We can debate all we want to about whether Linux will ever beat Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X on the computer's desktop. To be honest though, the opinion that matters to me the most is my own opinion. Except for the occasional hardware compatibility issue, Linux is the operating system I have found to be the most dependable.
I know what most of you are thinking and let me address what is on your mind at this very moment. No, I'm not blinded with nerd goggles. In fact, I'm currently writing this post from a Windows Vista PC while my wife in the next room is on her MacBook Pro. Windows and OS X have earned their roles on the computer stage and I would be the last person to dismiss these great operating systems. However, these days I'm finding that Linux has just as much of a right to this stage when debating the value of operating systems.
Perhaps, I'm just saying this after finding a new variant of the Vundo trojan on a PC with Windows XP. A trojan that even some of the better anti-virus software can't detect or remove. That trojan took 25 working hours to analyze and remove from the infected Windows PC. Or, perhaps I'm favoring Linux because after being mandated to install anti-virus software on the Linux boxes, I found not a single piece of malicious software on the systems. I am also filled with joy because I'm nearing the purchase of a laptop with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed knowing that the entire laptop is likely to cost me far less than the MacBook Pro I bought my wife last year. Linux, you are a sweetheart in my eyes.
I'm not the only one that thinks so. IBM still has high hopes that with Ubuntu Linux they can lure enterprises away from Windows. There also is a nice article posted at Tech Republic titled, 10 things Linux does better than OS X. I especially like number 6.
6. Portability
Another area where Linux shines over all other operating systems is in its ability to migrate an installation from hardware to hardware. Linux has an uncanny ability to be able to relocate. I have taken complete hard drives and moved them from one machine to another. So long as the architecture was the same (in other words, not moving from a x86 to an x86_64 machine), the migration always seemed to work with little to no adjusting. OS X, on the other hand, is landlocked to the machine it was installed in. Also, with Linux, you can take certain directories and move them from machine to machine. This works well with the /home directory. Having the ability to migrate your /home directory from one machine to another can make building machines a snap. With OS X, you’ll always be reinstalling from scratch.
Yes, Linux makes me happy in a way that Windows and OS X cannot. Now as I end this post, I know two things. Windows users will reply they have about 90% of the market and no business will ever take Linux seriously. I disagree and think Microsoft has peaked and is slowly being replaced with Linux as well as Mac's OS X. Sensitive Apple users will be appalled that I don't find Mac's OS X all that interesting even though many have never tried using a modern Linux desktop. Tough, deal with your own issues of needing to put your Macbook on a diet before the next version of OS X arrives. My Linux boxes are happy and healthy.
Comments
It's still a bit left of
It's still a bit left of center...
I'm a big fan of Linux...currently use Ubuntu on my laptop, SUSE before that and Slackware initially; however, here's my take on things:
Until device manufacturers start churning out native Linux drivers for their various wares as they do now for Windows and Mac, Linux on the desktop will not win the hearts and minds of the masses. It's still just too difficult for the average Joe/Jane home user to cope with device driver issues when they rear their ugly heads. I know one can usually find answers for device driver issues by searching the web, but one also has to be somewhat familiar not only with Linux internals but also with the arcane and cryptic terminology that is part of the Linux culture. Fortunately for me, I have the perseverance and enough technical background to cope with these issues most of the time.
Ubuntu has made coping with device drivers a bit easier, but still has a long way to go to match either Windows or Mac in this area.
But nothing is perfect. I could very well rant on about what I perceive as shortcomings in Windows and OS X too!
I challenge you to name one
I challenge you to name one piece of hardware that Linux does not run on! And the astrolabe does not count ;)
one device
Try using 802.11 on a Laptop with Broadcom wifi chipsets. I still need to configure NDiswrapper to use the 4318 Chipset in my HP dv5xxx system. That means that I'll spend my 30 min installing Ubuntu 8.10 this weekend then another 30 min configuring the "*&#" wifi. True its not Linux's problem but Broadcom's its still a pain in the backside for those of us with that companies chipsets in our systems.
My Broadcom works without ndiswrapper
One Divece, why don't you try (K)Ubuntu 8.04 or later? I'm writing this on an HP DV9620US laptop right now using Kubuntu 8.04 and after installation, I plugged it up to my wired ethernet connection, enabled all the repos, did all the updates, then enabled the restricted drivers for both the video and wireless on this laptop. Kubuntu automagically did all the configuration of the broadcom wireless driver for me, explaining what it needed to do and asking permission all the way. After a reboot, it worked as it never had. I was never able to get it to work before and had had to use a broadband modem to get any form of wireless connectivity.
But the point of native drivers is still a good one. The Canonical response is still just a workaround, albeit a better one than we've had before. But it would be better if more hardware vendors did produce native drivers, or, at least, provded specs to developers so they can produce the necessary drivers. More and more vendors are coming on board every day though....and that's a good sign for the health of Linux.
Cheers.
native drivers & net access..
Try modems.. many of us live in the out back with only dialup access.. I can not 'plug in to my wired connection' to d/l the drivers I need for the modem. MS knew what it was doing when they arranged that fiasco with hardware suppliers. BTW, Ubuntu 8.04 doesn't have them.. Neither does the corresponding MINT. If anyone has any helpful info, the system is a pavilion ze2000, about 3 years old. Oh, yes.. $60 for a modem will break my pocket.. What recession.. we're in a depression.. it's only the government that hasn't figured that out yet, either.
other than that, I find MS to be way more frustrating than any Linux distro.. & have for 6 years now. In case anyone is wondering, I've just recently (re)moved to dialup land.
Real Modems work - "soft" modems don't
Well, it's "soft" modems that don't work. For those that do live in the outback and want to support better and more open standards it's both trivial and fairly cheap to get a Real Hardware Modem that you can connect to and use with no pain at all. No drivers needed for a Real Modem - just plug it in and you're ready to go. I've been using Real Modems for many many years before moving to a city with broadband - and even in those 'primitive' times, GNU/Linux had no problems working with Real Modems.
Most soft modems do work.
Most soft modems do work. Just configure your repositories of whatever Linux distribution you are using to point to the repositories with the 'proprietary drivers'. Then configure and most will work.
Can you recommend one?
Ubuntu user having problems with a soft-modem.
Can you recommend a real modem that won't obliterate my wallet? Where can I buy one? All of the ones I find (which are a fewer overall each year) appear to be soft modems.
RE: HP dv9620us
I have the same machine. I love it!! do you have your web cam up and running?? I've had Mandriva & Mint installed before and was never able to get the web cam going.
Enabling wireless on Linux
Instead of the wired connection, I used a USB NIC that I knew Linux had native kernel for: Edimax EW-7318USG. I got this adapter at www.getnetusa.com .I plugged the NIC in, configured wireless. went online to load proprietary driver for the integrated NIC, turned the system off, unplugged the USB NIC, rebooted and the system used the proprietary NIC to go online.
Just noticed you said Kubuntu 8.10
I haven't tried 8.10 yet because I don't want to run KDE 4 yet (not until it gets better). I have 3.5.10 running just the way I want it and don't want to mess with KDE4 until it's a little better cooked.
In THEORY, however, the steps to get the wireless working should be the same. Assuming you're doing a fresh install of Kubuntu 8.10....
1. Install the OS.
2. Enable all the repos, including restricted.
3. Connect to the internet with a wired connection.
4. Do all the updates, FIRST, then reboot.
5. THEN enable the restricted drivers.
6. Kubuntu SHOULD go through the process of informing you it needs to download the restricted driver from Broadcom, and will ask you if that's ok. It will then inform you it needs to install and run fwcutter to extract the correct firmware and will ask if that's ok. After that's done, it should tell you a reboot is necessary. When it comes back up, it should "just work".
I'm giving you those steps from memory as I can't now find the web page I got those instructions from, but it worked just fine for me.
YMMV however with Kubuntu 8.10 and KDE 4. I haven't tried that yet, but it works great in Kubuntu 8.04 with KDE 3.5.
Good luck with your install.
Thats a red-herring
I think it's fairly easy to check the hardware specs of a machine BEFORE buying it. If one does that, and one sticks to manufacturers that support GNU/Linux, one should have no trouble at all.
Broadcom, nVidia and a few others remain against GNU/Linux and refuse to provide open specifications to their hardware. For most users that really want to use GNU/Linux, it's easy enough to do some fairly basic research and steer away from any machine possessing one or more components from said manufacturers.
After all every computer sold has detailed specifications on the manufacturers website. And every detailed specification carries the name of the wireless card manufacturer and the display card manufacturer. From that point on, it's just a matter of avoiding said anti-GNU/Linux manufacturers.
It's really not hard at all.
So i guess what you are
So i guess what you are saying here is that if you want to switch from another OS to Linux, do your research first and buy a new PC that is "Linux-Ready" rather than installing Linux on a working PC one already has?
Sounds to me like same old marketing pitch that Microsoft has been using for years with the little "Designed for Microsoft Windows" sticker you see on many PCs. ;)
I remember having to do this
I remember having to do this for Linux. Those were the good old days, way back in 1997! I wouldn't worry about that comment though. That is only for the Linux purists that don't want proprietary drivers. Otherwise you go and configure your repositories to point to the proprietary drivers or go to nvidia.com and go download the driver yourself. You can even buy a distribution that comes with the proprietary drivers, as many do.
Man, that brings back memories, writing down which northbridge chip was on the motherboard. I say bring back the good old days - back then you got to learn about computers. You young whippersnappers with your point and click and all hardware automatically detected and configured - you have it so easy with your modern Linux! Soon you'll be complaining that you have to open the CD or DVD tray to install the thing!
Linux Developers are still not happy.
Linux Kernel should work x86 32 bit on 64 bit machine without major issue.
Of course reverse 64 bit on 32 that is ouch. I think author of other article typoed.
Start of happy state lands when Linux has the means to graphically correct any X11 problem. Replace kernel on fly not that far off from that one. So yes complete update of system without out having to stop what you are doing is a goal.
Basically the day a Linux box only has to stop due to hardware failure or user wish and the day you can just drop harddrive in anything of the same cpu type and have it work.
Big goals and they are getting close.
Portability
Yes, portability is what I like in Linux. Whenever I look at an application for a task, at the ways I can use to save/import/export my data and if the same application is available across platforms. For five years, I took care of an elderly couple. The wife was a relative computer buff. She was a Mensa member. She used some proprietary Broderbund calendar and daily journal software that could be read only by this version of this software. She passed away. Her son, a Mac buff could not, and would not use her Windows machine. So much for family memories. So sad.
DV9620 US
Hello,
I have been posting wrong... too impatient, darn ADD.
Lemme ask this question:
I would like to benefit on experience of those who have a DV9620 US which I have been using with Vista Home premium since end 2007.
I am really fed up with infections.
I am your basic idiot when it comes to PC (although, having ADHD and no memory, I really heavily on them)
I'll leave you a disposable mail address so you can contact me
Nicholas.
nicholasantispam@laposte.net