I'm still waiting for linux developers to unify their GUI and various other apps. Development is crippled by people splintering off to develop the same applications with slightly different/competing feature sets that never really accomplish 100% of what needs to be done.
I've been a linux user for years and will continue to use it in critical and non-critical positions, but it is absolutely frustrating when I try to do something as simple as provide music over the network to handheld devices or my stereo and it proves difficult - switching from one media application to another and back and forth.
Don't get me wrong, I love the open source community and I try my best to contribute when I can. But the splintered development effort always leaves Ubuntu/Fedora/SuSE/et al feeling a bit under/broken-featured. I'm not saying OSX or WinX is any better, because they aren't - but I can say in all certainty that Windows has a lot more solid apps around for it. Take two examples - EAC & DVDShrink. Both very basic applications with no functional equivalents in any linux distro (don't even kid yourself - the current k9copy is totally broken when it comes to saving DVDs straight to ISO - won't even touch it) and the GUI frontends for ripping CDs (ruby ripper) fall short of EAC functionality, when in reality it really should be the other way around considering it's linux.
Thankfully, there is wine.
Please quote the test where I stated linux was 'broken'. You can't, because I didn't and you know your response was complete bullshit. I've only been playing with linux for 5 years or so, so no, I'm not an expert. But I don't use a GUI, either (unless I'm using an Ubuntu install or SuSE)
My point being I was able to find a solution to my windows problem far, far easier than I was able to find a solution (which I never found, BTW) to my Linux problem. If I have to *dig* to find my Windows solution, I can guarantee that grandma won't be able to do it. And if I can't find a solution to my linux issue, then that same user won't be able to get far with linux. Am I saying linux is broken? Nope. I'm saying that it is not as user friendly as Windows. At least with Windows, you can do simple Google searches to find resolutions to *most* problems. And they work. For example, try to find a reasonable solution to getting Atheros wireless cards to work properly with WPA or WPA2 support in Ubuntu 6.10 (Desktop) or 7.04. Never could do it, and I wasn't about to try the ndiswrapper runaround.
And using a copy of an OS which is almost 7 years old now is probably a bad idea. Best to install with XP SP2 if you're not installing with Vista.
Do you really want an answer to that? You might not like it...
I see more support coming from "gamers" that use Windows than from Linux users. Granted, not all are this way, but you can see the kind of attitude you get from the Ubuntu forums and see why that scares people away. Hell, I searched 'round & 'round for an answer to my Nvidia RAID debacle and Ubuntu 6.10/7.04 to no avail. Live CD wouldn't even boot on it. Use Nlite with windows, install the drivers, and I got an unattended install going in less than 30 minutes. I'm sure theres a way to do it in Linux, but I had expended my efforts for a couple of days and just needed something that worked right.
Linux still has years, or decades, to go in terms of user friendliness. It's a great test and development platform. For end users, it's got a long, long way to go. The first thing they could do is develop a single UI model and have *all* distros follow that - but that goes against everything the Linux community strives for (diversity). Forcing apps for Linux to follow very strict guidelines in terms of installation/uninstallation to make it into their Stable tree would be a great first step, but that's impossible given the structure of the community.
I would disagree. If Microsoft went the way of the dodo, essentially the entire gaming community would be SOL (except for the console folks). You can't tell me the same lame gamers that have a hard time binding keys in CS (even after playing for 5 or 6 years) woul dbe smart enough to install custom video drivers in Linux. I won't even touch the gameplay factor on OSX.
Not saying Windows is the greatest, but MS is the only one who stepped up to the plate at the right time to offer a graphics solution that works.
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Sounds like he should have cut the supervisors nuts off and shoved them in his mouth as payback.
Just sayin'....
I'm still waiting for linux developers to unify their GUI and various other apps. Development is crippled by people splintering off to develop the same applications with slightly different/competing feature sets that never really accomplish 100% of what needs to be done. I've been a linux user for years and will continue to use it in critical and non-critical positions, but it is absolutely frustrating when I try to do something as simple as provide music over the network to handheld devices or my stereo and it proves difficult - switching from one media application to another and back and forth. Don't get me wrong, I love the open source community and I try my best to contribute when I can. But the splintered development effort always leaves Ubuntu/Fedora/SuSE/et al feeling a bit under/broken-featured. I'm not saying OSX or WinX is any better, because they aren't - but I can say in all certainty that Windows has a lot more solid apps around for it. Take two examples - EAC & DVDShrink. Both very basic applications with no functional equivalents in any linux distro (don't even kid yourself - the current k9copy is totally broken when it comes to saving DVDs straight to ISO - won't even touch it) and the GUI frontends for ripping CDs (ruby ripper) fall short of EAC functionality, when in reality it really should be the other way around considering it's linux. Thankfully, there is wine.
My point being I was able to find a solution to my windows problem far, far easier than I was able to find a solution (which I never found, BTW) to my Linux problem. If I have to *dig* to find my Windows solution, I can guarantee that grandma won't be able to do it. And if I can't find a solution to my linux issue, then that same user won't be able to get far with linux. Am I saying linux is broken? Nope. I'm saying that it is not as user friendly as Windows. At least with Windows, you can do simple Google searches to find resolutions to *most* problems. And they work. For example, try to find a reasonable solution to getting Atheros wireless cards to work properly with WPA or WPA2 support in Ubuntu 6.10 (Desktop) or 7.04. Never could do it, and I wasn't about to try the ndiswrapper runaround.
And using a copy of an OS which is almost 7 years old now is probably a bad idea. Best to install with XP SP2 if you're not installing with Vista.
Do you really want an answer to that? You might not like it... I see more support coming from "gamers" that use Windows than from Linux users. Granted, not all are this way, but you can see the kind of attitude you get from the Ubuntu forums and see why that scares people away. Hell, I searched 'round & 'round for an answer to my Nvidia RAID debacle and Ubuntu 6.10/7.04 to no avail. Live CD wouldn't even boot on it. Use Nlite with windows, install the drivers, and I got an unattended install going in less than 30 minutes. I'm sure theres a way to do it in Linux, but I had expended my efforts for a couple of days and just needed something that worked right. Linux still has years, or decades, to go in terms of user friendliness. It's a great test and development platform. For end users, it's got a long, long way to go. The first thing they could do is develop a single UI model and have *all* distros follow that - but that goes against everything the Linux community strives for (diversity). Forcing apps for Linux to follow very strict guidelines in terms of installation/uninstallation to make it into their Stable tree would be a great first step, but that's impossible given the structure of the community.
I would disagree. If Microsoft went the way of the dodo, essentially the entire gaming community would be SOL (except for the console folks). You can't tell me the same lame gamers that have a hard time binding keys in CS (even after playing for 5 or 6 years) woul dbe smart enough to install custom video drivers in Linux. I won't even touch the gameplay factor on OSX. Not saying Windows is the greatest, but MS is the only one who stepped up to the plate at the right time to offer a graphics solution that works.