Apart from the fact that this guy has a totally ignorant understanding of open source and especially free software(read: Free software doesn't mean software cost $0.00), what left me disoriented was the fact that he said Windows was usable.
Now that's a joke. My girlfriend was having issues in her Windows XP box, just yesterday. Me, being the geek that I'm, and ex-Windows hardcore tweaker, decided to see which virus I was going to have to remove.
So, I booted her machine. I still don't understand why she turned it off. Then proceeded to click on the start menu. Lord Have Mercy! My medulla oblongata was overwhelmed by the chaos that ensued. Talk about menus that have no order. I'll stop there.
Now, I hadn't used XP is over 6 months, and even then only briefly. But when I compare the usability of GNOME to that of Windows XP. Call me a troll if we wish, but GNOME is a millenia ahead of that mess Windows XP is. I never realised how just aweful and ugly the Window's start menu is, at least when compared to GNOME's.
Even KDE notorious for it's horrid usability is eons ahead of Windows XP. Oh, and that is just the start menu. I'm not even going to talk about menu layout, consistent behaviour, intuitive icons, dialogues, graceful failure, look and feel, etc.
I agree that the Windows XP desktop is ahead of GNOME and KDE is several aspects, but usability is not one of them. Now if you were talking about the availability of applications. I'd shut up!
When it comes to usability on the desktop in free software land, look no further than GNOME. I even find GNOME easier to use than OS X(Yes, crucify me/. Mac is just weird to me), though I haven't upgraded to Panther. And believe me, that's a compliment to the GNOME developers.
Obviously, you haven't used recent incarnations of GNOME or KDE. Because I doubt Grandma will find Windows XP easier to use than GNOME in 2004.
Perhaps, we need to attack the issue from a different perspective. There was once a time when Linux, lacked everything. Linux is where it is today, because some motivated, determined and skilled developer out there decided an open, libre or "free" version of a software application, tool or library was missing, and therefore decided to right one against all odds and logical reasoning.
Today, Linux boast of many of the tools available in any operating system, ranging from embedded, to desktop, to server, even up to mainframes and supercomputing applications. I think Linux should approach gaming software the same way we have approached all or many other software applications existing in Linux and free Unix-like systems.
You ask what the approach was that? Well, it's simple! We beging by saying "To hell with vendors!; to hell with big business; to hell with EA sports!; to hell with {enter your favorite publisher/ proprietary developer/vendors}." Aha, I see you laughing. But how do you think your KDE, your GNOME, your Openbox, your vim were born? Was it by begging, sucking up and kissing the asses of your various "billion dollar software businesses?" Or was it by saying screw them, will do our own zero-dollar-zero-bugdet-all-nighter thingy in our spare time? Yes, the gaming stories will be bland. The graphics will be ridiculous. The game plot will be horrid. But it's a start. And years from now, DOOM16 or Windows, will be no better than (K)/(G)OOM5 on Linux.
Just in case I beginning to sound confusing. What I'm advocating is a group of developers, artists, enthusiasts, evangelists, fanatics, documenters devoted to writing and playing games on Linux and free operating systems. Much like KDE, GNOME, XFCE, *Box, started from nothing and many times ridicule, we need groups or rival gaming developers competing against each other and at the same time sharing their technologies to bring gaming to the Linux and Free Unix masses at first, and the world at large later.
So if my perspective is so exciting, why is it not happening? I think I have a clue. Although Linux is a free operating system with an impressive array of free development tools, many of them aren't attractive to use to modern developers. I mean, lets be serious, vim and emacs are cool and all, but the you honestly think Jack will give up VisualStudio.NET or Xcode to be plagued by the esoterism of vim or emacs? My Unix Uncle will not hesitate to shoot me for that rhetorical question. Well, I don't blame him. He is one of them who think RAD developers should be hung as they are responsible for all the evil, insecure, buggy and spaghetti code in the world. But lets face RAD is the thing now. And that is what your hobbiest developer wants. Fun while coding, GOOM's AI.
I think we are at a stage in the Linux/open source software where we are focusing too much on users and assuming developers are smart enough to figure out tools themselves. Sometimes I wish the efforts directed on making Linux easy for Auntie Tille could have been redirected on making powerful development tools, like valgrind, Mono, GTK+, Eclipse to mention a few. We need to push development to the point where it is exceedingly easy, fun and exciting to write applications. Game development in Linux for the hobbyist is appauling. At least for application development there are tools albeit scattered, cryptic and old age inducing. When it comes to open / free gaming development tool kits, I know of none. I long for the day where I would install a development kit that I can use to develop games, apps, libraries, drivers, embedded devices all withing the development kit and environment. And hopefully, that environment will be easy to install, use and will be well documented.
To recap, Linux needs two attitudes to bring gaming to it. Competing gaming communities involving gamers, developers, artist, documentation writers, testers etc. Just as we have in the desktop arena. And secondly, an impressive development environment that will make delphi users drool, Mac developers switch yet again, and Windows develope
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No, John, I can't imagine a Beowulf cluster of those.
Tux is a penguin, you insensitive clod! Not a chicken.
Why does it remind me so much of directFB?
Apart from the fact that this guy has a totally ignorant understanding of open source and especially free software(read: Free software doesn't mean software cost $0.00), what left me disoriented was the fact that he said Windows was usable.
/. Mac is just weird to me), though I haven't upgraded to Panther. And believe me, that's a compliment to the GNOME developers.
Now that's a joke. My girlfriend was having issues in her Windows XP box, just yesterday. Me, being the geek that I'm, and ex-Windows hardcore tweaker, decided to see which virus I was going to have to remove.
So, I booted her machine. I still don't understand why she turned it off. Then proceeded to click on the start menu. Lord Have Mercy! My medulla oblongata was overwhelmed by the chaos that ensued. Talk about menus that have no order. I'll stop there.
Now, I hadn't used XP is over 6 months, and even then only briefly. But when I compare the usability of GNOME to that of Windows XP. Call me a troll if we wish, but GNOME is a millenia ahead of that mess Windows XP is. I never realised how just aweful and ugly the Window's start menu is, at least when compared to GNOME's.
Even KDE notorious for it's horrid usability is eons ahead of Windows XP. Oh, and that is just the start menu. I'm not even going to talk about menu layout, consistent behaviour, intuitive icons, dialogues, graceful failure, look and feel, etc.
I agree that the Windows XP desktop is ahead of GNOME and KDE is several aspects, but usability is not one of them. Now if you were talking about the availability of applications. I'd shut up!
When it comes to usability on the desktop in free software land, look no further than GNOME. I even find GNOME easier to use than OS X(Yes, crucify me
Obviously, you haven't used recent incarnations of GNOME or KDE. Because I doubt Grandma will find Windows XP easier to use than GNOME in 2004.
Will it run Linux?
Perhaps, we need to attack the issue from a different perspective. There was once a time when Linux, lacked everything. Linux is where it is today, because some motivated, determined and skilled developer out there decided an open, libre or "free" version of a software application, tool or library was missing, and therefore decided to right one against all odds and logical reasoning. Today, Linux boast of many of the tools available in any operating system, ranging from embedded, to desktop, to server, even up to mainframes and supercomputing applications. I think Linux should approach gaming software the same way we have approached all or many other software applications existing in Linux and free Unix-like systems. You ask what the approach was that? Well, it's simple! We beging by saying "To hell with vendors!; to hell with big business; to hell with EA sports!; to hell with {enter your favorite publisher/ proprietary developer/vendors}." Aha, I see you laughing. But how do you think your KDE, your GNOME, your Openbox, your vim were born? Was it by begging, sucking up and kissing the asses of your various "billion dollar software businesses?" Or was it by saying screw them, will do our own zero-dollar-zero-bugdet-all-nighter thingy in our spare time? Yes, the gaming stories will be bland. The graphics will be ridiculous. The game plot will be horrid. But it's a start. And years from now, DOOM16 or Windows, will be no better than (K)/(G)OOM5 on Linux. Just in case I beginning to sound confusing. What I'm advocating is a group of developers, artists, enthusiasts, evangelists, fanatics, documenters devoted to writing and playing games on Linux and free operating systems. Much like KDE, GNOME, XFCE, *Box, started from nothing and many times ridicule, we need groups or rival gaming developers competing against each other and at the same time sharing their technologies to bring gaming to the Linux and Free Unix masses at first, and the world at large later. So if my perspective is so exciting, why is it not happening? I think I have a clue. Although Linux is a free operating system with an impressive array of free development tools, many of them aren't attractive to use to modern developers. I mean, lets be serious, vim and emacs are cool and all, but the you honestly think Jack will give up VisualStudio.NET or Xcode to be plagued by the esoterism of vim or emacs? My Unix Uncle will not hesitate to shoot me for that rhetorical question. Well, I don't blame him. He is one of them who think RAD developers should be hung as they are responsible for all the evil, insecure, buggy and spaghetti code in the world. But lets face RAD is the thing now. And that is what your hobbiest developer wants. Fun while coding, GOOM's AI. I think we are at a stage in the Linux/open source software where we are focusing too much on users and assuming developers are smart enough to figure out tools themselves. Sometimes I wish the efforts directed on making Linux easy for Auntie Tille could have been redirected on making powerful development tools, like valgrind, Mono, GTK+, Eclipse to mention a few. We need to push development to the point where it is exceedingly easy, fun and exciting to write applications. Game development in Linux for the hobbyist is appauling. At least for application development there are tools albeit scattered, cryptic and old age inducing. When it comes to open / free gaming development tool kits, I know of none. I long for the day where I would install a development kit that I can use to develop games, apps, libraries, drivers, embedded devices all withing the development kit and environment. And hopefully, that environment will be easy to install, use and will be well documented. To recap, Linux needs two attitudes to bring gaming to it. Competing gaming communities involving gamers, developers, artist, documentation writers, testers etc. Just as we have in the desktop arena. And secondly, an impressive development environment that will make delphi users drool, Mac developers switch yet again, and Windows develope
...we all know P2P is dying! Last I heard, Kazaa was buried. Even naptser that was spiritually resurrected in dying. Hence, P2P is dead!