by bmo · 2012-02-10 08:27 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Right, because the command line is so unimportant that Microsoft came up with an entirely new command shell called PowerShell and OSX has full-on bash.
  You know, the two major OSes pointed at consumer idiots have powerful shells. Go figure.
  --
  BMO
7. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by Microlith · 2012-02-10 08:28 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Learning to use your computer should *NOT* require knowledge of shell command flags.
  It should if you want to be considered proficient. It shouldn't be required for basic day to day operations, as I noted. But go on, be an angry anonymous coward.
8. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by Kenja · 2012-02-10 08:44 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Learning to use a computer should *NOT* require knowledge of mice and keyboards. The computer should know what I want it to do and just do it. I shouldn't even have to plug it in (electricity is dangerous!).
  
  --
  
  "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
9. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by localman57 · 2012-02-10 09:18 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  International Standards Organization, specifically, this is ISO9660, the definition of a cd image.
  Or, you know, you could just FUCKING GOOGLE IT!
  No way. The last time I did that, I almost got fired.
  
  Our SysAdmin: "Yeah, I mounted a MILF last night."
  
  Me:What's a MILF?
  
  Sysadmin: You don't know? It's uh...[pause]...I forget what it stands for, Mobile..Image..Something...Format. Fucking google it. It's an image type, so be sure to use Google Images. Also, we have udev set up so it won't mount automatically. You'll need root access. Google's closest equivalent is turning off safe search. So you'll want to do that too when you go looking. Then just look for "Mounting a MILF".
10. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by rev0lt · 2012-02-10 10:24 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Considering the commands were about mounting an ISO file, why the hell would I want 1) mount to automatically detect a filesystem inside a file; 2) mount it as read-only on a predefined location? I actually sometimes use files as raw devices for writing (for example, if I need to demonstrate how ZFS resiliency works, a couple of files and mount allows me to quicly show how it works instead of having to use physical devices)?
  Every mainstream linux distro with gnome/kde will automagically mount a recognized device on a predefined location without any user intervention, and creating folders as necessary. I'm no expert, but not only Linux's udev seems to work quite well (and recognize a lot more filesystems than Windows), but automounter has been available for ages in almost all modern/relevant unix operating systems.
11. Re:"Linux Command Line Tirckery" HA! by atriusofbricia · 2012-02-10 16:05 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Well... since you didn't bother to limit it to only "simple user tasks".....
  for i in * do mv $i `echo $i | tr [:upper:] [:lower:]` done
  Done, all the files in that directory are now lower case. Can you do that with some GUI tool pulled off ZDNet or some other random place? Yes. Would it take you longer to find it, download it, virus scan it and figure out how to use it? Absolutely.
  The parent specifically said "if you want to be proficient" then you should learn the CLI. This is true.
  The parent also specifically said you shouldn't have to drop to a CLI for basic day to day activities. Did you even read the post you were replying to?
  Another example? Oh, okay.
  for i in `cat listofservers` do rdesktop (bunchofoptions) $i & done
  30 RDP sessions open and ready. It would work equally well with an actual list of servers instead of a handy text file laying about. A Linux/KDE specific example has all those 30 sessions grouped into tabbed windows of 5 each, windowshaded and placed where I want them on the desktop for rapid access.
  More?
  
  --
  I was raised on the command line, bitch
  "Nemo me impune lacesset"
Linux *Implemented* It First by eldavojohn · 2012-02-10 07:42 · Score: 5, Insightful

As details about new features in Windows 8 started to be discussed in the Building 8 blog and bandied about in Linux/Windows forums, Linux users were quick to chime in with a hearty 'Linux had that first' — even for things that were just a natural evolution, like native support for USB 3.0.
Perhaps they're not jeering Windows for "copying" Linux so much as they are happy to show that the flexibility and community involvement in open source is starting to surpass those closed source equivalents? Isn't that what Windows used to gain so much marketshare? Supporting everything before everyone else?

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My work here is dung.
The real question is... by pwolf · 2012-02-10 07:42 · Score: 5, Insightful

Does it really matter?
Meh. by zooblethorpe · 2012-02-10 07:42 · Score: 5, Informative

I don't really see anything here worth the attention -- this really just looks like an attempt to generate traffic.
Move along, nothing to see here.
...No, really. It's quite dull and profoundly uncontroversial.

--
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
ISO Mounting by Monkey+Angst · 2012-02-10 07:45 · Score: 5, Funny

ISO Mounting
It boggled my mind that even Windows 7 didn't have that. At my job, I'm the Mac tech and there are a couple of PC techs. When they're overbusy, I take some of their workload... had to do an install of Office on someone's machine, so I found a folder of ISOs on a network share, downloaded it, and...? Hmm. "I may be an idiot," I said to my colleagues, "but I can't figure out how to mount this ISO file." "Burn it," they said. "Why, how do you open it on a Mac?" "Uh... you double-click it."
Talk about your long times coming.

--
stripShow - Where WordPress meets webcomics
1. Re:ISO Mounting by Korin43 · 2012-02-10 08:23 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The one that really gets me is updating.
  On Windows:
  * Run Windows Update
  * Run a program that detects out-of-date software like FileHippo's update checker (or open all of your programs and see which ones annoy you)
  * Download each program's update individually
  * Run each of those (clicking through the damn wizard every time)
  * Reboot your machine
  * Watch as a "new update available" popup appears an hour later when you open a program
  On Linux, pick one of the following:
  * Click the update icon (Ubuntu, maybe other distros)
  * Run 'yum upgrade', 'aptitude update && aptitude upgrade' or 'pacman -Syu'
  "OMG Linux is so hard. You expect me to open a terminal and type two words??! It's much easier to spend an hour clicking 'Yes"!"
Articles like this are the problem, not Microsoft by caywen · 2012-02-10 08:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

It's not like Microsoft said, "hey, we invented an easy way to mount ISO's. Take THAT Linux! wait, you already have that? Oh well, our way is superior!"
It's more like Microsoft said, "Hey, we made ISO's easy to mount."
The rest of the crap comes from those who make a living trying to instigate fights between users in both camps.