Comments on: Quit comparing us to Windows http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/ Free Software Chicago Style: letting proprietary solutions sleep with the fishes Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:40:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: mp035 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-413 mp035 Sun, 04 Mar 2007 04:01:26 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-413 I'd like to post support for Atypical Linux User's view. He/She made some very Valid Points. Especially on the point of commercial Software -- LINUX NEEDS COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE IF IT IS TO CONTINUE EXPANDING IT'S USER BASE -- And what's going on with the hardware support issue -- Linux user's hate the fact that a lot of hardware manufacturers don't support linux, but then don't support the distribution of proprietry Linux Drivers. Some people want open source, and they should have it. Some people (esp. Businesses) are willing to pay for something that "Just Works". Linux only caters to the first group. I use Linux, but I have to have a windows machine because there is no commercial products available for linux that suit my business, so I'd like to give a shameless plug to the following companies who suport linux with NON FREE linux drivers - NVIDIA, and ATI, and then a plug for BROTHER PRINTERS who actualy GPL their drivers. SUPPORT COMMERCIAL LINUX PRODUCTS! (but don't drop the free ones!) I’d like to post support for Atypical Linux User’s view. He/She made some very Valid Points. Especially on the point of commercial Software — LINUX NEEDS COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE IF IT IS TO CONTINUE EXPANDING IT’S USER BASE — And what’s going on with the hardware support issue — Linux user’s hate the fact that a lot of hardware manufacturers don’t support linux, but then don’t support the distribution of proprietry Linux Drivers.

Some people want open source, and they should have it. Some people (esp. Businesses) are willing to pay for something that “Just Works”. Linux only caters to the first group.

I use Linux, but I have to have a windows machine because there is no commercial products available for linux that suit my business, so I’d like to give a shameless plug to the following companies who suport linux with NON FREE linux drivers - NVIDIA, and ATI, and then a plug for BROTHER PRINTERS who actualy GPL their drivers.

SUPPORT COMMERCIAL LINUX PRODUCTS! (but don’t drop the free ones!)

]]> By: PriceChild http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-404 PriceChild Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:57:06 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-404 I tried a trackback to this article with a follow-up I posted on p.u.c but obviously failed :P You may be interested in the reply I got from him: http://pricechild.co.uk/?p=40 I tried a trackback to this article with a follow-up I posted on p.u.c but obviously failed :P

You may be interested in the reply I got from him: http://pricechild.co.uk/?p=40

]]> By: mpt http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-403 mpt Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:23:35 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-403 <blockquote>Linux needs to pick ONE official standard...</blockquote> Stop anthropomorphizing operating system kernels. They don't like it. ;-)

Linux needs to pick ONE official standard…

Stop anthropomorphizing operating system kernels. They don’t like it. ;-)

]]> By: nixternal http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-402 nixternal Sat, 24 Feb 2007 06:59:41 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-402 Hardware wise you just have to open the architecture and that's it. There are millions of willing hackers to take care of the rest. If you are a manufacturer and you want to write the driver for Linux, then you write it for just Linux, yes the kernel. There is only ONE Windows and we see where that has gotten us. With Linux, having the thousands of available distros makes competition a bliss and causes communities such as Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE, Red Hat, and others to work hard on creating the best damn implementation that they can. Software is similar, you create your application to suit Linux in general, then you get millions of other people to package your application for the various distros. This also helps the upstream developer because now he/she has a pool of a million or so thirsty developers who want the application to work flawlessly, so now the upstream author starts receiving patches to make his/her application even better. The inclusion of closed source programs is allowed and we leave it up to the end user to choose what they want to do with it. You can never get rid of the command line. Think of the millions of available command line options you would have to gui'fy, it would drive end users made. Plus for a lot of end users the command line makes a lot of things not only easier, but quicker. Granted there are many people who look at the cli and about die because they are lost and you are right, they shouldn't be there unless it depends on their life :) However...I knew this was coming, being from the US we tend to "dumb" everything down, and that is the one great thing about Linux, it causes creativity, learning, and a sense of completion. Back to the command line thing, another big problem is the documentation. People tend to document an application and gear the inner workings and tweaks towards the command line, when they can do it just as well through the application. Personally I can't live w/o the command line and that is what I consider one of the worst lack of features Microsoft has. Hardware wise you just have to open the architecture and that’s it. There are millions of willing hackers to take care of the rest. If you are a manufacturer and you want to write the driver for Linux, then you write it for just Linux, yes the kernel. There is only ONE Windows and we see where that has gotten us. With Linux, having the thousands of available distros makes competition a bliss and causes communities such as Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE, Red Hat, and others to work hard on creating the best damn implementation that they can.

Software is similar, you create your application to suit Linux in general, then you get millions of other people to package your application for the various distros. This also helps the upstream developer because now he/she has a pool of a million or so thirsty developers who want the application to work flawlessly, so now the upstream author starts receiving patches to make his/her application even better.

The inclusion of closed source programs is allowed and we leave it up to the end user to choose what they want to do with it.

You can never get rid of the command line. Think of the millions of available command line options you would have to gui’fy, it would drive end users made. Plus for a lot of end users the command line makes a lot of things not only easier, but quicker. Granted there are many people who look at the cli and about die because they are lost and you are right, they shouldn’t be there unless it depends on their life :) However…I knew this was coming, being from the US we tend to “dumb” everything down, and that is the one great thing about Linux, it causes creativity, learning, and a sense of completion.

Back to the command line thing, another big problem is the documentation. People tend to document an application and gear the inner workings and tweaks towards the command line, when they can do it just as well through the application. Personally I can’t live w/o the command line and that is what I consider one of the worst lack of features Microsoft has.

]]> By: Atypical Linux User http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-401 Atypical Linux User Sat, 24 Feb 2007 06:03:40 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-401 If you want more users you should compare your operating system to the current leader (at least here in the US as few people I know run any sort of Linux). I run XP and Ubuntu Edgy both on two computers and prefer Linux but use Windows most of the time for compatibility issues. You could blame it on the hardware/software manufacturers not cooperating but who in their right mind would program for 99+ distributions that share different foundation programs (window managers, desktops, etc). Linux needs to pick ONE official standard that best suits the majority of users and programmers goals and work with that. Maybe if there was one major distribution it would get better support. The inclusion of closed source programs has to be allowed. Not EVERYONE wants to give their code away. Finally, programmers that want other people to use their software need to make it <em>as easy to use as possible</em>. I have tried Debian, OpenSuse, Slax, others and Ubuntu and I understand why Ubuntu is so popular. <strong>GET RID OF THE COMMAND LINE unless it isn't possible to do so</strong>. Most people aren't even close to being programmers, and some don't even have the basic understanding of computer components. Linux and open source people have great ideas and a lot of them make me smile at the ingenuity people can have. Too bad many people will never get to see them. If you want more users you should compare your operating system to the current leader (at least here in the US as few people I know run any sort of Linux).

I run XP and Ubuntu Edgy both on two computers and prefer Linux but use Windows most of the time for compatibility issues. You could blame it on the hardware/software manufacturers not cooperating but who in their right mind would program for 99+ distributions that share different foundation programs (window managers, desktops, etc).

Linux needs to pick ONE official standard that best suits the majority of users and programmers goals and work with that. Maybe if there was one major distribution it would get better support.

The inclusion of closed source programs has to be allowed. Not EVERYONE wants to give their code away.

Finally, programmers that want other people to use their software need to make it as easy to use as possible. I have tried Debian, OpenSuse, Slax, others and Ubuntu and I understand why Ubuntu is so popular. GET RID OF THE COMMAND LINE unless it isn’t possible to do so. Most people aren’t even close to being programmers, and some don’t even have the basic understanding of computer components.

Linux and open source people have great ideas and a lot of them make me smile at the ingenuity people can have. Too bad many people will never get to see them.

]]> By: mpt http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-400 mpt Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:46:42 +0000 http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.22/quit-comparing-us-to-windows/#comment-400 So now you have all thoroughly reassured each other that the Inquirer columnist is misguided and ill-informed and so on. Wonderful. But that doesn't actually do anything to help Ubuntu. People pay too much attention to the number of updates rather than their total size? Then stop printing the former in large bold text and the latter in small normal text. People have to "partially have to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf"? Then fix Gnome so they don't have to do that. You don't like people comparing Ubuntu to Windows? Either get used to it, or give up on taking market share from Windows. So now you have all thoroughly reassured each other that the Inquirer columnist is misguided and ill-informed and so on. Wonderful. But that doesn’t actually do anything to help Ubuntu.

People pay too much attention to the number of updates rather than their total size? Then stop printing the former in large bold text and the latter in small normal text. People have to “partially have to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf”? Then fix Gnome so they don’t have to do that. You don’t like people comparing Ubuntu to Windows? Either get used to it, or give up on taking market share from Windows.

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