What were they expecting? Honestly, DSL or Puppy would be ideal for this situation.
Re:I'm the only GNU/Linux user in the office
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Why Windows is Slow
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Many people who think they have antivirus don't even bother going through the simple setup wizard. Honestly, any operating system is only as good as the people using it.
Ack. Just checked those ones. I really don't care for KDE. I remember liking the window managers in DSL and Puppy. Didn't at least one of those (maybe both) use Fluxbox? I don't really recall. In either case, I remember trying to use Fluxbox whenever I was working with Gentoo, but I never understood how to get the window manager started. I had Gentoo fully compiled and ready for a window manager, but I didn't know what to do from that point.
Furthermore, I really didn't mind using Portage to install things. I just hate uninstalling a bunch of unwanted installations immediately upon installing my OS. With Windows, I only had to uninstall two; with Linux, well...let's just say that there wasn't much there that I liked immediately.
Oh, and I'll certainly try those distros that you listed. One thing: They don't use KDE, do they? I'm not a huge fan of KDE, and I don't want to deal with having to change window managers.
Actually, I didn't bother mentioning the other usability issues because my statement likely went unnoticed by most people, and I was actually expecting to be modded down as a troll for saying anything negative about Linux (or anything positive about Windows). Yes, I've used Windows for a long time, but that isn't the reason that I can't use Linux at the moment. Like I said, much of the software that I use in open-source, anyway. The only piece of software that I absolutely cannot live without and would like to have running at full speed under Windows is Photoshop. And I view a lot of Windows Media content, so I need a reliable media player that can handle all of that.
I work at CompUSA, and we have Linspire, SUSE, and Xandros right next to Microsoft's paid displays. I'd go so far as to say that their numbers aren't terribly unbalanced, either. Considering the fact that Microsoft pays for approximately 75% of the space in that aisle, I find it rather interesting that no version of Windows XP represented in that aisle outnumbers each Linux product by more than a 2:1 ratio.
As for the lack of experience, yes, I'll certainly agree with that. However, I, personally, tried for approximately two months straight to like Linux, and I just couldn't find my groove. I've tried Debian, DSL, Gentoo (not first, naturally), Knoppix, Kubuntu, Linspire, Puppy, Slackware, SUSE, Ubuntu, Vector, and Xandros. Of those, I found Ubuntu to be the one that I came closest to liking, but there were numerous usability issues that I, an intermediate-advanced Windows user just couldn't get over.
Although installing and uninstalling software is quite simple, I feel that managing device drivers requires more effort than can be expected of the typical consumer. I hate the command line in Windows, and I don't like the terminal in Linux. Why should installing video drivers with proper OpenGL support be such a chore?
Getting back to software management, however, why should I have to deal with uninstalling a bunch of software that I don't want? Gentoo is just too much for a Linux newbie such as myself to deal with, so I'd prefer a distro that is pretty barebones in terms of its software offerings, yet doesn't require such a laborous setup process.
With Windows, at least uninstalling software is kept to a minimum in my case. I uninstall only Outlook Express and Windows Messenger (using XPlite), then I begin adding my software. I realize that uninstalling software in Linux isn't difficult, but it's a step that I shouldn't have to take. And seeing as how I hate the default software selection in most Linux distros, I don't see this as being a problem that's solved anytime soon. And if it isn't the software selection itself that I hate, it's the window manager.
I won't get into the other usability issues, as there are already a ton of comments for this article, and this with either get lost in the shuffle entirely or be modded down for trolling (which I'm certainly not intending to do). Or both. Instead, I'll conclude with this:
The article makes a great point at one point, in that the adoption of Linux amongst the mainstream relies solely on the attitude of sales people. Unfortunately, whenever somebody such as myself takes the time to legitimately try to ditch Windows in search of an alternative, the learning experience typically scares him/her back to using Windows. I've discussed Linux with numerous customers, and I give them my honest opinion. Unfortunately, as of right now, my opinion of Linux is rather negative. I realize that there's plenty of potential, however, and - as a result - I continuously keep an eye on the progress made within the Linux community.
I use Opera as my primary Web browser, and I certainly appreciate the ability to choose. Most people believe that IE is the only Web browser, so it's definitely disappointing whenever a product such as Opera tends to go largely unnoticed by the general public. Opera 9 looks great.
From what I've read about this application (formerly called Acrylic), it isn't intended to be a Photoshop killer. I believe this is supposed to be more of a combination of Photoshop Elements and (maybe) Illustrator. Maybe Fireworks. In either case, it's more of a dumbed-down design tool. If I'm not mistaken, isn't this supposed to be the tool that's supposed to assist programmers in actually doing their own design work?
I don't know. I'm the same with e-mail. I'd rather access it via a Web page than a dedicated e-mail client. I do the same with Opera (my primary Web browser). I've never used the integrated Web search in any Web browser.
I've never used the integrated Google search within Firefox, nor have a used the Google search box on the home page. I immediately change my preferences, dragging the Google search box off of the main interface. I, personally, would rather do my searches from a Web page itself. And I'd rather do it from the main Google page. I wonder what percentage of Firefox users actually use the integrated search boxes? Over 90%, I suppose?
"IE-You can go buy some parkas, but one of the parka's collars may be damaged."
Actually, that'd be, "You can go buy some parkas, but one of the parkas' collars may be damaged."
It's "news-worthy" because it's on Slashdot. I find it amusing that a site with no dedicated Microsoft section sees fit to post any news that can easily be used to downtalk Microsoft.
No, the point of the article is to dispel myths that Windows can't run on legacy hardware as well as Linux. In either case, I have no idea why this study is being done right now, as I feel that using Vista would make more sense in this particular study than Windows XP. Vista is supposedly much more scalable than XP.
Ha! "The Brave Little Toaster" had a pretty good soundtrack. I love the song at the junkyard, as well as the one at his owner's new apartment.
Anyway, I do find it rather amusing that Linux users are so keen on stealing music files from a Windows installation. I mean, it's kinda like them using KDE already, anyway, since KDE is a rip-off of the Windows user interface. Go ahead, guys...keep on living in denial.
Even when I used to run my Windows systems with admin privileges, I didn't have any issues with IE. I now run my Windows systems primarily as a limited user. It was a bit of a pain to set up, but once it's done, it works just fine. What you're failing to realize is that not everyone installs new apps every single day. Furthermore, do realize that cookies, too, can track your usage patterns online, so I'd go so far as to say that all browsers compromise your privacy to a limited degree.
Any software (OS included) is only as good as the person using it. It's absolutely disgusting to see how many people fail to so much as enable the antivirus support that has been offered in the form of a free trial period on their machines. Windows isn't the problem; customers and the companies who distribute Windows machines are the problems.
Microsoft Office may not be perfect, but it's certainly good enough that the open-source community sees fit to copy it. As for IE, yeah, it's horrid. You know, though, it's actually quite stable as long as some gullible schmuck isn't using it.
I still use Windows 2000 Professional, as I'm not a huge fan of Windows XP's new "features". My system is very stable. And you know, Windows 2000 Professional was pretty damn good right out of the box. The only reason I've upgraded to SP4 was because certain manufacturers' drivers suggest it.
Wow...considering the fact that most dogs have attention spans even lower than those of a typical human, I wonder how long it'll be before we see dogs with cell phones colliding with one another while walking. And then there's the possibility of them ignoring people altogether if they find out how to hack these things and dial out to their friends.
Heaven forbid we actually be able to find what we're looking for. Honestly, I could care less about Google making money off of anything, so long as I can find it when I need it.
The idea of saving money and never having to worry about a blue screen of death is the proverbial win/win scenario.
You know, if the author plans to bash a company, he/she really should consider using that company's latest operating system. I haven't seen a blue screen of death since my cousing was using Windows ME approximately four years ago, honestly.
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What were they expecting? Honestly, DSL or Puppy would be ideal for this situation.
Many people who think they have antivirus don't even bother going through the simple setup wizard. Honestly, any operating system is only as good as the people using it.
Oops...make that a week or two from today. It seems that it won't be available for download until then. *shrug*
Actually, nubuntu looks interesting. I think I'll give that a go. Tomorrow, though.
Ack. Just checked those ones. I really don't care for KDE. I remember liking the window managers in DSL and Puppy. Didn't at least one of those (maybe both) use Fluxbox? I don't really recall. In either case, I remember trying to use Fluxbox whenever I was working with Gentoo, but I never understood how to get the window manager started. I had Gentoo fully compiled and ready for a window manager, but I didn't know what to do from that point.
Furthermore, I really didn't mind using Portage to install things. I just hate uninstalling a bunch of unwanted installations immediately upon installing my OS. With Windows, I only had to uninstall two; with Linux, well...let's just say that there wasn't much there that I liked immediately.
Oh, and I'll certainly try those distros that you listed. One thing: They don't use KDE, do they? I'm not a huge fan of KDE, and I don't want to deal with having to change window managers.
Actually, I didn't bother mentioning the other usability issues because my statement likely went unnoticed by most people, and I was actually expecting to be modded down as a troll for saying anything negative about Linux (or anything positive about Windows). Yes, I've used Windows for a long time, but that isn't the reason that I can't use Linux at the moment. Like I said, much of the software that I use in open-source, anyway. The only piece of software that I absolutely cannot live without and would like to have running at full speed under Windows is Photoshop. And I view a lot of Windows Media content, so I need a reliable media player that can handle all of that.
Whether or not everyone else is joking, I'm actually eager to see what the new Paint is like. Too bad the damn page won't load. :(
I work at CompUSA, and we have Linspire, SUSE, and Xandros right next to Microsoft's paid displays. I'd go so far as to say that their numbers aren't terribly unbalanced, either. Considering the fact that Microsoft pays for approximately 75% of the space in that aisle, I find it rather interesting that no version of Windows XP represented in that aisle outnumbers each Linux product by more than a 2:1 ratio.
As for the lack of experience, yes, I'll certainly agree with that. However, I, personally, tried for approximately two months straight to like Linux, and I just couldn't find my groove. I've tried Debian, DSL, Gentoo (not first, naturally), Knoppix, Kubuntu, Linspire, Puppy, Slackware, SUSE, Ubuntu, Vector, and Xandros. Of those, I found Ubuntu to be the one that I came closest to liking, but there were numerous usability issues that I, an intermediate-advanced Windows user just couldn't get over.
Although installing and uninstalling software is quite simple, I feel that managing device drivers requires more effort than can be expected of the typical consumer. I hate the command line in Windows, and I don't like the terminal in Linux. Why should installing video drivers with proper OpenGL support be such a chore?
Getting back to software management, however, why should I have to deal with uninstalling a bunch of software that I don't want? Gentoo is just too much for a Linux newbie such as myself to deal with, so I'd prefer a distro that is pretty barebones in terms of its software offerings, yet doesn't require such a laborous setup process.
With Windows, at least uninstalling software is kept to a minimum in my case. I uninstall only Outlook Express and Windows Messenger (using XPlite), then I begin adding my software. I realize that uninstalling software in Linux isn't difficult, but it's a step that I shouldn't have to take. And seeing as how I hate the default software selection in most Linux distros, I don't see this as being a problem that's solved anytime soon. And if it isn't the software selection itself that I hate, it's the window manager.
I won't get into the other usability issues, as there are already a ton of comments for this article, and this with either get lost in the shuffle entirely or be modded down for trolling (which I'm certainly not intending to do). Or both. Instead, I'll conclude with this:
The article makes a great point at one point, in that the adoption of Linux amongst the mainstream relies solely on the attitude of sales people. Unfortunately, whenever somebody such as myself takes the time to legitimately try to ditch Windows in search of an alternative, the learning experience typically scares him/her back to using Windows. I've discussed Linux with numerous customers, and I give them my honest opinion. Unfortunately, as of right now, my opinion of Linux is rather negative. I realize that there's plenty of potential, however, and - as a result - I continuously keep an eye on the progress made within the Linux community.
I use Opera as my primary Web browser, and I certainly appreciate the ability to choose. Most people believe that IE is the only Web browser, so it's definitely disappointing whenever a product such as Opera tends to go largely unnoticed by the general public. Opera 9 looks great.
From what I've read about this application (formerly called Acrylic), it isn't intended to be a Photoshop killer. I believe this is supposed to be more of a combination of Photoshop Elements and (maybe) Illustrator. Maybe Fireworks. In either case, it's more of a dumbed-down design tool. If I'm not mistaken, isn't this supposed to be the tool that's supposed to assist programmers in actually doing their own design work?
I don't know. I'm the same with e-mail. I'd rather access it via a Web page than a dedicated e-mail client. I do the same with Opera (my primary Web browser). I've never used the integrated Web search in any Web browser.
I've never used the integrated Google search within Firefox, nor have a used the Google search box on the home page. I immediately change my preferences, dragging the Google search box off of the main interface. I, personally, would rather do my searches from a Web page itself. And I'd rather do it from the main Google page. I wonder what percentage of Firefox users actually use the integrated search boxes? Over 90%, I suppose?
"IE-You can go buy some parkas, but one of the parka's collars may be damaged." Actually, that'd be, "You can go buy some parkas, but one of the parkas' collars may be damaged."
It's "news-worthy" because it's on Slashdot. I find it amusing that a site with no dedicated Microsoft section sees fit to post any news that can easily be used to downtalk Microsoft.
That's exactly what I was thinking. Is Slashdot really that desperate for 'news'?
No, the point of the article is to dispel myths that Windows can't run on legacy hardware as well as Linux. In either case, I have no idea why this study is being done right now, as I feel that using Vista would make more sense in this particular study than Windows XP. Vista is supposedly much more scalable than XP.
You're forgetting one thing: Linux users wouldn't typically run anything from Microsoft.
Ha! "The Brave Little Toaster" had a pretty good soundtrack. I love the song at the junkyard, as well as the one at his owner's new apartment.
Anyway, I do find it rather amusing that Linux users are so keen on stealing music files from a Windows installation. I mean, it's kinda like them using KDE already, anyway, since KDE is a rip-off of the Windows user interface. Go ahead, guys...keep on living in denial.
Even when I used to run my Windows systems with admin privileges, I didn't have any issues with IE. I now run my Windows systems primarily as a limited user. It was a bit of a pain to set up, but once it's done, it works just fine. What you're failing to realize is that not everyone installs new apps every single day. Furthermore, do realize that cookies, too, can track your usage patterns online, so I'd go so far as to say that all browsers compromise your privacy to a limited degree.
Any software (OS included) is only as good as the person using it. It's absolutely disgusting to see how many people fail to so much as enable the antivirus support that has been offered in the form of a free trial period on their machines. Windows isn't the problem; customers and the companies who distribute Windows machines are the problems.
Microsoft Office may not be perfect, but it's certainly good enough that the open-source community sees fit to copy it. As for IE, yeah, it's horrid. You know, though, it's actually quite stable as long as some gullible schmuck isn't using it.
I still use Windows 2000 Professional, as I'm not a huge fan of Windows XP's new "features". My system is very stable. And you know, Windows 2000 Professional was pretty damn good right out of the box. The only reason I've upgraded to SP4 was because certain manufacturers' drivers suggest it.
Gmail has offered RSS support for months. Why is this article even posted now?
Wow...considering the fact that most dogs have attention spans even lower than those of a typical human, I wonder how long it'll be before we see dogs with cell phones colliding with one another while walking. And then there's the possibility of them ignoring people altogether if they find out how to hack these things and dial out to their friends.
Heaven forbid we actually be able to find what we're looking for. Honestly, I could care less about Google making money off of anything, so long as I can find it when I need it.
The idea of saving money and never having to worry about a blue screen of death is the proverbial win/win scenario.
You know, if the author plans to bash a company, he/she really should consider using that company's latest operating system. I haven't seen a blue screen of death since my cousing was using Windows ME approximately four years ago, honestly.