When will Linux distros 'get it'?

From: Seth Brundle (brundlefly76_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 07/27/04 

Date: 26 Jul 2004 23:21:32 -0700

I have been a Linux server application developer for about 9 years,
but I stopped using Linux on my desktop after 2, and have been using
SecureCRT under Windows ever since. I dont particularly care for
X-based workstations, and I like to relieve stress by playing games
now and then - any game, not just Linux ports.

I also have never been much interested in debugging Linux hardware
installs. system and network administration is something I can do, but
almost always prefer to page someone else to do it instead. I dont
find it enjoyable nor do I get paid to do it.

Recently, someone got me to try Suse 9.1, saying it was the cutting
edge in distros. As I am want to do every couple of years, I tried it.

Boy, not much has changed.

The first time I attempted to install it on a second drive as a
dual-boot system, the boot loader failed to load Windows althought
Yast identified the Windows drive and offered to add it to the boot
loader menu during install. I dont remember the error but it was
completely unhelpful. Something about chainloader +1 (?). I know
nothing about Grub, except the community and distros seem to like it,
while all the sysadmins I know dont trust it. No one knew what to do
with that error.

Anyways, I rebooted to Suse and just got a clock icon on a black
screen - the end. WTF?

I tried again today on a different machine - a Suse-only install. Yast
once again locked up, this time while 'analyzing my system'. After
ripping out and reinstalling every damn piece of hardware on the box,
I found that it didnt like the existing windows install on the sole
hard drive, which I expected it to warn me about but happily delete
and repartition for me (is that asking too much?).

One new hard drive later, I got it to install, and I like the desktop,
which really works now that Firefox exists. Its the first version of
Mozilla I like over IE.

Anyways, I was going insane looking at the screen in about 2 minutes
because it obviously had chosen a 'safe' low refresh rate for my
unidentified (sigh) NEC CRT. When I found the setup screen to change
the refresh rate, I changed it to 85 hz, which I know it can do, and
CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACED.

That was the last I saw of KDE - ever. I tried changing the monitor
settings back with text-based Yast, but I could not get X to start
again, either on reboot or from the command line (I dunno - kde?
startkde? startx?).

This reminded me that breaking X by making a seemingly common and
simple config change which would be trivial in windows was one of the
irritating linux desktop behaviors which got me off it in the first
place.

So, basically Suse failed for me in 3 different ways in one day, none
with any particularly helpful error messages, fail-safes, timeouts,
etc.

Anyways, back to Windows.

/rant

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