I think I need a drink...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| helios Jan 22, 2008 12:16 PM EDT |
"So what don't I like about Linux and its community? A few things. First off, Linux distributions are spotty, at best. Let's face it -- save for Ubuntu, OpenSUSE and a few others, your chances of finding a robust software solution are not that great." You mean opposed to, let's see... One....uh, One, ...shoot, give me a minute... Damn...try as I may, I just come up with One One choice to pay for and have someone else make my decisions for me. One choice to click I agree on a EULA that gives permission for that corporation to come into my computer at any time and do any thing they wish One choice to use a system that first must be bolstered up by two others before it will work as advertised. You are lucky enough to be watching an actual evolutionary process man...it's not the end result, far from it. You are blessed and you mock it as it happens....and those that make it happen. True, you tried to soften it a bit at the end but it's too late, you've already proven yourself unworthy of being even a simple respectful bystander. Please...format the drive and put Vista back on. One less user here is one less headache. h |
| dinotrac Jan 22, 2008 12:32 PM EDT |
Hey Ken -- Did you get past the first paragraph? |
| tuxchick Jan 22, 2008 12:33 PM EDT |
He reviewed all the hundreds of Linux distributions in a weekend? Debian, CentOS, RHEL, Knoppix, Puppy, DSL, Voyage, Pyramid, Slackware, Sabayon, Smoothwall, IPCop, EnGarde, Freesco, Mandriva, Edubuntu, LTSP, KnoppMyth, SystemRescueCD, GPartedLive, PCLinuxOS, etc etc etc... and he dares compare them to Windows ME. Quoting: it's still an ideal platform for the advanced techie who doesn't want to waste his time with things that "just work." Now there's a ringing endorsement! This article is nothing more than another "Don't get me wrong, but..." attack on Linux. It pretends to be an informed criticism, but it's not, so I guess the correct term is "lie." I'm seeing a lot of these lately. |
| dinotrac Jan 22, 2008 12:47 PM EDT |
TC -- You didn't get that coffee, did you? It's not a lie. It's --- it's --- stupid. It's an interesting new tactic, though, and I'm not really sure that it's a Microsoft-driven one. Look at what he says: 1. Lots of crud out there, but 2. If you're good, Linux is the way to go, 3. More robust and interesting than Mac or Windows. 4. There is tons of help for Linux problems. As a Microsoft strategy, it really sucks, because -- It changes the game. If people hear that all of the time, they will know two things: 1. Smart computer people should choose Linux 2. It's easy to get help for tough Linux questions. That leaves the threshold at showing somebody that it's really not that hard. That part is pretty easy these days. So -- If Microsoft really is driving this spate of articles --- They are THICK as a BRICK. |
| helios Jan 22, 2008 12:50 PM EDT |
Dino "True, you tried to soften it a bit at the end but it's too late, you've already proven yourself unworthy of being even a simple respectful bystander." Does that sound like I didn't get past the first paragraph? I don't care how "supportive" someone is 10 minutes after telling an outright... uh, well you put a name to it. it doesn't matter. Sure, the author said warm-fuzzy things interspersidly (yeah, I like making words up) but man...you gotta be kidding me Dino, right? You might be letting something like that pass, but I can't. TC is write...it's a 12 lb hammerhead wrapped in velvet. Unfortunately, the velvet isn't near as transparent as the author's motive. h |
| theboomboomcars Jan 22, 2008 1:00 PM EDT |
Quoting:And while I could have been a bit happier with the support and Linux does take some getting used to after immersing yourself in a Mac and Windows world every day, it's still an ideal platform for the advanced techie who doesn't want to waste his time with things that "just work." I don't get this statement. At first he is saying that that linux sucks, then he is saying it's for the advanced techie who doesn't want to waste his time with linux. Maybe my experience is different but all of the latest distributions I have tried, had more hardware working out of the box with less problems than the windows computers I have had to deal with. The problems I did encounter were quick easy fixes, that were easily found on the various forums. Where as the problems that I encountered with my wife's work laptop connecting to our wireless network at home, still haven't been resolved, all of the suggestions that I encountered on the web did not work. The MCSE I called advice didn't work, so no wireless network for my wife to use to do work from home, she has to plug her laptop into the network. The Mac laptop I tried to connect wouldn't connect either, and the only fix I could find for WPA2 was for pre 10.3, and the Mac had 10.3, so it should have just connected, but wouldn't. For my LinuxMint laptop, I just had to enter the passcode and away I went. I have to agree with TC, some people just want to jump on the "write about linux" bandwagon, without having any real content. I guess you have to do what you can to pay the bills. |
| dinotrac Jan 22, 2008 1:08 PM EDT |
Ken - As I explained in my post to TC, articles like this one confuse me. If it really is a Microsoft talking points kind of thing, it sounds like a really stupid strategy. For a legal analogy, I think of the antitrust case against Microsoft. The government really dropped the ball on enforcement, but they established once and for all, decided in court, and held up on appeal, that Microsoft did indeed have and abuse a monopoly. Made the job easier for others who claimed to be damaged by anti-competitive practices to sue. |
| jdixon Jan 22, 2008 1:12 PM EDT |
> Please...format the drive and put Vista back on. One less user here is one less headache. You're right Ken, you do need a drink. I think that's the first time I've ever heard you recommend someone go back to Microsoft. |
| tuxchick Jan 22, 2008 1:28 PM EDT |
Well dino, maybe I'm seeing a semi-coordinated disinformation effort where there isn't one. It's true that a lot of folks make good livings writing uninformed drivel, generated purely out of their own native talents and inclinations, and with no inducements from our fave evil empire. But don't get me wrong, I still think they're wonderful. |
| dinotrac Jan 22, 2008 1:57 PM EDT |
TC - I'm not saying there is no such campaign, just that, if there is, it's dumb as rocks. |
| tuxchick Jan 22, 2008 2:00 PM EDT |
Rock Anti-Defamation Society is holding on line two... :) |
| ColonelPanik Jan 22, 2008 2:36 PM EDT |
The Rock of Redmond? Maybe soapstone? (whitewash) If we don't talk about them maybe they will go away. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 22, 2008 3:46 PM EDT |
I really don't think MS is behind this article ... the whole thing is half-baked, maybe a quarter-baked. Trust me, I'm no coder, but I can make this stuff work. I think a lot of "professional" tech writers come from situations where they're told what's important -- what they should be writing about -- and that's Microsoft -- because that's what the vast majority of people are running. And they are used to getting new computers every couple of years that are loaded up with whatever software they need ... AND they get everything (software, hardware) free to review, so they don't really understand what real businesses and home users are dealing with. I work at a company that tries to never, ever buy anything, software, hardware ... light bulbs ... this place is a wreck. And I have almost no spare cash to spend on computers, peripherals and software. So if you're scrounging hardware, trying to make what you have work (or work better), FOSS in general, and Linux in particular, is really the only game in town. If somebody comes to your desk every two years, hands you a new, MS-loaded laptop and takes your old one away, you have a very different perspective. I'm not saying that the writer of the piece in question is in this situation, but for an established tech writer, Linux as a credible solution on the desktop is neither "breaking news," nor something limited to a half-dozen distros. |
| ColonelPanik Jan 22, 2008 5:09 PM EDT |
Steven, Yes, m$ releases half-baked products. |
| tracyanne Jan 22, 2008 5:28 PM EDT |
Quoting:n ideal platform for the advanced techie who doesn't want to waste his time with things that "just work." It's the standard Linux is for Geeks FUD |
| gus3 Jan 22, 2008 8:34 PM EDT |
Quoting:I don't get this statement. At first he is saying that that linux sucks,It does. It just sucks a lot less than most others. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jan 23, 2008 3:59 PM EDT |
Somewhere -- I can't quite remember exactly -- some Web pundit (and no, it's not me) opined that Windows is so broken that Microsoft might just follow Apple and base a new version of Windows on BSD ... something to think about, no? |
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