It's not ready to replace Windows yet

[Fred]

markcynt wrote:

I'm not sure if this is an official Ubuntu position but according to this site it's an Ubuntu goal. (referring to Linux having the goal to replace Windows for the masses)

It doesn't matter what Ubuntu wants anymore than it matters what the thread starter wants. What vital Linux infrastructure do they code and maintain? None! All they do is take packages that Debian has already done the heavy lifting on and glue them together to make a finished distribution. Ubuntu is just an aggregater. As all the other distro providers are. I don't mean to belittle that function. It is an important one. But it doesn't put them in a position to have much input into the underlying Linux infrastructure. As I said, the ones that count don't, and haven't had the goal of providing a mass market competitor for Windows. There certainly isn't any evidence of that being a goal in the Linux infrastructure. I don't see or hear about anybody in the core development communities pushing for fixed APIs or other necessary infrastructure changes. Do you?

I suspect the truth of the matter is that no one that counts really wants all the problems and hassles that the Joe Six pack masses will bring with them. The masses are only good for commercial companies trying to make money off them. Since Linux by its' very nature isn't structured as a commercial entity, who needs them?

Linux is growing all the time. It hasn't stopped since it all began. There are enough people coming to Linux that value the freedoms, choices, and learning opportunities of a non-commercial, not centrally controlled but distributed system. Linux won't die but will continue to grow.

We don't need to hobble Linux's development, dumb it down, or sacrifice our core beliefs for the masses. Why on earth would anybody want to do that, other than a commercial company trying to make money from the masses?

Fred

[Fred]

I apologize for bringing this thread back to life, but I ran across a very entertaining post that really captures a lot of the truth in this question.

http://penguinpetes.com/b2evo/index.php ... &tb=1&pb=1

Enjoy life, it is too short to do otherwise.

Fred

[markcynt]

markcynt wrote:

I'm not sure if this is an official Ubuntu position but according to this site it's an Ubuntu goal. (referring to Linux having the goal to replace Windows for the masses)

It doesn't matter what Ubuntu wants anymore than it matters what the thread starter wants. What vital Linux infrastructure do they code and maintain? None! All they do is take packages that Debian has already done the heavy lifting on and glue them together to make a finished distribution. Ubuntu is just an aggregater. As all the other distro providers are. I don't mean to belittle that function. It is an important one. But it doesn't put them in a position to have much input into the underlying Linux infrastructure. As I said, the ones that count don't, and haven't had the goal of providing a mass market competitor for Windows. There certainly isn't any evidence of that being a goal in the Linux infrastructure. I don't see or hear about anybody in the core development communities pushing for fixed APIs or other necessary infrastructure changes. Do you?

I suspect the truth of the matter is that no one that counts really wants all the problems and hassles that the Joe Six pack masses will bring with them. The masses are only good for commercial companies trying to make money off them. Since Linux by its' very nature isn't structured as a commercial entity, who needs them?

Linux is growing all the time. It hasn't stopped since it all began. There are enough people coming to Linux that value the freedoms, choices, and learning opportunities of a non-commercial, not centrally controlled but distributed system. Linux won't die but will continue to grow.

We don't need to hobble Linux's development, dumb it down, or sacrifice our core beliefs for the masses. Why on earth would anybody want to do that, other than a commercial company trying to make money from the masses?

Fred

I didn't mean anything by that. I was actually surprised when I read that myself. I didn't go looking for it. I found it by accident.

I love Linux, but I also remember having the same position as the OP, misguided as it is, concerning Linux as a whole. But I did keep my opinion to myself.

Linux isn't going anywhere. It's only going to become more popular as more people come to realize the freedom Linux brings. As far as I'm concerned if you like Linux, that's great, and welcome to the family. If you don't think Linux is up to Windows standards, that's great too. Just quit complaining and leave quietly.

Mark

[emorrp1]

well the closest thing I think he is referring to is Bug #1 - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1

p.s. ty Fred, that's an amusing post

[Da Londo]

Hi all, I've been using Linux Mint now for a few months, started with 6 32bit over 6 64bit and currently on 7 32bit awaiting the 64bit, for me it has replaced Win completly except for games, I had been using Win for more than 15 years, starting in high school when we fiddled e bit with 3.11 before going to 95, win was nice, but understanding the file system back then was harder then it is now with Linux, I had always been a bit afraid of Linux, years ago friends of mine fiddled with Red Hat things and that didn't really work out, the thing that made me try Linux is the fact that I only had an official copy of XP because it came with a laptop I bought secondhand, I would never give money for an OS, nor for simple programs or virusscanners, specialized soft that you need for work, school, etc, that I too would pay for, I installed last year open office on XP and that made me think again of Linux, I installed Ubuntu and didn't like it, a friend of me ran Mint so I tested and was amazed, started out with the basic mistakes like partitioning but I keep on improving myself and my system, with win I kinda had the attitude of don't go fix things that aren't broken (hiding me from the truth that most things were broken in win in time) because than I would have to deal with re-installing win and searching trough piles of cd's to get some drivers wich then would need to be updated again etc, it went from a clean install with no hickups that took 30min (idd, 30min for a win install, happened only once) to an install that took me several hours spread over 2 days to get the thing working again, still don't know why this was, know I am deleting, creating, moving partions, without a drop of sweat, knowing I backed up all important stuff on an ext HDD, installing Mint taking me 15mins only, once I have my partitions set up the way I like and with a lot of advise I read on this forum I don't even have to back up all stuff but I still will, I even convinced a friend of mine which is a hardcore gamer too try Mint, and he likes it, he won't be deleting his win partition, nor will I for the time being, but having win around for gaming to me is like having a PlayStation around, anyway, I don't know how things are in school these days but I do know that change can start there, we were a windows using school but it could have been Mac also, many schools are in need of money these days so they may try open source software, I was unemployed at the time I installed Mint but am working in a Call center know for a while where to my surprise open office is used, on the other hand they run Vista too.

I am truely sorry if my post is a bit incoherent but I was typing it between calls.

My conclusion is, as some allready stated, Mint is ready to replace win for a lot of people, not for everyone, but since this is not the goal it doesn't matter, more and more people will search for alternatives, we have right to choose and now lots will have the means too.

Greetings,
Jim

[Syntax Errors]

heh heh, someone's true colors are starting to show!!!

Office 2007 can run in Wine, but I will grant you that it has no comparison. There is actually a thread on this in the Fedora forum, Sun is getting further and further behind with OO.o. However, as long as you are not FORCED to use the MS formatting OO.o can get the job done. You also forgot to mention quickbook pro. Linux has no equivalent to this great software suite.

Other apps? I havent missed anything else not using Windows. Gimp has it all over photoshop, you just got to know how to use it. Lets not forget the other open source apps that have made their way into windows-world. Gimp, Blender, Firefox...There are some good ones.

Bottom line though, you are comparing apples and oranges. Price on OO.o? $0. Price on Linux? $0. Hey, if you want to pay the money for the "better" software, then more power to ya. Sometimes you have no choice.

point number 2? Forget it, give it up. You missed the point and the boat. Windows cannot even come close when it comes to control. I can blacklist whatever apps in my package manager if I do not want them updated. I can choose to not update the kernel, ever. I have never done auto updates in Linux, I manually update twice a week. I like to see what I am getting and when I am getting it.

Point 3? Sure, you could create groups. But most windows class users didnt have a clue. This is why we get them in here trying to run as root all the time. Once again, you are trying to compare Windows lame administration system to Unix/ Linux? Vista finally has created a sensible scenerio, but permissions are still a problem.

point 4? I can see one of your computers not being able to boot Mint at all. Both? Tell me why? Maybe you have a bad iso? Maybe you should have burned it at a slower speed. Grandma can slap in Mint and boot it then install it. Without ever touching a command line. Talk to any of the knowledgeable people in here, this is why Mint has been created. And once again with the Linux making the mainstream comments. This proves your agenda. Like it is a competition? You just do not get it! You are correct, Linux will NEVER make the mainstream, no matter how idiotproof it becomes. I am thankful for this.

by all means keep playing with your toy software, but don't pretend that it can be used to run a BUSINESS.

ROFL! Guess I'm not running a business on Linux...Wake up! Why dont you go do a defrag or spyware scan or something? You obviously have no clue what you are talking about as far as Linux is concerned.

Well I guess there is no need for me to say much of anything. Except to sit here in total agreement with everything Fedora said. Trying Mint for in the first place means that there obviously was something, someone, somewhere didn't like about the mainstream (windows) as you call it. You would also have to question what it takes to make this mainstream? I prefer this private community. I knew there was something better out there and I believe Mint is it. Can't afford a MAC? Try Linux based OS. Whether you want to sit back and figure out what works for you or not is up to the user. The lazy road (windows) might make things easier through sheer commonalities and compatibilities, but if you look into things a bit further you will find many comparable things that attain commonality, but might be named differently, look differently, or run slightly different; while achieving the same common goals. I am newer to MINT, but I can already tell that it is able to be compatible to everything I have used previously. This is especially important given that I am taking college courses.

Only regret I have is not getting more involved in the Linux community sooner....!

[Helmut]

This is becoming an interesting thread, because it summarizes most discussions Linux versus Windows.

May I add the following:

If I remenber rightly Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was recently reported as saying something like Linux having "elements of Communism", and "Linux is like cancer!".

Well, if thats correct, I prefer being a communist with cancer! But isn't it strange how you can feel better each year being terminally ill? Maybe its just a certain business model becoming sicker each year?

Another point: If you look at Wikipedia "operation Aurora", which describes probably the most serious and devastating spy attack ever undertaken, you see all victims were (and probably still are) using MS software!

Anyhow, Linux Mint does everything I want it to, and does it better than the Windows machines I am forced to use at the office at work. Compare today with the same situation five or ten ears ago and will see how very much better and quicker Linux has been developing, and who copied what from whom.

Cheers
Helmut