In a Democracy this shouldn't have happened or at least shouldn't be still in effect, if only we could have the "Free Software" party.... But seriously, whenever some common action is being illegal (unauthorized copying) it should be loosened or repealed. and those who say "No One Will Write Software If They Aren't Being Paid For It!!!" should look at Linux, cleaner code, less system requirements, and if there were no legal problems with some of it (MP3 and WMA playback and drivers) it would overtake Windows in a year or two. However as long as our "elected officials" turn a blind eye towards the general public and more for the small minority with all the money, this will continue.
Yes Linux is ready for the desktop. No Linux isn't quite ready for those who have only known Windows with a GUI. Linux has been much much more stable then my Windows XP computer has ever been. No matter what I try to do to mess it up, all my applications load fast and stable. As for Codecs how much easier can it be?!?!? You click install codecs and it installs them! And you can even start using them without a reboot, and best of all you won't have to worry about some company making sure they are not "pirated" Also the GUI for Linux has been much much consistent then Windows, so yes the learning curve is steeper to begin with but you are guaranteed that you can either use the same GUI, use a CLI (if you want) unlike Vista or Office 2007. Thats whats going to be the "killer feature" for Linux and open source.
Really, what does Apple have to gain for this? They just make the Linux users mad, who could have bought their hardware and when they don't allow Linux, they soon die, if they support Linux, they make profit and free press. think of Dell, after offering Ubuntu, how many Linux users will have their next computer be a Dell? Chances are many. Once ATI opens up its drivers, how many people will have ATI video cards in a new computer? Probably alot. That was how HP, nVidia and now Dell got ahead. Although Linux users are still a niche, those that support it get richer, those that don't get posted on slashdot and quickly get hated by the Linux users. Its not that when they don't officially support Linux they loose money but when they prevent it, they become hated and later loose money. Really, what does Apple have to loose by supported Linux except a few million dollars if they don't?
Word has killed itself with the "ribbon" and the.docx. Having had to use Word (Not my choice because I run Linux at home and use OOo) I can say that OOo wins by far. The "ribbon" is confusing and non-productive, not to mention how the.docx confuses people, I don't know how many complaints I have gotten that "This document won't open in my Word!!!!"
Also, it doesn't help that the default is double spaced, sure its nice for Billy to get his school report done, but face it, most people don't need or want another click to change it to "no spacing" And for most casual computer users spending $100+ for a simple piece of software that they have in the form of Word 2003, OOo or Word '97, most people won't be upgrading. It also doesn't help that there is no way that you can change it back to the older interface, nor are their themes such as in Firefox or Gnome or KDE. If someone wants to try Linux they can make it behave almost exactly like Windows and look the same, if someone wants Word 2007 to look like Word 2003.... Well they can't. And most who simply use their computers don't have the time or desire to learn yet another program, for most knowing how to check e-mail and type up a letter are enough. Sure you can learn it in 20 minutes, but for most thats 20 minutes not getting work done. This is how Microsoft is killing itself, first Vista now Word, if you have to learn a new OS and word processor why not go for the free one?
Newer Macs are Intel x86 based so I think you could. Apple even has software to help you (Bootcamp I think is the name) But once you get your distro installed theres no reason why it wouldn't work. I think Apple BIOSes are funky though and you might not be able to boot from CD right away. Apple PCs seem to be lower spec (In comparison to most modern PCs) so VMware would struggle but it should boot and run.
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In a Democracy this shouldn't have happened or at least shouldn't be still in effect, if only we could have the "Free Software" party.... But seriously, whenever some common action is being illegal (unauthorized copying) it should be loosened or repealed. and those who say "No One Will Write Software If They Aren't Being Paid For It!!!" should look at Linux, cleaner code, less system requirements, and if there were no legal problems with some of it (MP3 and WMA playback and drivers) it would overtake Windows in a year or two. However as long as our "elected officials" turn a blind eye towards the general public and more for the small minority with all the money, this will continue.
Yes Linux is ready for the desktop. No Linux isn't quite ready for those who have only known Windows with a GUI. Linux has been much much more stable then my Windows XP computer has ever been. No matter what I try to do to mess it up, all my applications load fast and stable. As for Codecs how much easier can it be?!?!? You click install codecs and it installs them! And you can even start using them without a reboot, and best of all you won't have to worry about some company making sure they are not "pirated" Also the GUI for Linux has been much much consistent then Windows, so yes the learning curve is steeper to begin with but you are guaranteed that you can either use the same GUI, use a CLI (if you want) unlike Vista or Office 2007. Thats whats going to be the "killer feature" for Linux and open source.
Really, what does Apple have to gain for this? They just make the Linux users mad, who could have bought their hardware and when they don't allow Linux, they soon die, if they support Linux, they make profit and free press. think of Dell, after offering Ubuntu, how many Linux users will have their next computer be a Dell? Chances are many. Once ATI opens up its drivers, how many people will have ATI video cards in a new computer? Probably alot. That was how HP, nVidia and now Dell got ahead. Although Linux users are still a niche, those that support it get richer, those that don't get posted on slashdot and quickly get hated by the Linux users. Its not that when they don't officially support Linux they loose money but when they prevent it, they become hated and later loose money. Really, what does Apple have to loose by supported Linux except a few million dollars if they don't?
Word has killed itself with the "ribbon" and the .docx. Having had to use Word (Not my choice because I run Linux at home and use OOo) I can say that OOo wins by far. The "ribbon" is confusing and non-productive, not to mention how the .docx confuses people, I don't know how many complaints I have gotten that "This document won't open in my Word!!!!"
Also, it doesn't help that the default is double spaced, sure its nice for Billy to get his school report done, but face it, most people don't need or want another click to change it to "no spacing" And for most casual computer users spending $100+ for a simple piece of software that they have in the form of Word 2003, OOo or Word '97, most people won't be upgrading. It also doesn't help that there is no way that you can change it back to the older interface, nor are their themes such as in Firefox or Gnome or KDE. If someone wants to try Linux they can make it behave almost exactly like Windows and look the same, if someone wants Word 2007 to look like Word 2003.... Well they can't. And most who simply use their computers don't have the time or desire to learn yet another program, for most knowing how to check e-mail and type up a letter are enough. Sure you can learn it in 20 minutes, but for most thats 20 minutes not getting work done. This is how Microsoft is killing itself, first Vista now Word, if you have to learn a new OS and word processor why not go for the free one?
Newer Macs are Intel x86 based so I think you could. Apple even has software to help you (Bootcamp I think is the name) But once you get your distro installed theres no reason why it wouldn't work. I think Apple BIOSes are funky though and you might not be able to boot from CD right away. Apple PCs seem to be lower spec (In comparison to most modern PCs) so VMware would struggle but it should boot and run.