chrisv added these comments in the current discussion du jour
....
>>I've been quietly watching the Linux debate for years. My
>>nephew and PC builder really likes it but he views it as a
>>hobby and will sit up all night doing a full system rebuild.
>>From time-to- time, he tries to interest me in leaving the
>>Dark Side and joining the Force. So, I ask him the same
>>question: is Linux REALLY ready for prime time on the desktop?
>>What I mean is, will ALL my software run,
>
> You want ALL of your Windows software to run under Linux? Do
> you think that's reasonable?
Gee, hadn't really thought about it. Don't know if that is
reasonable or not. Wait! I did think about it! And, I've been
reading about it for years! As best I can tell, the people who
are high advocates of Linux seem to fall into two categories:
1) those who have forsaken ALL Windows apps and ALL Windows
drivers and ALL Windows utilities and ALL Windows anything, used
the equivalent Open Source stuff (which I do not at all
understand), and they believe that Linux works just fine.
2) those who want for good, bad, or indifferent reasons NOT to
have to throw the baby out with the bathwater and use the apps,
utilities, and hardware they have when they move from the Dark
Side and join the Force. these people appear to believe that
Linux does not work at all.
Now, I don't know if there are any middle of the road positions
between those 2 extremes, but I am not about to try - YET. When -
IF? - Linux CAN run my apps and CAN support my HW, I MAY create a
second boot sector and give it a whirl.
Honestly, Chris, the main reason I say very little when Linux
comes up in a number of NGs I visit is precisely because I cannot
detect a clear consensus on its usability. As best I can
analogize, it is like watching the Democrats and Republicans
argue. It is often impossible to even tell they're talking about
the same thing, but it is crystal clear that they BOTH cannot be
right.
So, back to your query? No, again, I do not know what is or what
is not "reasonable". I don't even have a good definition of
"reasonable" in this context. The jury is still out on Vista, but
then, it is a rather new product and there's bound to be some
bumps and grinds for the early adopters. But, in looking in on
thee Vista NGs, it appears to be at least a feasible O/S, abeit
not one I want to try. Next, I can look in on the XP NGs, where
people talk about a very mature product and there are STILL bumps
and grinds. That causes me heartburn trying to rationalize all of
this. To wit:
1) Win XP doesn't always work for all of the people all of the
time. Is it reasonable to expect that it should? Don't know
2) Win Vista appears to work for a majority of users with more
problems than XP but at least people can work, but it does have
serious issues. Since it doesn't work for all the people all of
the time, is it reasonable to expect that it should. Don't know
3) Linux appears to work well or even very well for some
percentage of users, work mediocre for some other percentage of
users, and poorly/not at all for a 3rd percentage. I don't know
what the percentages are, they change from day to day. Since
Linux does not work all the time for all the people, is it
reasonable that it should, which was your question to me? Don't
know that either!
I'm not pulling your chain, Chris, I REALLY don't know!
>>my HD such as printer and scanner work, etc.
>>at all, or must I roll up my sleeves and become a techie
>>again. After lobbying me about open source, he eventually
>>says, sheepishly, "no, it's isn't ready quite yet, too many
>>HW driver issues, some things can only be done command line,
>>GUI still quirky, etc."
>
> Ever consider that your nephew is without a clue? In reality,
> none of those things are real and significant issues.
Perhaps you'd like to rephrase that. I know the capabilities of
my nephew across old DOS, new DOS, Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win
2000, Win XP, and just starting to look at Vista. He has a fair
but not complete knowledge of generic Unix. He APPEARS to be a
rationale, intelligent person when I talk to him, so I have more
than a little belief that what he thinks, says, and does wrt
Linux is true and accurate. Since you are making a value
judgement about both my nephew and me on the basis of VERY
slender data, I'm not sure it is wise to make a statement like
"...is without a clue". Perhaps you can see that your comment is
insulting to me, as it suggests that I also do not have a clue,
else I'd not be defending my nephew that you've already
condemned.
>>I am going to just continue to do what doctors call "watchful
>>waiting"
>
> You will wait a long time, if you expect to be able to switch
> without learning some new ways of doing things.
>
I already said I am not trying to pull your chain. I will simply
repeat my philosophy and mantra: a PC is to me nothing more than
an incredibly powerful adding machine with a slick looking
interface. If you boil it down, all a PC can really do is crunch
ones and zeros (yes, yes, yes, I know about 32 and 64-bit words,
HW floating point, and the like). Yet, my PC is now, and has been
for years in older versions, an incredibly productive tool to me
at home for my hobbies and for some 20 years at work until I
retired about 6 years ago.
Let me finish my "rant" with this analogy: while I am certainly
open to trying new things, e.g., a completely different category
of vehicle than I have ever driven before, I do have the somewhat
old-fashioned and romantic idea that it will have at least 4
wheels, brakes, an engine and transmission, a steering wheel, and
it will more or less get me from one place to another. That has
been true since PRIOR to the Model T to today's wonders of
technocracy. That is definitely NOT true of a gut-wrenching
change from one philosophy of O/S to another.
So, if it is OK with you, I'd like to do two things right now:
stop annoying others in this NG by arguing about things I know
nothing about,i.e., Linux, and keep on a waitin' until /I/ think
that it can be at least as productive for me as XP.
Thank you for your views and observations and have a great week!
--
HP, aka Jerry