[NCLUG] Re: Thoughts on Linux Users

Sun Nov 11 22:04:37 MST 2007

Chad,

Like you, Linux isn't my first OS of choice (anymore). I'm curious  
what configuration of FreeBSD you're running now, and on what  
platform. I'll share some of my experiences with Linux.

I've been a Linux user for about 12 years (I got started with  
Slackware, when it took a ridiculous number of floppies to install  
everything). Recently, I've moved from using a Debian Linux box as my  
main machine at home (for about 6 years) to using a Mac for most  
things (beginning when Mac OS X Panther came out), and Linux on  
occasion. Here are some of my reasons:

1. I got tired of maintaining the OS internals myself. It was a real  
pain to try out a new program and have to compile it from scratch and  
then find out that I needed to install 10 new libraries or a new  
kernel just to be able to try the program. Then I'd find out that  
installing the new kernel broke some previously working  
functionality, like my wireless network adapter driver.

2. I'm still frustrated when trying to browse certain websites with  
the Linux version of Firefox. For example, Best Buy and Circuit City  
have menus that are supposed to pop down in front of the flash  
animation, but instead they just disappear behind the flash. And  
forget about viewing quicktime movie trailers on Linux.

3. I wanted better integration between applications, and better  
compatibility with MS-generated documents, like Word, Excel, and  
Powerpoint. When I click on an attached Word document in an email, I  
want it to open in MS Word. When someone sends me photos in an email,  
I want to be able to add them effortlessly to my photo collection.  
And if I want to edit video from my camcorder, insert photos from my  
camera, and add a soundtrack and DVD menus and burn it to a DVD, I  
shouldn't have to know things like how to convert from DV to MPEG2.  
It should just happen automatically.

4. I'm required to use a Linux workstation at work (running RHEL4),  
and it's irritating that I can only change screen resolutions,  
rotation settings, or color depths if I have the root password, which  
I don't.

5. Also at work, my particular USB flash drive isn't recognized on my  
RHEL4 box, but it works just fine on a coworker's box even though  
it's got the same OS. What gives?

6. Even though the GUIs available for Linux have come a long way in  
the last 10 years (like Gnome and KDE), in my opinion they're still  
behind something like the GUI on a Mac.

I still use Linux on my old autonomous robot. I've got handmade wire- 
wrapped PC/104 cards stacked on a single board computer and an  
investment of time in the corresponding programming code I developed  
for them. However, I'm considering using a Mac mini in my next robot  
(with everything connected via USB). The beauty of using a Mac is  
that it's a derivative of BSD UNIX under the hood, so it's like  
having a Linux box that I can pay someone else (a.k.a. Apple) to  
maintain for me.

Also, since VMWare Fusion for Mac came out, I am now able to run  
Windows XP applications in "Unity" mode so that they run "rootless"  
and just become native windows on the Mac OS X desktop. I can even  
install multiple Linux distros (like Ubuntu 7.10 and Debian 4.1)  
inside virtual machines on my Mac, so I can get the best of Mac,  
Linux, and Windows.

I probably won't give up Linux completely (for the foreseeable  
future), but it's definitely more of a "if you break it, you own all  
the pieces" kind of OS. And Linux is a good platform to keep alive  
for Mac users, because Linux apps can be ported fairly easily to the  
Mac, since the Mac has GCC and X11 and the corresponding libraries. I  
use Gimp all the time on my Mac, and I'm appreciative of the Open  
Source community for putting in all the hard work to make that possible.

I know my situation probably doesn't match anyone else's exactly, but  
for my purposes, a mixture of Mac/Linux/Windows is best. Of course,  
as they say, "your mileage may vary."

If you haven't done it already, I'd recommend going into an Apple  
Store or a Best Buy and sitting down in front of a Mac. Go into  
Applications/Utilities, open up a Terminal, and start typing Linux/ 
UNIX commands on the command-line. Try out different shells (tcsh,  
bash, ksh, etc.). Try perl, rsync, ssh, cron, or curl. Try find and  
mdfind (metadata find). Use "open filename" to open a file in its  
associated application. Launch PhotoBooth, iTunes, and iPhoto. Give  
GarageBand, iMovie, and iDVD a try. Download Firefox for Mac, or  
Camino. Look at the Parental Controls in Account Preferences. Try out  
the built-in Text-to-Speech. Try out Front Row with the IR remote.

Oh, and there's also a budding development effort called "MacPorts"  
that aims to put lots of Linux/UNIX apps on the Mac. Check out http:// 
www.macports.org (formerly http://www.darwinports.org). It uses the  
port command and apt-get. And I can't forget to mention fink (http:// 
finkproject.org).

I'm sure I'm not going to talk you or anyone else into getting a Mac  
if you don't already have one, but I wanted to share my own reasons  
for having made that transition.

Best Regards,
Daniel

On Nov 11, 2007, at 1:55 PM, Chad Perrin wrote:

> On Sat, Nov 10, 2007 at 10:13:38PM -0700, dlc wrote:
>
>>
>> To me I don't use Linux because I can't get my embedded development
>> tools there, I can't get my flight simulator there and I can't (I  
>> think)
>> sync my Palm TX there.  So Linux is a non-starter for me, mostly  
>> because
>> I'm geek, but in a different way I think.  I love the OSS model, but
>> there is nothing there that I use beyond Firefox and Open Office.
>
> I'm a little confused as to what you're doing on this mailing  
> list.  You
> say you don't use Linux.  From what you've said, it sounds like you  
> don't
> use anything even remotely Linux-like at all (even though Linux  
> isn't my
> OS of choice, I do have a couple Linux servers lying around still,  
> and my
> OS of choice -- FreeBSD -- *is* somewhat Linux-like, or rather  
> Linux is
> somewhat Unix-like, which means it's at least a little BSD Unix-like).
>
> So . . . if you use nothing but MS Windows and, maybe, MacOS on really
> weird days, I am curious as to what caused you to join this mailing  
> list.
>
> This isn't an attack.  I'm just curious.
>
> -- 
> CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
> Ben Franklin: "As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of  
> others
> we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any  
> Invention of
> ours, and this we should do freely and generously."
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