Linux Ready for Prime Time?

Jared White jwhite at sonic.net
Tue Jun 20 23:03:08 PDT 2000


<snip>
> And I wouldn't give my grandparents Windows 98 either.  It would be
> total waste since they are dead, but if they weren't I'd get
> them a Mac.
> Corel Linux with KDE and Corel's office suite is about as friendly as
> any Micro$oft product.
>
>    E. Frank Ball        frankb at efball.com

Except when you try to install Netscape 6....

CorelLinux is nice, but I'm afraid it's rather incompatible with a lot
of stuff out there. Caldera's the same way. And Red Hat Linux, although
highly compatible, isn't the best distro out there for average desktops.
I don't even have Linux running on my desktop PC anymore, although I'm
still using it for my "home server" as a networking hub, Web development
platform, etc. (Actually, my dad's the admin for that, so I'm not even
using Linux right now. So why am I still on this list, then? Just enjoy
the list chatter, I guess.)

I agree with what Aldo Cimino wrote a little while ago. Linux is an
excellent network operating system, and can be a stable and effective
server. And its use of the Open Source development model is interesting
and admirable. But Linux stinks on the desktop. Really. And a flashy GUI
does *not* a good desktop OS make. KDE or Gnome can have the coolest GUI
on the planet, but that does not make the OS easy to use. A few reasons
why Linux on the desktop just doesn't cut it right now:

X Windows (or at least XFree86). 'Nuff said.
Filesystem -- example: /usr/bin/X11 is a totally logical name for a
place to store apps. NOT! (Microsoft may have a shitty OS, but they got
a few things right: "Program Files" isn't exactly hard to figure out!)
Command Line -- Command lines can be extremely powerful computing tools.
Duh. Of course. But the fact of the matter is that most people (myself
included) don't like using command lines or don't want to learn how to
use command lines. I'm a Web designer. I'm a sound engineer. I write
e-mail. I use word processors. I surf the Web. I never *need* to use a
command line. There's never a time when I'm doing anything in Windows
when I think "Gosh, I could do this so much better and easier with a
command line!" In Linux, you just can't get that much done without
calling up that terminal window -- even with the latest cool Linux
distro and latest cool Linux GUI.
Compatibility -- Like I mentioned before, a lot of Linux programs these
days seem to be targeted towards certain distros -- either because of
the binaries or because of source code that can only compile without
modifications on those distros. And those "certain distros" seem to be
Red Hat, Red Hat, and, you guessed it, Red Hat. Not that I have anything
against Red Hat, mind you. I just think it's not the best distro for
desktops. But, darn it, I just can't run enough stuff on other distros.
So what do I do? I'm stuck. So much for the Linux un-monopoly.
And last, but not least, Drivers -- there are a good number of drivers
out there now, but not all of them are good quality. And, man, Linux's
driver architecture stinks. Compiling drivers into the kernel? Give me a
break! This is the bleedin' 21st Century for crying out loud! Sure, you
can go the modular approach -- if you can even figure out how to get
everything loading and running properly in the first place. Editing
arcane text files just to get my sound card working isn't exactly my
idea of a good time. At least Windows' Plug-and-Pray works *most* of the
time without a fuss.

Until the powers that be in the Linux camp address these issues (most of
which would require a complete overhaul of the entire Linux system),
Linux just won't work on the desktop for your average computer user
who's only interested in getting important, but non-computer-techy work
done. If there's any alternate OS out there that has the immediate
potential for being a great general purpose OS, it ain't Linux -- it's
BeOS. In fact, that's what I've been running as my fav and (most of the
time) only alt OS for a couple years now. Too bad I can't get much work
done in it either, but that's because of a sheer lack of apps (for now),
not usability issues. In terms of usability, BeOS smokes anything else
on the planet. Want to install a new driver? Stick it in a certain "user
driver" directory, and it works. Bingo. Don't even need to reboot half
the time. But if you do, it's no big deal -- BeOS boots up in about 10
seconds. It has a command line if you need it, but you can get pretty
much anything done in the OS with the GUI alone. The filesystem is
superficially similar to *nix, but it's organized much nicer and is much
easier to figure out. Not to mention it has a 64-bit, journaling
filesystem so you never need to check your hard drives if the system
crashes (which happens VERY rarely). That might not be apparent to Joe
Blow end user, but it just makes the end user experience that much
better. And for multimedia connoisseurs (like myself), BeOS is
*lightyears* ahead of Linux. BeOS was designed from the very beginning
to excel in multimedia. That's why Be is targeting the Internet
appliance market right now, and that's why I think they'll win over
Embedded Linux -- at least for products targeted at home users. Just so
you'll know I'm not a blind BeOS fanatic, however, I'll freely admit
that BeOS is a pathetic server/networking OS with an appalling lack of
security, so I would never claim BeOS is better than Linux for the
"power computing" crowd. Just different OSes developed differently for
different markets.

I like Linux, don't get me wrong. I like the Linux community
(generally -- don't get me started about Slashdot!). Open source is a
very interesting development model that has the potential to do great
things. But, unfortunately, when you get out of the power
computing/server/networking OS arena that Linux excels in, it's mostly
all just "potential". And, in some cases, not a lot of potential. Linux
has a LONG way to go before it can be considered suitable for most
desktop OS purposes. And I find the very thought of Linux as an OS for
set-top boxes and Internet appliances ludicrous. No end user of those
products is going to want to wrestle with the Linux architecture just to
install a new Internet toy on their little WebPad or a new sound player
for their set-top box!

Linux ready for prime time? In the world of power computing and power
users, sure. In the, dare I say it, REAL world? You've got to be
kidding.

Anyway, good luck with your interview, Eric, and I hope that I didn't
offend anyone too much with my little rant here. :)

Regards,

Jared

__________________________________________
Jared White     E-mail: jwhite at gaeldesign.com

GaelDesign: http://www.gaeldesign.com

Distant Oaks - Celtic Music Ensemble:
http://www.distantoaks.com

Personal Site: http://www.sonic.net/~jwhite

"Trust in the scientific consensus that states that conventional and
Bioengineered foods are preferable methods of food production."
-- http://www.purefoods.org (rip-off of the REAL site at
http://www.purefood.org)




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