linux or windows

[fubar::chi]

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Linux needs work.? Perhaps a new distro, something like : NOOBEOS would help.? One that makes software installation a snap,

Debian, Mandrake and Gentoo to some extent.

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works well with windows partitions,

All recent versions of Mandrake, Xandros and Lycoris

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comes pre-configured with wine, or winex (work out a deal with transgamers)

IMO this is unnecesarry Codeweavers wine works well, you want wine? buy Codeweaver products.

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has an extensive driver support databank,

Are you KIDDING me. Linux has better driver support than windows (winmodems obviously don't count since they are designed to work only with windows)

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and prevents the normal user from screwing it up,

That's what your normal user account is for, not using Lindows by any chance are you.

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like LINUX FILE PROTECTION or something like that,

Again unecessary, if you're worried about losing data use a journalling file system, reiser is a good start.

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supports fast user switching,

This to is already implemented (gdm?)

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is totally customizable, and so on.

no comment on that one but lemme ask you this, how customizable is the registry and dll files? With linux you open up a text file, edit and save. Linux is nothing if not customizable certainly more customizable than windows. Ok I did comment but this post has too much wrong info in it to just leave it at that

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Then it will rival windows, and can take it on in a more direct approach.?

By your standards linux already rivals windows.

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Users, as in the non-computerfile crowd would be more apt in trying Linux, and that is how you gain support.? Even now it is a headache just to get MP3 support,

Then stop using redhat, every other distro supports it.

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play a DVD

mplayer, xine. get rpms and you're good to go.

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or rip and burn a CD.

Ok this has gotten Sooooooo much easier, K3B is basically like nero (on steroids)

I mean it should be as simple in Linux as it is in windows.

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CLick click click, you're done.

I click, click, click all the time and only use the command line when making my rpm (don't have to, just do it for myself or others), or configuring some things which are faster than in a GUI once you learn how.

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But alas it is not that simple just yet..

I don't know which distro you're using but I have the feeling it's pretty old. It sounds like your doing a review of XP while using Me

::shudders::

very scary indeed

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but I predict, it will be in a couple of years.? Some of you may use Linux as a desktop client.? I do.? But we are the few.? Most use Linux for a specific purpose, router/firewall, networking, server etc...

I'll agree that linux has a ways to go (p2p and more games is all I want) but it has come much farther than you seem to think. As a matter of fact many things are easier in linux and that isn't an exageration. Configuring my printer in mandrake 9.1 just "happened" during the installation, if I had been using dhcp instead of lan, network config would have just "happened". I didn't have to do anything to that at all. On the flip side of the coin I still needed to mess around with my video card configuration and although not hard, it wasn't what I would consider newbie ready.

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To gain widespread usage Linux is going to have to dumbdown to the regular joe blow.

Um, no. Linux my have to be more easily configured but not dumbed down. If you don't understand it and aren't willing to learn then I don't think linux is for you. Go use an Mac or XP. I think this whole thing of windows vs. linux is played out now. Gnu/linux doesn't need users who won't contribute anything, we need users who will give back to the community in some way (doesn't have to be code, or anythign else technically taxing). We

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  When that happens, Bill Gates will **** his pants! hehehe

The likelihood of billy boy doing anything embarassing in his pants till he old, gray, and almost dead is highly unlikely. It would be fun to see though wouldn:devil: :devil:

Edited May 5, 2003 by fubar::chi

[MR_Candyman]

fubar, I gotta disagree...redhat is very easy to get mp3s working right from the get-go...

and there are MANY p2p apps around...problem is they all use the same damn network...we need kazaa ones too...tired of the crap I find on gnutella. If there is a kazaa program out there for linx I'm sorry, I just havn't found it yet...I'd appreciate a link tho

besides that I agree with ya completely, lol

[Chipi]

Linux.

[hashcake]

  Big Booger said:

Linux needs work. Perhaps a new distro, something like : NOOBEOS would help. One that makes software installation a snap, works well with windows partitions, comes pre-configured with wine, or winex (work out a deal with transgamers) has an extensive driver support databank, and prevents the normal user from screwing it up, like LINUX FILE PROTECTION or something like that, supports fast user switching, is totally customizable, and so on.

Then it will rival windows, and can take it on in a more direct approach. Users, as in the non-computerfile crowd would be more apt in trying Linux, and that is how you gain support. Even now it is a headache just to get MP3 support, play a DVD, or rip and burn a CD. I mean it should be as simple in Linux as it is in windows. CLick click click, you're done.

But alas it is not that simple just yet.. but I predict, it will be in a couple of years. Some of you may use Linux as a desktop client. I do. But we are the few. Most use Linux for a specific purpose, router/firewall, networking, server etc...

To gain widespread usage Linux is going to have to dumbdown to the regular joe blow. When that happens, Bill Gates will **** his pants! hehehe

I don't think Linux needs any work at all. It was never meant to be run as a desktop operating system, it does everything that it was originally designed to do just fine.

[Big Booger]

I think for linux to BE a desktop operating system for the masses, as I stated above, it needs work. It is not designed for the Joe blow, regardless of what any of you say. I have yet to see a version of Linux that is Retard friendly.. hehehe

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Um, no. Linux my have to be more easily configured but not dumbed down. If you don't understand it and aren't willing to learn then I don't think linux is for you. Go use an Mac or XP. I think this whole thing of windows vs. linux is played out now. Gnu/linux doesn't need users who won't contribute anything, we need users who will give back to the community in some way (doesn't have to be code, or anythign else technically taxing).

Comments like that is what will keep Linux a second rate OS in terms of the number of users using the product. It has to become easy, simple, just like windows.. or it will NEVER go mainstream.

I could go on and on about this and that, and rebutt every single comment. However, I won't. This is not an argument. It is an opinion, and as they saying goes, they are like *ssholes.. hehehe

You all have valid points but are you looking at it from a windows user perspective? I think not. You say Linux does this and Linux does that, yeah it works great. I agree if you can get the RPMs to work, if you can get your hardware installed, etc..

Personally, I think it needs work to be a desktop OS. And if it didn't start out that way, it should head that direction.. as every major installation seems to be offering more and more desktop oriented installs (opinion only, no factual data to back it up).

:D

Sure, people will use it in companies, behind the scenes, but it will never become a desktop OS. I think it should be because it has a lot of features and is really good compared to windows. It needs to be a Desktop oriented OS. I want to see more people using it.

And FUBAR:

Are you KIDDING me. Linux has better driver support than windows

That has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard in my life. Linux may excel at one type of driver, but overall I think windows supports quite a bit more hardware than Linux ever will. Or at least it has been my experience, especially manufacturer supported drivers.. I am not talking generic drivers here..

:D

[aleni]

laugh at fubar about linux has better drivers support

[MR_Candyman]

actually, I otta agree with fubar about the driver support...how easy is it to find old drivers for windows? anything over 6 month old's nearly impossible...

in my experience you can actually get linux drivers working better than the windows ones aswell. Drivers don't come out as soon as I'd generally like, and that's it's only downside

[fubar::chi]

pertaining to the issues of drivers what MR_Candyman said above is what I was getting at. There are drivers for everything under the sun for linux. The reason you guys don't realize is because it's all (mostly) in the kernel and doesn't eat up your harddrive. Then there are drivers for things like video cards which are provided by X or printers (with cups). With linux you don't need to install drivers with your new software because it's already there. I'm using mandrake 9.1 right now and I just recently bought a wireless mouse. It came with a cd that had drivers for windows and mac. All I had to do was plug out my old broken (dropped one time too many) usb mouse and plug in the wireless hub. Oh yeah i needed to put in batteries too ... that was it. Linux may not have the numbers of drivers but that because it doesn't need to. My burner doesn't need to install updated drivers everytime i upgrade it. It's already there in the kernel.

[Big Booger]

I know what you are saying, and those drivers provided by Linux work fine, but they are not the native drivers for that hardware. They are generic hardware drivers designed to work in case the manufacturer is not supported...

at least I think. I am not a Linux programmer, or driver or API writer... just a user.

I like Linux but currently it is not geared for maw bell and her band of boys..

it is geared for semi-tech savvy people.. and I think that should change to make it more mainstream and easy to use.

:D Just my opinion..

But I have seen hardware that wasn't supported in Linux, no matter what you do. Then you are just screwed. And I don't blame Linux at all.. I blame hardware manufacturers...

[MR_Candyman]

if you know where to look, there's a driver for even the newest of things...

and MOST of the linux drivers are made by the companies themselves, not all though...I do find they generally work a bit better than the "native" windows drivers you refer to

[Big Booger]

I never said "native" windows drivers, I said manufacturers drivers.. Hundreds of manufacturers do not support Linux.. period. that is a fact.

[sciguy007]

  Big Booger said:

I never said "native" windows drivers, I said manufacturers drivers.. Hundreds of manufacturers do not support Linux.. period. that is a fact.

turtle beach is one of them :(

[fubar::chi]

I think you'd be hard pressed to list only 100 of the "hundreds" you speak of. Off the top of my head I can think of only 10 major manufacturer that don't make linux drivers, the main reason being because open source drivers (even if they don't take full advantage of hardware) exist.

turtle beach

creative

logitech

microsoft

The Big 5 monitor manufacturs (nec, veiwsonic, dell, etc)

The two harddrive manufacturers (maxtor, wdc)

Seagate

and I'm out. As you can see all of these have products that work on windows but they don't provide drivers themselves. They're all in the kernel and with the exception of the sound card makers (creative big the exception in that group) the drivers are on par if not better than windows versions.

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I know what you are saying, and those drivers provided by Linux work fine, but they are not the native drivers for that hardware. They are generic hardware drivers designed to work in case the manufacturer is not supported...

again with the exception of sound card video card makers native drivers don't make a whole heckuvalot of difference.

You camera will still work the same way in linux that it does in windows, as will your tv card, or palm pilot.

[UKer]

I think it depends what you use it for. if you need to develop normal or web applications in certain languages (like C++, PHP or Perl), run servers, or do basic office work (just simple apps like wordprocessing, spreadsheet, web browser etc) then Linux is a great choice as its stable, robust and comes with all the technologies you need. Hardware support is getting better in each release, but with my system it still offers only partial functionality with sound and network (although all my hardware works to some extent).

If you're into multimedia (esp if like me you have an nforce system and want surround sound and 5.1), high-end graphics (eg Photoshop, professional 3D work), any type of games or you rely on any other high end apps (eg Dreamweaver, Flash), and if you develop using Microsoft products (eg using ASP, VB, C#) then Windows is the only choice as Linux can't run these apps and doesn't support the technologies out of the box (although Ive heard an ASP solution exists), however there are some linux apps which can just about do the job (eg GIMP for graphics), but they aren't anywhere near as advanced or easy to use as windows equivalents and involve a lot of learning to get the best functionality from them.

[aleni]

  fubar::chi said:

pertaining to the issues of drivers what MR_Candyman said above is what I was getting at. There are drivers for everything under the sun for linux. The reason you guys don't realize is because it's all (mostly) in the kernel and doesn't eat up your harddrive. Then there are drivers for things like video cards which are provided by X or printers (with cups). With linux you don't need to install drivers with your new software because it's already there. I'm using mandrake 9.1 right now and I just recently bought a wireless mouse. It came with a cd that had drivers for windows and mac. All I had to do was plug out my old broken (dropped one time too many) usb mouse and plug in the wireless hub. Oh yeah i needed to put in batteries too ... that was it. Linux may not have the numbers of drivers but that because it doesn't need to. My burner doesn't need to install updated drivers everytime i upgrade it. It's already there in the kernel.

err, its just like in xp, u plug hardwares in, it will work.

[Big Booger]

Uker I agree with your statements in totality.

:D