Re: Linux and Windows not different

roodwriter_at_core.com
Date: 12/21/04 

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 15:42:43 -0500

markzoom@digiverse.net wrote:

>
> roodwriter@core.com wrote:
>> markzoom@digiverse.net wrote:
>>
>> > Agree.
>> > Truth is that both OSs are crap in many respects.
>> > M.K.
>>
>> I always adapt Pathetic Writer's slogan to the situation:
>>
>> Linux--It sucks less!
>
> Yet very few use it, despite it being free.
> The reason is that it's not as easy to use as the two main OSs, because
> there are few games for it, because the documentation is invariably
> written in knerdish, and because many peripherals don't support it.
> IOW, windows an linux are as crap as each other, in different ways.
>
> I'm back with windows because I don't have the time or inclination to
> learn how the *** to install a non-rpm application into Suse without
> yast and I refuse to regress to using consoles, I had enough of that
> with dos/win3.11 eons ago. I'm also fed up with knerds and hobbyists
> enthusing about how wonderful they are, when the overwhelming majority
> of people have other hobbies. Maybe in a few years consoles will be
> unnecessary to get Linux working properly, until then it just plain
> isn't ready for the real world.
>
> M.K.
>

You have FEWER problems with Windows? Really? I switched to Linux and
stayed with it because I have fewer problems overall. That's not to
say no problems, but fewer. I didn't find the switch that onerous and
I'm far from a computer geek. Some things were different, not many.

I'm not sure where you get this DOS thing. Are you sure you used
modern Linux? While Linux has many command line utilities and
programs, the programs the average person will use are graphical and
nearly indistinguishable from Windows and Mac programs. In fact I
believe if you put the average Windows user in front of a Linux box
using OpenOffice.org or other graphical programs, and just told the
person you have a new Windows program you were trying out, they'd
never know the difference. A word processor is a word processor.

When I left Windows I was using StarOffice 5.2 for Windows. When I
switched to Linux I was using StarOffice 5.2 for Linux. Not a big
difference, except in stability.

Don't forget that a lot of Linux programs have been ported to Windows
and vice-versa. One of the first free programs on Windows I tried out
was AbiWord, which originates with Linux. There's a long list of
others, though I'd stick with the Linux versions for security reasons.

Although there are Windows programs not found in Linux, Linux also has
a lot of programs that aren't found on Windows. I found after using
Linux for several years that when I was in a hotel and using their
Windows XP machine in the lobby I felt cramped. That's when I realized
I simply preferred my Linux programs. Windows also seemed slightly
strange. Neither operating system is intuitive. Both are learned.
People forget that. And there's really not that much difference, in
the final analysis. You still point-and-click and type, no matter
which one you use.

I also worried about viruses and spyware when on the hotel machine and
whether it was capturing my password for my e-mail sites. I changed
them when I got home. I did take the precaution of cleaning out the
machine's temporary Internet files and cookies whenever I was done,
though I doubt that was totally effective.

I know a woman who DAILY checks her Windows machine for spyware--and
finds it. I personally don't want to work that hard. I bought a
computer to lessen my workload. I have a lighter workload under Linux
and fewer worries.

I'm not even going to get into the fact that under Linux I don't have
to worry about "activation" (which I despise for many reasons) and the
possibility of licensing hassles and even legal action, even though I
always paid for my software. When on Windows I even paid for my
shareware. In the Linux world all those factors are gone. (Sometime
take the time to actually read the CONTRACT you agreed to when you
click on "I agree" on installation. They're appalling. No other
industry gets away with this or would even try to.)

I won't even ask why people would buy an operating system that
requires them to continue to buy programs--anti-spyware,
anti-virus--to protect it. I don't like to spend money on crap that
shouldn't happen in the first place.

Sorry you couldn't find games you liked on Linux. I have about 100 on
my machine. Of course games are a personal preference. I miss some
from my old Commodore 64. I suspect if I switched back to Windows I'd
miss some of the Linux games. That's life.

I'm not much of a gamer, though. Hard-core gamers might not like Linux
since it tends not to have the newest heavy-duty games.

But to get back to the point of sucking. ALL operating systems suck.
Some suck less, as in the slogan I appropriated from Pathetic Writer.
Like any other product you can name, none of them are perfect or
perfect for everyone. I have a whole list of ways I like Linux better
than Windows. There are also some ways Windows is more convenient than
Linux.

I'll stick with Linux. It's stronger in the points that matter to me.
It eases my workload and gives me peace of mind.

Enjoy your Windows. You must be tougher than I am and like to work
harder.

--Rod
Author of "Linux for Non-Geeks--Clear-eyed Answers for Practical Consumers"
and "Boring Stories from Uncle Rod." Both are available at
http://www.rodwriterpublishing.com/index.html.

To reply take the extra "o" out of the name.