On Wed, 2003-06-11 at 11:00, BandiPat wrote:
On Wednesday 11 June 2003 01:36, John Murphy wrote:
On Wed, 2003-06-11 at 01:11, Curtis Rey wrote:
I think I would have have to disagree first of all that Linux is not also a desktop OS now. Many of the things that prevented it from being a viable desktop OS are gone now and I find it to be one of the best around in both installation and hardware setup. Gnome2 and KDE3 are beautiful GUIs in looks and working well. Having the correct hardware is helpful, yes and if the hardware manufacturers were held to a higher set of standards and quality, few would have need to complain about any OS working correctly. IBM compatible hardware is still some of the oldest around, believe it or not, but blame that on M$ for holding it back, not Linux for not working on some of it. One of the advantages Apple has in this regard is that they are the only ones that make their hardware, but also one of the biggest drawbacks in getting their hardware & OS widely accepted. Good hardware is available though and makes Linux that much more fun to work with too. I can attest to that as can many here, I suspect. It gets boring sometimes because everything works so well and reliably with my setup. :o)
Yes the hardware issues have come along way over the years. Still far behind in many areas such as DVD, USB, and multimedia, and pim devices. I think you have to look what you're using the desktop for to see if Linux meets your needs. As it stands today it might get by in some office or business environments with the cost factor being a big advantage. If you're a typical home desktop person into multimedia, desktop publishing, gui style web publishing and all the point click and go programs of other OS's then you're into a lot of soul searching. If you're a family man with kids that are serious gamers, they likely will leave home if you switch to Linux. Don't get me wrong here I can't say enough for all the people who code and put their heart and soul into getting Linux this close to the MS market. Today's Linux desktop takes a giant step forward and two back. Why because the other OS's are moving ahead much faster with hardware and user friendly programs. There are a few desktop programs that I can't say enough good things about in Linux but still way to many not coming close or don't exist.
I also think the Linux community of users and developers are some of the quickest reacting to problems, fixes and needed software than any group I have been aquainted with since the Amiga. The Linux community reacts
I owned an Amiga 500, it was the best computer I ever owned. Take a note on what did it in, SOFTWARE support. Linux needs desktop software that equals other operating system today not tomorrow. The constant game of catch up or something close will never make it happen. Then you have the favorite Linux problem solver, crossover programs. All this shouts is Linux can't do it, it needs windows!! I can see Linux growing as a office or business desktop. Years or maybe never for a home desktop unless some of the big software companies like Adobe and others see it as viable home desktop. More then likely Linux will be on one drive in my extra computer. My next main home desktop purchase later this year will be a Mac with OSX. Looks something like Linux and has everything a desktop user needs now!!
quickly to needed software and linking to new hardware I believe, but with anything lacking the full resources available to them that M$ has or Apple has in full time dedicated to the project workers, some things take a bit longer to iron out all the bugs. It's not from a lack of trying though, as these Linux guys & girls surely stay up late at nite fixing, building and making things work correctly.
Again i can't say enough about the people who put their heart and soul into coding Linux. I have bought every release of Suse since 6.3 showing my support. The time might come when Linux will be the desktop for all, trouble is I don't think I'll see it in my life time:( John