Comments - My issues with Linux et al

#31 /* 4 months, 23 days ago */

I think you raised some really good points. Honestly, Linux is a wonderful thing, however, the bugs can often cause a BIG mess. More often than not, it's deemed not worth dealing with said mess. The bugs go ignored and only the security based bugs get attention. Not long ago Linus himself was actually complaining about this. Despite the relatively small number of security holes in Linux, many developers seem to be focusing entirely too much on security fixes and far too little on actual functionality fixes.

Right now, the best thing you can do is continue trying to learn to code, at least to the point where you can contribute and attempt to recruit more and more people to Linux. The more popular it gets, the more devs and bug reporters we get. Hopefully, something will get done eventually.

Quote Profile

William Normal User

#32 /* 4 months, 23 days ago */

I have never had any of these problems. Pulseaudio works fine, and Compiz is, indeed, faster than Vista's Aero.

Quote

Kevin DuBois Anonymous User

#33 /* 4 months, 23 days ago */

Ubuntu's six month release cycle .....The problem with this model is application maturity. .....updates aren't necessarily security patches but are required for optimal operation....download the latest source and install

Maybe I'm not up on things enough to understand the problem,,,,but if you want the latest of all your apps every couple weeks, you can run "System>Administration>Update Manager" and check for updated packages, and install them. I used to use "aptitude update && aptitude upgrade" but now I have the Update notification daemon in my Panel (Systems>Preferences>Sessions: Startup Programs tab, check-box: Update Notifier). This icon tells me when there are updates to install, and I click on it, and click "Install Updates" and it does the rest. To change settings to this, go to Synaptic (System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager), then click Settings>Repositories, choose Updates tab, and under Automatic Updates are some settings. You might be way beyond this...

Quote

plane catching dino Anonymous User

#34 /* 4 months, 23 days ago */

Ubuntu's six month release cycle .....The problem with this model is application maturity. .....updates aren't necessarily security patches but are required for optimal operation....download the latest source and install

Maybe I'm not up on things enough to understand the problem,,,,but if you want the latest of all your apps every couple weeks, you can run "System>Administration>Update Manager" and check for updated packages, and install them. I used to use "aptitude update && aptitude upgrade" but now I have the Update notification daemon in my Panel (Systems>Preferences>Sessions: Startup Programs tab, check-box: Update Notifier). This icon tells me when there are updates to install, and I click on it, and click "Install Updates" and it does the rest. To change settings to this, go to Synaptic (System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager), then click Settings>Repositories, choose Updates tab, and under Automatic Updates are some settings. You might be way beyond this...

Just thought I'd let you know, what he's talking about is something you don't really NOTICE unless you've actually beta tested Ubuntu before. Because there a 6 month cycle, we tend to hit projects just as they are about to finish and end up releasing beta software with the release, which is very bad for stability and "optimal operation." For example, when Hardy was released, it shipped with a beta Firefox 3, I believe it was beta 5. As we all know, the jump from 2 to 3 didn't go smoothly and even now, we are finding more and more bugs in it, and stability is nearly non-existent at times.

Thanks to the 6 month cycle, the distro progresses extremely fast, however, it tends to progress TOO fast at times. This effect is most likely what he is talking about. I'm sure he knows how to turn on automatic updates.

Quote Profile

William Normal User

#35 /* 3 months, 12 days ago */

For me, Linux does "just work". I use Kubuntu, so I avoid some of the Gnome-ish problems you encounter. There are certainly some rough edges, but overall Linux (and the GNU components that run on it) are great.

True, GIMP isn't quite a replacement for Photoshop, but then - what is? If you need Photoshop, I can't imagine that running it in a Wine environment will ever be as good as running it on Windows.

There are issues with multimedia software and I don't see those going away any time soon. You've got DRM considerations, quirky hardware manufacturers who won't open their drivers, and even some possible deliberate sabotage inspired by commercial companies (supposedly; I don't know whether this has been confirmed). This issue will probably fester for a while longer, until DRM self-destructs.

My main beef with Linux is the poor "help" information available. Usually everything works nicely. When it doesn't, you're in trouble and you may have to dig very deep to find any answers.

I love Linux and will continue to use it. I can live with the rough spots. But Linux is a tool, not a religion. It is a great tool. It is powerful and clean, wide-open and a great testimony of what can happen when people put their minds together and try to make something great. But it's not a religion. If I find a better tool than Linux, and if I can be convinced that it's really better, I'll use it.

Quote

chiron613 Anonymous User

#36 /* 3 months, 11 days ago */

I understand Oli's issues, and can completely sympathize. I believe that the essence of what he is saying is this:

"Given the open source architecture, why can't the developers utilize this architecture to prevent/minimize end user issues, and improve overall functionality, as compared to the other OS's" We already know that a certain OS cannot do this, but we also know, that another OS has this down...to a science. It is the packages (programs) that the end users work with everyday, that form their opinion of a given OS.

In my case, I am trying to setup an FTP as a newbie, using something other than linux, this could be done relatively easily, but in linux, the end user needs to have such a higher level of understanding of the OS prior to using it, (to ensure proper setup), that it is impractical from the end users point of view, to spend the extra time to learn what is necessary, instead of just using the product, and getting back to work and producing results.

Quote Profile

dew9034 Normal User

#37 /* 12 days, 22 hours ago */

On Ubuntu 8.10, the Nautilus drop-down menu has "Compact View" which gives the sort of list view you are looking for. But yes, I agree with many of your gripes. The number of bookmarks allowed before it goes to a submenu should really be accessable from a gconf key, however it doesn't appear to be there!

Quote

Chris Lees Anonymous User

Comments for My issues with Linux et al

Latest Posts

Greatest Posts

Latest Elsewhere