tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post3220616062613545421..comments2023-12-21T02:38:04.726-08:00Comments on PCLinuxOS - the Big Daddy of Desktop Linux: No Rants Just Sincere Concerns for Linux at Homemanmath sahuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-1390529326259725202012-01-26T19:16:31.498-08:002012-01-26T19:16:31.498-08:00thanks sefy for the well put together thoughts. sa...thanks sefy for the well put together thoughts. sad fact, by the very nature of linux ecosystem, it seems will always be fragmented. the development will always be in a rush, and though the core is very solid the corners will remain rough.<br /><br />thanks god, there are you, tex, warren, clem, who believe more in practicality and try to bundle things like an appliance. cos at the end pc is an appliance and software, a tool. it should make life easy.manmath sahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-56802024321143049672012-01-26T12:12:49.888-08:002012-01-26T12:12:49.888-08:00I've been on Linux continuously from 2007 i be...I've been on Linux continuously from 2007 i believe when i discovered PCLinuxOS and liked it's "update" method, instead of a re-installation like on others.<br /><br />Was so easy to use for a new user like me that i've started making my own remasters which a lot of people seemed to love! and others even use them till today.<br /><br />What killed me as you recall, was exactly your words on the hobbyist and purists of Linux. Now i know that Linux greatest enemy, are actually it's users and the Hardware/Software makers.<br /><br />Linux seems to be designed for and only the hardcore user, which is why most of the users coming from Windows don't get to last long, as they don't want to put all those command lines into doing what they had in a GUI before.<br /><br />As advanced Linux is, it suffers from an attitude issue coming from it's own supporting users. The reason Microsoft is doing so great, is cause they put a thought on how the user will behave on his computer.<br /><br />It's a shame really, cause it has a LOT of potential. If only the users which so much love it, will start putting the thought on the NEW user more then multi choices which are hardly a single working one! <br /><br />Even when i install a client's new PC, I make sure i aim for his uses before i offer them a Linux system. Cause i dont think a home user wants to deal with the driver installation in command line when in Windows they just do Next...Sefy Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08388680079580985577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-62627018498045478632012-01-03T15:03:37.773-08:002012-01-03T15:03:37.773-08:00Computer manufacturers that make preinstalled Linu...Computer manufacturers that make preinstalled Linux boxes generally use higher quality components than ordinary consumer grade boxes - hence the higher cost of machines with Linux preinstalled.<br /><br />Customers for boxes with Linux preinstalled tend to be either media creation or IT professionals and demand a higher level of build quality and performance.<br /><br />It is not unusual for professionally designed and configured Linux boxes to have 50 to 100 times the performance of similarly 'advertising spec' consumer boxes.<br /><br />The big IC manufacturers, i.e. AMD and Intel have extensive resources on their sites for Linux box developers. They do this because over half their IC sales go into Linux boxes.<br /><br />Using their recent stable driver and SDK tools (sometimes proprietary) very impressive performances can be obtained. A small fanless Intel Atom 525 box can easily handle word processing, spreadsheets, document preparation, and other office tasks - and uses only 12 Watts of power.<br />An economical AMD A4 Fusion processor with sufficient fast memory is capable of around 8 GFLOPS of performance for media work without overclocking - and uses only 48 Watts of power.<br /><br />Only with Linux is that kind of high performance at low cost and low power consumption attainable.<br /><br />There are reasons why all the big media/movie production houses use Linux almost exclusively. It is also big in the mineral resource development sector, and in many government offices - particularly in Asia.<br /><br />Certainly over 80 percent of my company's web traffic comes from Linux boxes, with another 18 percent coming from Macs (OSX is a version of BSD Unix). Microsoft is coming in at under 2 percent and has done so now for a few years.<br />We don't sell consumer items, only industrial and commercial equipment so those results should be read in that context.Marschall Acoustics Instrumentshttp://www.hydrophones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-16773473413189765372012-01-02T19:36:03.344-08:002012-01-02T19:36:03.344-08:00Thanks anonymous (one who put such well thought id...Thanks anonymous (one who put such well thought ideas and organized in part 1 & 2)!<br /><br />I agree with you fully. The fast moving base and api/abi is really more of hindrance than help. I'm sure FOSS enthusiasts will never like an android model for linux desktop. For them choice is more important even if it kills usability.<br /><br />---------------<br /><br />Now to the poster who talked about getting preinstalled linux box.<br /><br />So far it's not viable. Because, there are not many vendors offering them. And the few offering them don't necessarily offer the model one is looking for.<br /><br />Another bad experience here in India for vendors offering linux boxes. They, for some unknown reasons, charge more than a comparable windows box.<br /><br />Pure tragedy!manmath sahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-88444388770575695282012-01-02T18:01:09.977-08:002012-01-02T18:01:09.977-08:00Certainly the video and sound drivers are a recurr...Certainly the video and sound drivers are a recurring problem for Linux. None of these problems exist if you purchase your box with Linux preinstalled. On a preinstalled system the manufacturer has configured all those (otherwise painful) items in the optimal way.<br /><br />It is amazing that Linux can be installed on so many hardware platforms. It certainly would be harder to install Microsoft whatever on an Apple hardware. Likewise installing Apple software on a Microsoft hardware would be a nightmare. So why complain about Linux installation? Why not leave that part to the Linux box supplier?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-76457810190773939242012-01-02T10:55:39.420-08:002012-01-02T10:55:39.420-08:00Part 2. Android and mobile devices.
First of all,...Part 2. Android and mobile devices.<br /><br />First of all, those are not going to replace traditional desktop PCs. At least not any time soon. Even though, some simple/basic computing needs can be satisfied by a tablet alone.<br /><br />Second, it is my semi-objective opinion that iPad is still kicking Android's butt in a couple of very important areas: iPhone/iPad GUI feels more polished and intuitive to a new user. Battery life of Apple devices is much-much longer - from pure mobility point of view it is very important. I have an Android phone, my wife has an iPhone - the difference is quite obvious to my eye.<br /><br />At the same time I think Android has very un-linux like attributes that contribute to the adoption and will continue to do so in future:<br />1) Backing from major commercial entities including service providers and hardware manufacturers.<br />2) Marketing, User manuals + Hands-on demonstration is available in all major retail stores. Some of those stores offer free 'Smart Phone" classes where Android is featured as a major player.<br />3) There is ONLY ONE 'desktop' shell. Individual manufacturers can modify, but still there is no KDE/Gnome/Xfce mix-and-match<br />3) Native applications use ONLY ONE toolkit for GUI elements and widgets.<br />4) Native applications are coded in ONLY ONE programming language. This might not be 100% correct, but so far vast majority of publications suggest Java.<br />5) API's for OS and hardware features are provided out of the box. It is much easier to concentrate on pure app development.<br />6) Backward compatibility and smaller number of moving parts. Piece of mind (in theory) that app developed for 2.0 would work just fine in future Android versions.<br />7) Streamlined app publish/deploy model.<br />No need to be concerned with rpm/deb/tgz/tbz/... and/or dependency resolution. Once again ONLY ONE way of doing this.<br /><br />I enjoy my Android phone, bu I do feel that Android in many ways is big step away from a traditional desktop linux model. May be linux desktop could learn a thing or two from this. I am sure that ability to use 10,000 different window borders is not that important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-11103196373586008622012-01-02T09:45:04.987-08:002012-01-02T09:45:04.987-08:00I use Linux on my home PC and Windows at work. Lin...I use Linux on my home PC and Windows at work. Linux as General purpose desktop has a few bright spots, but collectively it feels like a pile of unorganized mess. In combination with the reasons stated in this post, Linux will not be #1 choice for home users for a significant period of time. I am going to make a few point/observations:<br /><br />Software cost is not an issue for me as a Desktop user. I can run FOSS apps on my Windows box without any added cost. In many cases FOSS apps would run better on Windows than they do in Linux.<br /><br />Also, I have no problems investing into the latest versions of Windows and MS Office because it creates a marketable skill. If you forget for a minute about Software Enginnering / Sys Admins jobs, what other jobs on the Enterprise/Corporate space require Linux skills? Try to look for those in your local job market... I bet that jobs with computer skills require MS Office. Nobody in HR department will care for your KDE/Gnome or KOffice/Gnome Office/Open Office experience.<br /><br />Therefore, the focus of Desktop linux should not be on home users - they don't drive anything. If linux desktop succeeds in enterprise pace it would create demand for Linux. Home users will need to learn it to get a job. Educational institutions will offer Linux courses to keep up with the demand. Stable, Polished, Streamlined, Productive environment should do the job.<br /><br />Linux does have deserved success in Server/Embedded space. But this has very little relation to desktop. First of all, these are sandboxes that implement a limited set of functions. High quality components are hand-picked and maintained by (hopefully) knowledgeable staff. End users do not have ability to change settings or install/upgrade software as they do on desktop systems. So this is a completely different case.<br /><br />I think this post is already long enough, so this is the end part 1 of 2.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-83622490973551116512012-01-02T05:04:51.389-08:002012-01-02T05:04:51.389-08:00The new form factors presented by phones & now...The new form factors presented by phones & now tablets are creating new opportunities for "desktops". <br /><br />So does the change to ATOM and ARM processors.<br /><br />No OS really has an advantage today and in some ways you might claim linux via Android has something of a lead.<br /><br />Its also obvious to me at least that today's new applications are cloud/web based and you access them through any browser or a client-side application share the applications resource loads (cpu, storage etc) btwn tablet/phone & server. (dropbox, google docs, etc)<br /><br />Anyway I don't see either Microsoft or Apple having any 'particular' technical advantages in the above scenarios.<br /><br />I'm very happy running ubuntu 11.04 on my ATOM n450 tablet. It had come with meego which worked really well but seemed to have little future as an OS. <br /><br />I switched to Windows 7 and although it worked there were various problems and it didn't seem to be easy to find answers or fixes (for a tablet).<br /><br />If Windows 8's reworking of its UI is as different from historical Windows as it appears.. users may or may not like the change and figure if they have to change AND pay for application upgrades too that maybe they will try something different like a Mac or linux.<br /><br />On the tablet I then tried Androidx86 - ice cream sandwich (v4.x) beta and it installed and worked great but being beta still had some crash problems every 10-15 min. That will get fixed then I will try it again on the tablet.<br /><br />Finally I installed a modified Ubuntu 11.04 with kde's plasma widgets etc and everything seems to be working great so far.<br /><br />My phone's running android. <br /> <br />So what is a desktop today.. and tomorrow?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-65498914680577329392012-01-01T11:15:39.417-08:002012-01-01T11:15:39.417-08:00Great post !
As soon as some sw starts working wel...Great post !<br />As soon as some sw starts working well, it is dropped for a "revolutionary" new thing that does not work anymore. <br />Will KDE 4.X be the next victim ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-30019336960567590712012-01-01T11:11:30.602-08:002012-01-01T11:11:30.602-08:00Great post !
As soon as some sw starts working wel...Great post !<br />As soon as some sw starts working well, it is dropped for a "revolutionary" new thing that does not work anymore. <br />Will KDE 4.X be the next victim ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-80749321981332492182012-01-01T11:10:54.677-08:002012-01-01T11:10:54.677-08:00Great post !
As soon as some sw starts working wel...Great post !<br />As soon as some sw starts working well, it is dropped for a "revolutionary" new thing that does not work anymore. <br />Will KDE 4.X be the next victim ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-86134801641121334092012-01-01T08:06:41.562-08:002012-01-01T08:06:41.562-08:00i'm sure linux will never perish, but it won&#...i'm sure linux will never perish, but it won't see any rise in userbase, for the pure hobbyist attitude.manmath sahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-25376107971671801712012-01-01T06:54:09.577-08:002012-01-01T06:54:09.577-08:00I tend to think Linux will very slowly expand it&#...I tend to think Linux will very slowly expand it's reach. Less affluent countries are adopting it more quickly than the rich countries, but even in the United States I see a very slow adoption. Even so, it will be a long time before Linux reaches more than one or two percent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-57958540772853756292011-12-31T23:16:42.621-08:002011-12-31T23:16:42.621-08:00Barista, you're very much right. Agree with yo...Barista, you're very much right. Agree with you and wonder if the hobbyist attitude of the linux community will ever change.manmath sahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-82030123891454199592011-12-31T22:54:43.439-08:002011-12-31T22:54:43.439-08:00Linux is great and I have been using it almost exc...Linux is great and I have been using it almost exclusively since early 2009. What's dumbfounding is the never-ending experimentation, forking, spinning off, bug-fixing and desktop re-designing that attend almost all Linux distros. When will the developers and the Linux community at large come to their senses and realise that most computer users simply need a fast, stable and useable desktop OS?Barista Unohttp://www.marine-cafe.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-64245199058126989532011-12-31T21:55:57.561-08:002011-12-31T21:55:57.561-08:00Thanks Fitzcarraldo for pointing me that article. ...Thanks Fitzcarraldo for pointing me that article. That's a great read. Wish you a brand and grand new year 2012.manmath sahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18392773625626406680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-79541112791338543192011-12-31T17:09:05.638-08:002011-12-31T17:09:05.638-08:00And lets not forget that just as KDE 4 is FINALLY ...And lets not forget that just as KDE 4 is FINALLY becoming stable and usable, they are talking about changing the QT package to QT5 with a changed API.<br /><br />Maybe we should have a long term support package for the desktop which changes only the applications, and a beta channel which allows the developers to play with the latest toys, but breaks often.cwsnyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13694406309587767943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-88642559347209166112011-12-31T16:59:34.766-08:002011-12-31T16:59:34.766-08:00Though there is much of this post I can agree with...Though there is much of this post I can agree with, the situation with Linux sound being one as Pulse Audio was/is a disaster; Linux will gain share in the home space. Here's why --<br /><br />1/ Mobile. As the linux mobile space expands more and more people are going to say "I am comfortable with Andoird. Be nice to have that on my PC too." With the proper cross platform integration it could happen. <br /><br />2/ Cost. Software cost eclipsed hardware cost long ago. Its now getting critical. Its why FOSS is gaining ground in a number of areas. Nor is that decision necessarily a end user selection. For example you cannot find a printer today that does not use Linux as its operating system. Device mfrs are making those decisions and the end user defaults to them. <br /><br />3/ The last item, Microsoft stumbles, is not foretold. But there is a chance that Microsoft will repeat Vista at some point. When it occurs the world will be vastly different as the desktop will not be the dominant place that it has been. <br /><br />Just some thoughts.Tucanae Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11935170696138248693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820053176535548299.post-71911232438275013432011-12-31T14:54:15.097-08:002011-12-31T14:54:15.097-08:00I've been a Linux user for circa five years an...I've been a Linux user for circa five years and wouldn't contemplate going back to that other OS, but I agree 100% with all you write. In my opinion, GNU/Linux is its own worst enemy as far as the Desktop is concerned. The diversity and 'anarchy' of the GNU/Linux and FOSS worlds, coupled with the design of GNU/Linux itself, are the causes of the problems you mention. They are both a blessing and a curse at the same time. Still, we can take quiet satisfaction in knowing that GNU/Linux has the embedded marketplace sewn up, and Android seems to be on the way to doing the same in the mobile marketplace. The following newspaper article makes for a comforting read: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8725363/Linux-at-20-the-quiet-giant.htmlFitzcarraldohttp://fitzcarraldoblog.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com