i understand that things like Maya are available for linux, but are there programs out there that are equivalent to say, Final Cut or Adobe Premier... things that an average home movie maker might want??
ATI drivers have gotten alot better. A new ATI driver was released in July....it even has a graphical installer this time. I am running an ATI card on linux with absolutely no problems.
True..but:
A. ATI drivers do not accerate the composite extension. No xcompmgr or neat 2D eye candy.
I spent an age trying to get my Toshiba laptop working with an Orinoco PCMCIA card. In the end I had to give up on Gentoo (which I use for all my other machines) and install Ubuntu. But even that is more than a little bollocks. It works but I can't switch in and out of promiscuous at will. Once Kismet has been started I have to reboot to be able to connect to any networks.
Wow. That sounds like my exact situation as well. I can't afford a new laptop, so here is what I did: use the word "any" (all lowercase) in the SSID blank in Ubuntu's network tool. It automatically connects to any nearby open network. You can't pick out the network in a fancy GUI tool, but my experiance is that as long as my laptop is connected I am happy.
So, despite the fact that Linux is more difficult to understand fully (it's a much larger and varied system), for those who barely understand the concept of "copy/paste", Linux is a lot more interesting and comforting. After three years, my mom's almost annoying when she brags about how her system isn't taken down when her friend's get infected.
As far as switching people over to Linux, to me the best candidates are those at the very top and at the very bottom of the computer user spectrum.
Its great for those that think that "computers are magical boxes" and who can't install Windows software. These people just want a web browser, an email program and some office software. Desktop Linux works great for them because they won't have to fight viruses and spyware -a battle they would lose in Windowsland (this assumes they buy a PC with Linspire or someone sets up Linux for them). Its also great for super nerds that want a Unix at home.
All of the people in the middle (gamers, people big into webcam chatting, people with lots of third party peripherals, etc.) are usually not happy with Linux. Basically if you can can keep spyware off your machine but touching the registry scares you, then Linux is probably not ready for your desktop. Its been ready for mine for more than a year.
My big hope is that one day Compaq will become "HP's Desktop Linux brand" so that it can ship Linux PCs without losing Windows OEM licences on the HP side. Its the best shot for any major PC company supporting Linux on the desktop in the near future.
It makes Tim's act a simple crime rather than an act of war.
Um...I don't know where you get your definitions from...but killing over 100 people sounds like an act of war to me.
Plus, if the difference between a getting a trial in the U.S. and not getting a trial is based on a word with a very loose definition (war) something is wrong.
NO U.S. citizen (unless maybe they are found on a battle field in the middle east fighting our troops) should not get a fair (as can be) trial.
Of course, if you disagree, you are in good company.
Just this year my University scrapped the one Linux station they had for this reason. Its a shame- I was always able to use it...even during busy times. I never had to wait for a machine.
Thank God they still have Apples (differences inspire fear).
Like 95% of the/.ers here, I lean toward Linux more than any other OS. I know this is sort of off topic here, but I can't figure out a good distro for playing my games, and good with my ATI 9600XT. Any suggestions?
Even though I am biased (I'm a mod on the forum) I think Ubuntu is good for this. The howto section of the forum and wiki will help you install the ATI drivers and the most popular Linux games. Of course, it won't run the games like Windows does...but that is because ATI's Linux driver is lacking. All distros suffer from that. Its not that bad though...I got most of my games to work on my ATI card-9600 pro- at acceptable speeds (before I recently got an Nvidia card to play with xcompmgr).
I'm still using my Ubuntu installation, but I'm a lot more wary about upgrading things now.
Problems involving upgrading things (which is what happens when you get a new kernel- most other OSes only get a new kernel when an official release is made) is different from installing things. I know what you are talking about (I had to uninstall then reinstall Crossover and Cedega), but please note that upgrading ANY OS will always have a few snags. Going from Windows 98 to XP borked some of my programs back in the day as well...
Acutally I'm really impressed by Ubuntu, not a single piece of software packaged for Ubuntu (installed by apt-get) broke when I moved from Warty to Hoary (after a reboot of course)...thats neat. Its the programs that try to install on all of the Linuxs that give problems. Sometimes I wish each distro was treated like a whole different OS.
I invite you to come to the Ubuntu Forum. I'm a moderator there, and we have a section just for new users. You might not get all the help you want, but you get the best possible considering what you pay for it. Please consider it.
I have been thinking about upgrading to a proper graphics card but I was unsure if it was worth in on Linux. But I think I will give it a go and see what happens. They are not that expensive when not going for the latest fancy cards.
One word: Nvidia. A 5200 fx is cheap, and with its real drivers makes the desktop better.
Why is it to get the buttons working, I have to hack up a text file? Why can't this be done via the GUI somehow?
It can be. Just not enough people care about that feature to do it. The "problem" (or advantage depending on how lazy you are) of Linux is that the ichiest iches get scratched first.
1) Target the home user, not the corporate decision makers. Why is no one noticing that the "major" distros have websites almost entirely tailored for the corporate world? Is it just because that's how "free software" developers earn their money? Or is there a reason I'm not seeing here for why nobody seems to give a crap about every-day consumers? Normal people don't see a computer as a working environment, stop advertising it as such.
Well..there are Distros that target the home user such as Linspire. The rest of the distro ignore the home user desktop because: those users are happy with Windows for the most part, they are more trouble, they have less money, and finally they have a lot of picky needs (shockwave and wmv and my favorite piece of software all working NOW!). The corporations are easier to please and get more out of Linux. The real OS for those people not called Windows is OSX.
3) If your distribution does not support every single hardware component my computer has out of the box and doesn't provide for a simple (couple of mouse clicks, NOT couple of pages worth of instructions) way to fix the problem, you can GTFO and STFU. Your product is a beta. I don't care how hard it is to make this work. Until you CAN make it work, get the hell out of my sight and stop advertising yourself as a finished product.
Ahhh. So Linux must support the BILLIONS of combinations of weird x86 hardware or you won't use it? Enjoy Windows forever then, that is impossible. You have odd definitions:
It just has to do with some incredibly simple things
So to you, simple=impossible. Glad you aren't my boss.
Linux dissapointed me today. I clicked the upgrade button on my Ubuntu desktop, it did lots of stuff, and then when I restart my computer the screen doesn't work anymore, it just says there was a problem with X something, do you want to view anyway? And then there's like 4 inch text on a command line.
What your sources.list look like?
To find out:
sudo gedit/etc/apt/sources.list
I KNOW you have some unofficial stuff on there....maybe the backports or some Debian repo broke it? If you stay official then those things won't happen (yes I know that boring, but you can always comment out lines on the sources.list),
Saying that confused new users should be guided towards Mandrake or suchlike is simply ignoring the benefits a consolidation could afford. Likewise saying those who cannot install from source should switch. While linux ought not to sacrifice usability from the point of view of the average and up, it should not sacrifice it on the low end, because even hackers can use GUI tools. Consolidation still brings the advantages mentioned, gets rid of most confusion, provides a warm fuzzy GUI to cradle the confused, and if all goes to plan, will allow all the control of "manual transmission."
You need to be reminded of something- Linux is just a kernel. Redhat, Mandriva, SUSE, Ubuntu, etc. are all different (but similar) unix like OSes.
They way I see it, we are luckily there is only one Linux kernel. Thats the closest to consolidation you will ever see...
The problem with the GPL is that it doesn't work on anyone except a developer. It says "if you want to use this code to complete your project, you must release the source to that project". The alternative is to develop your own code, which takes a lot of time, and the developer doesn't want to spend that time on something that has already been done.
Let them pick their poison:
A. Develop program from scratch.
B. Use GPL code how it asks to be used.
It seems simple to me. I guess you are arguing the point that neither of these is a good option....but without the GPL the only option would be A. Plus..the GPL must be good for something or it wouldn't exist. Oh yeah, it is! Its good for the end consumer (the person you never mentioned) because they don't have to pay to get the work done on GPL software. They DO have to pay for BSD code that is used in closed software...
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I like Kino.
True..but:
A. ATI drivers do not accerate the composite extension. No xcompmgr or neat 2D eye candy.
B. ATI drivers work like crap with Cedega.
And that why I recently bought an Nvidia card...
Wow. That sounds like my exact situation as well. I can't afford a new laptop, so here is what I did: use the word "any" (all lowercase) in the SSID blank in Ubuntu's network tool. It automatically connects to any nearby open network. You can't pick out the network in a fancy GUI tool, but my experiance is that as long as my laptop is connected I am happy.
I agree though, that is a pain in the ass.
As far as switching people over to Linux, to me the best candidates are those at the very top and at the very bottom of the computer user spectrum.
Its great for those that think that "computers are magical boxes" and who can't install Windows software. These people just want a web browser, an email program and some office software. Desktop Linux works great for them because they won't have to fight viruses and spyware -a battle they would lose in Windowsland (this assumes they buy a PC with Linspire or someone sets up Linux for them). Its also great for super nerds that want a Unix at home.
All of the people in the middle (gamers, people big into webcam chatting, people with lots of third party peripherals, etc.) are usually not happy with Linux. Basically if you can can keep spyware off your machine but touching the registry scares you, then Linux is probably not ready for your desktop. Its been ready for mine for more than a year.
My big hope is that one day Compaq will become "HP's Desktop Linux brand" so that it can ship Linux PCs without losing Windows OEM licences on the HP side. Its the best shot for any major PC company supporting Linux on the desktop in the near future.
Because most people who use Windows don't even understand what an OS is....
Thats a good rule for /.
Tell that to those screwed by Kenneth Lay.
Um...I don't know where you get your definitions from...but killing over 100 people sounds like an act of war to me.
Plus, if the difference between a getting a trial in the U.S. and not getting a trial is based on a word with a very loose definition (war) something is wrong.
NO U.S. citizen (unless maybe they are found on a battle field in the middle east fighting our troops) should not get a fair (as can be) trial.
Of course, if you disagree, you are in good company.
Can I tell the cops that when they arrest me in my home for smoking some pot? No? I guess I'm a terrorist too....
The Patriot Act states that Law Enforcement may find out what BOOKS you checked out at a Library, not what you did on their computers.
Ignorance is bliss I guess.
And that matters because?
Thank God they still have Apples (differences inspire fear).
A question: (not to be a troll, I'm really wondering because I can't see through the eyes of a regular user)
Is it really that hard to install programs in Synaptic? I use it all day, and its much easier for me than clicking next twenty times.
Even though I am biased (I'm a mod on the forum) I think Ubuntu is good for this. The howto section of the forum and wiki will help you install the ATI drivers and the most popular Linux games. Of course, it won't run the games like Windows does...but that is because ATI's Linux driver is lacking. All distros suffer from that. Its not that bad though...I got most of my games to work on my ATI card-9600 pro- at acceptable speeds (before I recently got an Nvidia card to play with xcompmgr).
Problems involving upgrading things (which is what happens when you get a new kernel- most other OSes only get a new kernel when an official release is made) is different from installing things. I know what you are talking about (I had to uninstall then reinstall Crossover and Cedega), but please note that upgrading ANY OS will always have a few snags. Going from Windows 98 to XP borked some of my programs back in the day as well...
Acutally I'm really impressed by Ubuntu, not a single piece of software packaged for Ubuntu (installed by apt-get) broke when I moved from Warty to Hoary (after a reboot of course)...thats neat. Its the programs that try to install on all of the Linuxs that give problems. Sometimes I wish each distro was treated like a whole different OS.
I invite you to come to the Ubuntu Forum. I'm a moderator there, and we have a section just for new users. You might not get all the help you want, but you get the best possible considering what you pay for it. Please consider it.
One word: Nvidia. A 5200 fx is cheap, and with its real drivers makes the desktop better.
It can be. Just not enough people care about that feature to do it. The "problem" (or advantage depending on how lazy you are) of Linux is that the ichiest iches get scratched first.
Linus:
"[...] the Linux philosophy is "laugh in the face of danger". Oops. Wrong one. "Do it yourself". That's it.".
Thats just they way it is. Great part about life is if you don't like it, its easy to buy Windows.
Well..there are Distros that target the home user such as Linspire. The rest of the distro ignore the home user desktop because: those users are happy with Windows for the most part, they are more trouble, they have less money, and finally they have a lot of picky needs (shockwave and wmv and my favorite piece of software all working NOW!). The corporations are easier to please and get more out of Linux. The real OS for those people not called Windows is OSX.
3) If your distribution does not support every single hardware component my computer has out of the box and doesn't provide for a simple (couple of mouse clicks, NOT couple of pages worth of instructions) way to fix the problem, you can GTFO and STFU. Your product is a beta. I don't care how hard it is to make this work. Until you CAN make it work, get the hell out of my sight and stop advertising yourself as a finished product.
Ahhh. So Linux must support the BILLIONS of combinations of weird x86 hardware or you won't use it? Enjoy Windows forever then, that is impossible. You have odd definitions:
It just has to do with some incredibly simple things
So to you, simple=impossible. Glad you aren't my boss.
What your sources.list look like?
To find out:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
I KNOW you have some unofficial stuff on there....maybe the backports or some Debian repo broke it? If you stay official then those things won't happen (yes I know that boring, but you can always comment out lines on the sources.list),
Helping? Its partof the solution. The other part is bundling Linux. Then the distro you use is the one that came with your PC.
You need to be reminded of something- Linux is just a kernel. Redhat, Mandriva, SUSE, Ubuntu, etc. are all different (but similar) unix like OSes.
They way I see it, we are luckily there is only one Linux kernel. Thats the closest to consolidation you will ever see...
Let them pick their poison:
A. Develop program from scratch.
B. Use GPL code how it asks to be used.
It seems simple to me. I guess you are arguing the point that neither of these is a good option....but without the GPL the only option would be A. Plus..the GPL must be good for something or it wouldn't exist. Oh yeah, it is! Its good for the end consumer (the person you never mentioned) because they don't have to pay to get the work done on GPL software. They DO have to pay for BSD code that is used in closed software...
Ooops. I meant to say "Ubuntu has only had two releases." My apologies.