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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
bysuso ( 153703 ) * writes:
See, this is something that open source accomplishes that stupid fucking arrogant businesses will never get. When something is obsolete or no longer needed, it gets ditched or replaced by something better. Don't keep it around because someone thinks that they have the right to continue being in business even though their shit is a decade out of date. Its a hard and cold life for the developer whose project gets ditched (And sometimes I feel bad for them), but in the end, the user wins big and things evolve
byE IS mC(Square) ( 721736 ) writes:
Fuck Apple too. They are as bad as it comes. No less than microsoft.
byMrMista_B ( 891430 ) writes:
Hah!
Ahem, sorry. You don't know your history at all, do you?
byFingerSoup ( 928761 ) writes:
I do... Here's a rundown:
Microsoft has gained popularity through theft of technology(GUI From Apple, their defense was "We stole it from Xerox, not Apple), Backdoor licensing agreements (IBM PC-DOS/MS-Dos), and anti-trust in general (How many competitors has Microsoft bought out or used "creative innovations" that break the original software [java, Internet explorer/HTML Standardization], in order to remove competitors?). They continue to use shady business practices to force PC manufacturers into sell
bymorgan_greywolf ( 835522 ) writes:
On the other hand, Apple has been releasing proprietary, non-upgradeable hardware, forcing their users to pay a premium for the hardware, then forcing an upgrade to the customer, causing them to buy all new hardware, for most of the company's history since the Mac was invented. Apple's Proprietary business deals have stagnated their platform several times, but their "creative marketing' has always managed to create enough fanboys to turn almost every Mac user into a smug elitist bastard who points the flaws out in everyone else's product except their own. Microsoft has also been making progress in that marketing strategy, but has yet to achieve Apple's market share in holier-than-thou egotistical bastards.
Meanwhile, we Linux/Ubuntu smug elitist bastards continue to point out flaws in everyone else's production, including our own, constantly taking the defeatist attitude that Linux is "not ready for the desktop" despite the fact that, at this point, it's easier to install than all competitors' products and easier to admin, maintain and upgrade than all competitors' products,
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byLorien_the_first_one ( 1178397 ) writes:
It's not just easier, it takes far less time, too. Install Windows Vista with all the updates, drivers and service packs? 6-7 hours. Linux? Maybe 30 minutes with updates.
Ok, you might think I'm slow, but I try to be thorough.
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bywestlake ( 615356 ) writes:
It's not just easier, it takes far less time, too.
This matters only to the tiny fraction of users who do not buy the OEM system bundle.
byJesus_666 ( 702802 ) writes:
Linux is ready for the desktop except when someone uses it and runs into some problem, in which case we inform them that it's his fault for using a product that's not ready for the desktop yet.
Apple is not more expensive than other brands, except if you figure in non-premium brands and/or look at the whole market and not just the specific segments Apple caters to.
Mindows does not crash more often than other OSes unless you install third-party drivers in which case all bets are off - and of course one ca
byMad Merlin ( 837387 ) writes:
Linux is ready for the desktop except when someone uses it and runs into some problem, in which case we inform them that it's his fault for using a product that's not ready for the desktop yet.
I tried using Windows once, but I ran into some problem. Ergo, Windows is not ready for the desktop?
byJesus_666 ( 702802 ) writes:
Whooooosh.
The post is not about whether Linux is ready for the desktop or not. It's about how advocates of all operating systems can easily take two mutually exclusive stances at the same time.
bybetterunixthanunix ( 980855 ) writes:
"one can not expect Microsoft to distribute drivers for every device on Earth."
Sure they can. They expect us in the Linux world to do that. They also expect us to ship support for every video format in the world, and to magically support every program written for any platform, etc. Why put those demands on Linux if it is not fair to make similar demands out of Windows? "Linux doesn't support this," "Linux doesn't support that." "You cannot expect Windows to support this or that."
byrdnetto ( 955205 ) writes:
constantly taking the defeatist attitude that Linux is "not ready for the desktop"
Linux isn't ready for the desktop, but it's not for those reasons. The actual reason is testing and QC. When MS produces a new version of Windows, they test it on a bunch of different hardware to check that it runs properly and under various software configurations. Apple does the same thing, although their hardware is much more limited. However, because it is open source, when a new program for Linux is written it's typically tested only on the computer used to write it. The result is that anything less p
bypimp0r ( 1030222 ) writes:
... the defeatist attitude that Linux is "not ready for the desktop" despite the fact that, at this point, it's easier to install than all competitors' products and easier to admin, maintain and upgrade than all competitors' products,
You hit the nail on the head. What linux (and indeed most of OSS) desperately needs in that lineup is "easier to use".
And the problem is systemic and self-enforcing. Because the culture of programmer-knows-best feels good to the devs of any project, attempts to improve usability (when not part of an organization that will enforce it) are ignored or actively rejected with nice friendly sentiments of "Shut up, make your own if you think you can do better." and similar that really helps motivate people.
byDavidTC ( 10147 ) writes:
No kidding.
'Linux is not ready for the desktop' only in the sense that not all applications work on it. (Wine is certainly not ready for the desktop, and may never be.)
It is certainly more than ready for any business environment, and more than ready for techno-illiterate home environment where people won't be installing software.
It's not ready for environments where people might say 'Hey, why can't I download this new instant messenger client everyone is using?'. I.e., where people knew enough to install
bybotik32 ( 90185 ) writes:
I do not know why you think hitting a problem is only bad in Linux. Let me give you an example.
A co-worker of mine has been complaining about word opening documents very slowly after she's been upgraded to office 2007. Some documents opened fine, others took MINUTES to load( a 27kb document, at that). It was driving her nuts.
Guess what. Updating the chipset driver fixed the problem.
How in the whole world would a normal person know that? It took me days of checking for dead network printers, viruses, removin
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