One of the worst articles I've seen in a long time..
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| theBeez Dec 02, 2013 7:02 AM EDT |
This guy is a typical Windows user: clueless and completely allergic to anything which is out of his comfort zone. Rule 1: if you're new to Linux buy it preinstalled OR be prepared to try several distros before sticking with one. Even installing it can differ significantly between distros. Rule 2: If you're new to Linux install several DE at the same time. Some distros support that. It will allow you to to select the one you like. This one thinks it's like Windows: you get what's offered. Rule 3: Yes, in order to know all this you have to do your homework. Read before you start. It's not a Mac or an Android tablet. Rule 4: (and this is what the article should have been all about) The hardest thing about Linux is that you have to learn EVERYTHING all over again. PhotoShop is no Gimp, Firefox is no Exploder, LibreOffice is no MS-Office, GCC is no Visual Studio. Be prepared to do a lot of research, a lot of trying and failing and consequently (if you have to get a job done) VERY frustrated. Rewards, a much more reliable, responsive and carefree (no defragmenting or cleaning a register) computing environment with many magical apps (Graphviz, mPlayer and LyX come to mind). But this guy.. is a phony. |
| notbob Dec 02, 2013 10:27 AM EDT |
The primary difference between *nix OSs and non-*nix systems is, the non"s give you a system in which the provider is in control. And, you can bet yer sweet patoot they are not gonna give up that control anytime soon. Auto upgrades, auto downloads, data mining, etc. In order to use *nix and re-gain full control, one must learn about how the OS is controlled. That's what freaks the "non" fan boys out. They actually hafta learn something they never had to bother with, before. "Learn? Do it myself? Horrors!" "That's too hard. It makes my winkie hurt!" That;s OK. Leave the dolts be. It's what keeps you employed. ;) |
| penguinist Dec 02, 2013 10:56 AM EDT |
notbob, you make the major point here. The BIG difference between Linux and Win/Apple is who is in control, and the author of this article missed this point entirely. Maybe he doesn't care. And the corollary to this is that if you don't have control, you can't verify and ensure your security. Linux is the clear winner if you care about security and being in control of your own system. |
| gus3 Dec 02, 2013 12:37 PM EDT |
IOW: Switching to Linux is easier than keeping Windows stable and safe. |
| jdixon Dec 02, 2013 12:42 PM EDT |
> Switching to Linux is easier than keeping Windows stable and safe. Oh, I wouldn't go that far. Keeping Windows stable and safe is very simple and easy: Never turn it on. |
| smallboxadmin Dec 02, 2013 12:45 PM EDT |
Quoting:...and it helps you learn a lot more about how your computer works. I always love this back handed compliment towards Linux. It implies that you need to be a hardware expert to use Linux, which isn't slightly true. You don't need to know any more about the hardware than with other OS's. Just because the multitudes of Windows users are likely less computer savvy, if they had to install an operating system, they'd be just as clueless on any platform. Those who know about or want to try Linux are going to be more computer literate just by the fact that they want something to be more productive, secure, whatever... and not just have a Facebook box. |
| gus3 Dec 02, 2013 1:01 PM EDT |
Quoting: It implies that you need to be a hardware expert to use Linux, which isn't slightly true.... any more. Fifteen years ago, you needed to know how to calculate dot clock frequencies to get X up and running. Oh, how I miss the good ol' days. (NOT!) |
| notbob Dec 02, 2013 1:04 PM EDT |
> Keeping Windows stable and safe is very simple and easy: Never turn it on. heh heh...... How true. I have an eee netbook with XP. Sometimes handy to have an unsullied version of Windows around. BUT! ....I never take it online. If I wanna go online with the netbook, I plug in a thumb drive and boot a Linux OS. |
| JaseP Dec 02, 2013 2:43 PM EDT |
My overall impression of the article??? The inverse of a backhanded compliment,... feigned praise as an insult... The author outs himself when he states that he ultimately switched back to Windows... |
| smallboxadmin Dec 02, 2013 2:56 PM EDT |
Quoting:Fifteen years ago... Wasn't much time before that I was installing X with a stack 3.5" floppies before I could even set the timings. Of course at the same time on DOS/Windows we were trying to squeeze out every bit of extended and expanded memory using QEMM. |
| Bob_Robertson Dec 02, 2013 5:29 PM EDT |
An associate of mine has complained to me that every time he tries to install Linux, it doesn't work for him. He said, "You don't know you do programming to make it work, but you do." So I've challenged him: Next time he wants to try Linux, talk to me first. We'll list the software he needs to work, make sure it's all FOSS or at least workable, then install Debian Stable. I'm considering putting a bottle of scotch on the table. If I have to "program" to make it work for him, he wins. If it "just works", I win. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 02, 2013 8:58 PM EDT |
> Fifteen years ago, you needed to know how to calculate dot clock frequencies to get X up and running. Oh, how I miss the good ol' days. A dozen years ago, that was supposedly still true -- but you had to have pretty odd-ball (or perhaps bleeding edge) hardware. I was using Debian, and never encountered such an issue. They were still holding "install fests" back then, but I never got around to attending one -- in part because I was pretty busy, but also because X simply worked like a charm, every time. I once thought I was going to have a problem, but rebooting the box fixed it -- and the "issue" never showed up again. Sure, I could have just restarted X, but I was a newb and didn't want to scare my friend off by fiddling till I got the command right... Besides, he was -- for some reason -- quite familiar and comfortable with the notion of 'fixing' things by rebooting the computer ;-) . |
| CFWhitman Dec 03, 2013 9:45 AM EDT |
I started fiddling with Linux in 1998. I remember having to create an Xfree86.conf file with a command line tool, and then having to tweak it to make it work correctly. I always found, though, that if I could find the correct frequency ranges for my monitor that I didn't have to mess with dot clock frequencies. When I started installing it on laptops (in 1999) I would just find and use the frequency ranges for an LCD monitor that had the same native resolution and it always worked for me. |
| notbob Dec 03, 2013 11:11 AM EDT |
> I started fiddling with Linux in 1998 Likewise, '97 or 98. That linux takes any effort to install, whatsoever, is a mystery to me. Here's why: Back when I started using linux, I bought 6 distros on CDs at one of the first LinuxWorld conventions in SJ, CA. Slackware, Debian, RedHat, etc. One of the distros was Caldera from then benign SCO. I put it in my desktop box to install and after a short graphic intro on what was to come, the install presented me with a game of tetris to play while Caldera installed itself in the background. I did absolutely nothing to install it, other than put the CD in the player. This, over 15 yrs ago. Sure enough, installed itself and after a cold re-boot, I had a gui based linux distro that went straight to desktop screen, jes as pretty as you please. Why no one else has chosen to do this is a complete mystery, to me. I can understand why most distros like to give the user choices during the install, but for ppl migrating from Windows/Apple, the Caldera approach seems a no-brainer. |
| skelband Dec 03, 2013 1:27 PM EDT |
Well I read the article and I thought it was pretty fair.
It highlights the usual problems that people might find: 1) Some more unusual hardware is not always well or completely supported. The multi-button mouse is a good case in point 2) Sometimes, unexpected things happen. I run Linux Mint 14 and mostly it works flawlessly for me, but sometimes strange things happen. 3) At work I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with the dreaded Optimus video setup. So my secondary monitor doesn't fair too well without a lot of fiddling. It's not Linux's fault but it is still a problem that a Linux noob would have infinite problems with. 4) Support for scanners and printers is patchy, especially for newer models. I got my daughter a multi-purpose printer/scanner and had to do submit some mods to the sane developers for the scanner part. It works, mostly-ish, but lack some fine tuning in the driver, which I will get to at some point. Again, not Linux's fault but problems that a Linux user has to contend with. You really have to go into it with your eyes open. |
| CFWhitman Dec 03, 2013 1:56 PM EDT |
skelband wrote:Well I read the article and I thought it was pretty fair. I didn't think that badly of it back when I read it either. I thought that the author was trying to be fair. The only thing is that since it's written from the perspective of someone who gave up on Linux, like the author did, it can't help but present a negative viewpoint. To be fair, the article would need to also include comments from someone who preferred to stay with Linux, and was also trying to be fair. Anyone who's tried both Windows and Linux and decided to go completely with one or the other is probably not going to be completely unbiased no matter how hard they try. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 03, 2013 9:39 PM EDT |
> I always found, though, that if I could find the correct frequency ranges for my monitor that I didn't have to mess with dot clock frequencies. That's a good point. In the beginning I did need to indicate the frequency ranges of the monitors. It could be a bit of a hassle -- but it certainly wasn't hard. I never had to mess with calculating dot-clocks. That info was always available online, if I didn't have the manual -- assuming, of course, that it wasn't printed somewhere on the back of the monitor (which it usually was). |
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