Fergus Wilde wrote:
On Thursday 27 January 2005 00:47, Doug McGarrett wrote:
Since SuSE 9.2 Pro is full of problems--as seen on this list-- what are you going to be installing? (How can I get an English language version of an OS that doesn't have these?)
And what are you going to be doing about programs that don't exist in Linux, like AutoCad, or Pro-E, or the EEsof RF software, etc.?
Plenty of CAD stuff for Sun, if not for Linux. You certainly don't need MS. Can't tell you about the other stuff, because I've never heard of it. Pro-E sounds like a bodybuilding supplement.
Or is this only for office people, who only need a word processor, a spread sheet, an Internet browser, Adobe, and e-mail? (Everybody else will have XP?)
Don't get me wrong: I'd like to see Linux win the battle with MS, but the problems are not small, nor are they subtle.
--doug
Apart from a few annoyances getting my scanner running on one install, I haven't seen many of these problems ... I know that's a matter of hardware luck to an extent, but I've got three perfectly happy 9.2 installs running fine and doing everything I need. Remember you're talking about people's questions and often minor frustrations with an entire distro, hundreds if not thousands of megabytes of userland programmes on top of an OS.
And it's certainly not fuller of problems than WinXP is it? I was obliged to attempt to install that particular spectacular the other day (100% legal official CD), and the install programme is as dumb as a brick. The disk partitioning tools are complete poo, and you're given almost no control over things. The one thing they make sure 'works' is that you can't get anywhere without their precious codes, and that it will commit suicide if you don't 'activate' it, and that you can't set it up on more than on machine. Without an internet connection this means you actually have to phone them in order to have it continue working. No thanks! I already paid for this stuff and now I have to phone Mummy to be allowed to use it?
Now start comparing like for like in terms of price: you won't get far with productivity on what comes on an XP disc, will you? You want a machine with the kind of software loadout that comes with SuSE in Windows and it would cost me five or ten times the price to set up. Cheers Fergus
First of all I'll hold my hands up and say 9.2 can be a dog to install, it's a chameleon, different problems or none, depending on the hardware, what colour shirt you are wearing, outside air temperature and everything else. Once it's up it's solid. Strange thing also is that none of the reviewers seemed to have hit problems. I had 2 hairy upgrades from 9.1 one on a XP3000+/32-bit, the other on XP3000+/64-bit, but a new install on a P-II/333/64M/2M video laptop went without a hitch. No wonder Fergus thought E-pro was a bodybuilding supplement, the wisdom in the software buying world is to bone up on the ads section of the most glossy mags, buy that software and stick with it -- understandable and wise, but occasionally you should take the blinkers off. There are increasing numbers of professional products being ported to Linux, especially in the electronic CAD field, for normal mechanical CAD systems, I'm sure I've seen stuff, VARICAD and others that can handle the Autocad stuff, but you won't find them on the shelf at PC World, Fry's, Weirdstuff or in the rag-tag of PC mags around the world. Sun and SGI used to be the ace platforms for CAD but at a phemomenal price tag both for hardware and software. Many of the electronic CAD companies that listed all the drawbacks to developing for Linux changed their minds in just a few months. Autocad is different, they have a sworn allegiance to Windows only, they won't soil their rubber gloves on anything as corrosive and filthy as Linux. www.varicad.com says -------------------------- news 2004-11-16 VariCAD for SUSE LINUX 9.2 and Fedora Core 3 learn more ... I've found Linux to be flexible, it's the only platform I've used since I blasted Win95 off my work laptop many years ago and could still work with our near 100% Windows setup and colleagues who recited every day the mantra that bill gates' wee-wee is purer than the fruitjuice he drinks. If I need a new solution, I look for a Linux one, perhaps it's easier for me as I don't know many if any Windows ones. Regards Sid. -- Sid Boyce .... Hamradio G3VBV and Keen Flyer =====ALMOST ALL LINUX USED HERE, Solaris 10 SPARC is just for play=====