Is Linux nearing XP usability?

[dotRoot]

Going for windows Xp. Unfortunetly, Linux couldn't get my ethernet modem up, and lacks support for dsl internet connections. I'll try it maybe when internet is a bit more easy to setup.

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The only problems I've heard linux in the last few years have with any ethernet modems are winmodems.

[Daylene]

What distro do you use? I couldn't get dsl external modem up in mandrake 10 >_>

[krmathis]

Imo the main problem with GNU/Linux is the lack of hardware support.

Take WLAN cards. I have a 3Com Xjack card in my old laptop, which still is not supported. 2 1/2 years after I bought it. The same goes to the AirPort Extreme card in my current PowerBook!

I've heard some stories about Nvidia graphic cards as well.

That said, GNU/Linux is still my #2 operating system. :D

[g-n-t]

Going for windows Xp. Unfortunetly, Linux couldn't get my ethernet modem up, and lacks support for dsl internet connections. I'll try it maybe when internet is a bit more easy to setup.

585413503[/snapback]

what distro did you use?

i couldnt get online with 2kpro because it did not detect my nforce2 ethernet, linux on teh other hand set it up automatically.

nvidia cards work awesome. in yoper, the drivers are automatically installed and are updated with the rest of the system, no restarts, no nothing. it really doesnt get any easier than taht.

ATI on the other hand...

[El_Cu_Guy]

The only problems I've heard linux in the last few years have with any ethernet modems are winmodems.

Winmodems are old 56k dialup junkers. As for ethernet modems, yes not all of them are supported. Then again there are no "ethernet modems". There are cable, DSL and sat modems.

If you are using a usb connection between your modem and your computer (for which you have to install drivers) you are probably going to run into problems. However, if you connect the modem to your computer using the RJ45 port there are no drivers to install and the rest is a configuration issue (some DSL services).

The other problem they may be facing is with their network card. The driver may very well not be included with the distro they are using. Therefore you must find it yourself.

[kyro]

people reading this thread will get idea that LINUX has worst support for wireless and dsl modems..

Linux doesnt has worst support for it .. but not been given by default ( from wht i know ) . Google for NDISWRAPPER drivers and read thru thousands of success stories regarding wireless network driver support.

[mattmatik]

Well, I have a Microsoft wireless network in my home, so I'm automatically screwed. I still mess around with Knoppix and a few other LiveCDs but the lack of network/internet functionality makes it boring quick. I can always take down my network and plug my DSL straight into my server but...that's slightly unproductive.

[kyro]

0k ... i am adding this link for folks who wonder bout wireless networking in linux http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/

Getting Your WireLess NIC Working with the NDIS Wrapper Device Driver >>> http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php/...104718960/print

WIKI INFO on NDIS >> http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/NDIS_Wrapper

<jim carrey> Ndis in linux... its good ... its goooooood </jim carrey>

[g-n-t]

call up tech support for your microsoft router and ask them why they dont have a linux driver :rofl:

[krmathis]

0k ... i am adding this link for folks who wonder bout wireless networking in linux http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/

Thanks, I'm gonna give it a go. Even if it feels strange to use Windows drivers in GNU/Linux. :whistle:

At least its a solution for x86 computers...

[Scraggles]

windows xp can also have 3 free browsers and 2 free office suites :huh: lame way to put it...

windows will continue to be popular mainly because it's used around the globe.

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Microsoft software is slowly being banned in countries around the globe.

http://www.winplanet.com/article/1218-.htm

Gee, I wonder why! I still use windows, but I regret it every day.

[Mike Douglas]

Thanks, I'm gonna give it a go. Even if it feels strange to use Windows drivers in GNU/Linux. :whistle:

At least its a solution for x86 computers...

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Don't forget AMD64, my Compaq R3240CA now has wireless thanks to the latest ndiswrapper.

[easternBrain]

Hello, now that Knoppix 4.0 is almost out.. do you think Linux has achieved XP usability??

Well, I think it has. But soon Longhorn will be out and then Linux will be left behind again. This looks like a cycle of events.

[+dave164 Subscriber¹]

I need to pickup FC4 from my mate and then i can install wireless, ive found mutliple guides and i tried Ubuntu but something was wrong with the kernal

[h3xis]

Hello, now that Knoppix 4.0 is almost out.. do you think Linux has achieved XP usability??

Well, I think it has. But soon Longhorn will be out and then Linux will be left behind again. This looks like a cycle of events.

586192488[/snapback]

linux has had xp usability even before xp was ever out. as for longhorn, i don't think linux will be left behind. microsoft's only releasing longhorn just so it can have something to cram onto walmart's shelves (or any other retailer). i've noticed that people complain and whine about how "linux" doesn't have good driver support. wtf people? you have the internet and a hand, look for them yourself and don't expect any distro to have perfect driver support for your camera, scanner, nic, etc made by some miniscule manufacturer that nobody knows anything about.

[AgEnTsMiTh]

^ I agree with you there except for one point.

My wireless device on my laptop is the most common device period and no distro has a working driver out of the box as of yet for it. It has been a pain to get working from day 1.

[JSemple3]

And Linux's Driver support IS improving all the time (the SUSE 9.3 for example) found my speedtouch 330 USB modem my grpahics card (ATI) AND even the logitech webcam 4000. Linux is getting better with time and I might even be persuaded to use it full time sometime.

[ichi]

But soon Longhorn will be out and then Linux will be left behind again.

586192488[/snapback]

Soon? One year and a half (at least) doesn't seem that "soon" to me. Plenty of time for linux to leave Longhorn behind before it's even released.

[rezza Veteran]

^ I agree with you there except for one point.

My wireless device on my laptop is the most common device period and no distro has a working driver out of the box as of yet for it. It has been a pain to get working from day 1.

586192983[/snapback]

Ahh, but you got it working in the end, right? ;)

[uniacid]

linux has had xp usability even before xp was ever out. as for longhorn, i don't think linux will be left behind. microsoft's only releasing longhorn just so it can have something to cram onto walmart's shelves (or any other retailer). i've noticed that people complain and whine about how "linux" doesn't have good driver support. wtf people? you have the internet and a hand, look for them yourself and don't expect any distro to have perfect driver support for your camera, scanner, nic, etc made by some miniscule manufacturer that nobody knows anything about.

586192972[/snapback]

You forget that the everyday average user has no idea how to find a driver sometimes, I deal with many of these idiots all the time, but thats what they have me for ;)

Anyways these people would prefer something that worked right out of the box.

[thagame]

i been using gentoo linux for quite some time now and as far as applications its pretty caught up. but as far as gaming and non-clone applications to allow you to use a feature but not be the program you use in windows then no. and as far as that comment about longhorn just being a update to stock walmart shelves thats way off. its a whole new kernel. 2k was nt5 xp was 5.1 and longhorn is 6.0 so people that thought the move from 2k to xp was at all dramatic and seeing how it was only a point release. longhorn is a whole new kernel and will be totally different from other windows os's. the problem is alot of kiddies are judging the os while its just peaking into beta 1 status.

[Malisk]

Even Windows doesn't come with "out of the box" drivers that work just great.

I recall especially graphics drivers use to be crappy for games, and it's always up to the user to update to e.g. the latest ForceWare drivers in order to get some previously bugged game to work.

It's impossible to cover all bases. But many modern Linux distros of today do come with usable (and we can't expect more, really) drivers for a whole lot of hardware, just like Windows. Some improvements can maybe be made, but it's not really too "behind" Windows anymore I think.

[MulletRobZ]

I prefer Linux Free (Fedora).

The only real issues I have with Linux are wireless networking (even though I figured out how to get one of the cards to work) and transferring video files from my digital camera. Maybe I'll get an SD reader to fix that error. But as for Fedora, they are missing a fair amount of vital packages (xmms, xmms-mp3, ati and nvidia drivers, etc.) and like all Linux distros, should dump Mesa in favour of a graphics library that offers greater out-of-the-box OpenGL performance.

Yet even with those few roadblocks, I'm doing well with neither PC in my possession running Windows! It's just so much more usable, stable, and speedy! :p

[jack_canada]

For me Linux offers better usability than Windows, everything works out of the box, updating takes one command, games run smoothly, the system is responsive and rarely crash.

[turkishdelight]

At the moment, I prefer Windows XP. I would go with Linux, but after so long with Windows' subtle GUI and major file system differences, I'm stuck using Windows. But not Longhorn, because the UI "improvements" are (N) to me.