Random question for Asher

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Velociryx
:: shrug::

either way....it's an interesting question to me. What's all the fuss about, in the end? I'm seriously considering ditching XP on the two machines that have it, given the success I've been enjoying using Linux. Free's good.

Free's hard to top.

-=Vel=-

Free won't run many games that people want to play.

Not just games. Could you show me a good, open source point of sale system?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
It was brilliant. I still laugh out loud when I read Ming's thread.

Indeed, I just went to peruse it again.

How Asher did all that without a restriction is beyond me.

But I did notice a certain poster once again using the argument that people should get away with breaking the rules if punishing them happens to please someone they don't like. I see a trend!

[aneeshm]

I dual boot Linux and XP . I'd say , Vel , that you keep one XP box for your gaming needs , and others Linux for whatever work you might have to do .

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Whaleboy
Actually I have to say that Asher gives credit where credit is due, like with Firefox . Also he praised Apple recently, which shows he's not some fanboy.

Yep, he is a practical person at heart, and tells what works, and what doesn't.


Linux fanatics all have an axe to grind, and will delude themselves into somehow thinking that it works just as good as XP as a desktop OS, when it doesn't really.

The best interfaces on Linux are the ones that have made themselves more like Windows, you know, being intuitive and all.

Linux is good for alot of geeky things, but the most of us just want to get some work done, not tweak the damn OS all the time.

[Urban Ranger]

Asher wrote:

"For one, it's the industry standard. It has all the software you need on it."

Comes with Windows?

"It has a "standard" setup, which Linux does not have."

Surely you jest. All major distros have a easy to use GUI installation program with standard configuarations.

"It has an extremely powerful API setup with incredible documentation for developers to create these programs."

You are ignoring the fact that there are two major families of Windows with a whole bunch of different forks. It's not all that easy.

"It has a rather consistent UI that it seems most people don't have a problem using."

Most people don't have a problem using Gnome, KDE, OS X, or other GUI, either.

"Linux is too configurable, and most of the software available for Linux lacks polish and professional design."

You don't have to configure Linux if you don't need to, however you can do it if it is necessary, as the ability to do so is right there. As for software, most programs for Windows lack professional design also.

"MS made it easy to develop for Windows and got a huge advantage from that, and it's paying off. Other people are trying to play catchup, but Linux and MacOS both don't have anything comparable to DirectX for Game Development, or even a decent competitor to MFCs..."

That misses the point. The gamer market is nice, but you don't need it to get the volume - the business market is where the volume is. Linux has come to a point where, as the AT&T CTO pointed out, if any IT manager/CTO/CTO/etc. doesn't consider Linux as an alternative operating system, he isn't doing his job. A number of cities and even countries has gone over to Linux. EU mandates that free and open source alternatives must be considered. The way Microsoft is screwing over its customers only more and more companies will jump ship.


Kuciwalker wrote:

"Not having to compile the kernel?"

Only Gentoo requires you to compile the kernel. Other major distros don't. The ability to customise the kernel when you need to do so is a positive, not a negative.


NYE wrote:

"Not just games. Could you show me a good, open source point of sale system?"

Define good.

The ability to customise any system for yourself is, again, a good thing.


Ted Striker wrote:

"Linux fanatics all have an axe to grind, and will delude themselves into somehow thinking that it works just as good as XP as a desktop OS, when it doesn't really."

[Letting unfounded accusations sink...]

I don't understand why even you think XP is such a hot item, when it's a complete pain in the arse. First of all, installing XP isn't easier than, say, Red Hat or SuSE, and it takes longer - all the drivers must be installed separately under Windows, though people somehow don't think it's part of the installation process. Sure, there are more drivers for Windows, but that's just a question of volume. As Linux gains a higher volume more drivers will be available, and most market research films reckon Linux will take over 7% - 10% of desktops in 2008. The flip side of this is, if you can't find a driver for a piece of hardware you have under Windows, you are SOL. Under Linux, however, you can wing it.

Secondly, perhaps more important, is Windows is much harder to maintain than Linux, particularly for companies and organisations. For one thing, there are so many viruses, worms, and other assorted nastiness floating about on the Net [Yes I know all about firewalls and virus scanners] and idiotsusers downloading all sorts of stuff and installing them. Then when Windows goes batty it is much, much harder to fix.

"Linux is good for alot of geeky things, but the most of us just want to get some work done, not tweak the damn OS all the time."

Who needs to?

[aneeshm]

Asher , your accusations would have made sense - three years ago . Now , the install process for Fedora , to take an example , is much easier than that of XP . Most stuff works out of the box .

For the "average user" , there is always one distro of Linus that is more than enough . It is when you want obscure features in one or two applications that there are problems . And even those are now being taken care of .

Linux will be desktop ready in about another one to two years , because I predict that will be the amount of time it takes companies to release linux drivers and ports for the few products causing the most problems .

However , the primary target of Linux is not to "take over" the OS market for desktops . It is to provide a full-featured and free Unix-like developement environment to programmers and other interested geeks . That purpose has been fulfilled . The penetration into the desktop market is a side-effect of increasing user-friendliness and better UIs , not a goal in itself .

[Bosh]

Re: Re: Random question for Asher

Originally posted by Spiffor

Games

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

I am not so sure about that, at least he caused the destruction of the Mac forum.

That's more then a little unfair since it takes two to tango and because the Mac fanatics kept that flame fest going just as much as Asher did.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Oerdin
That's more then a little unfair since it takes two to tango and because the Mac fanatics kept that flame fest going just as much as Asher did.

If he didn't start it the whole thing wouldn't have happened. I am still amazed that Asher didn't receive some severe sentence.

[Dinner]

There was the issue of personal attacks both upon Asher and his boyfriend. Although I do not always live up to my own ideals I continue to believe personal attacks should be avoided and attacks upon a person's family is below the belt.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
If he didn't start it the whole thing wouldn't have happened. I am still amazed that Asher didn't receive some severe sentence.

He was banned shortly afterwards, when he criticized your appointment as a mod. I still think the severity of his sentence at that point was stronbgly related to his role in the Mac flamefest.

[Colon™]

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Indeed, I just went to peruse it again.

Do you have a link? I don't remember where it is...

[Ari Rahikkala]

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99909

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Do you have a link? I don't remember where it is...

Second or third page in the mac forum. It's hard to miss, as it's in the middle of all the locked threads