Every major Linux distro works better "out of the box" than _any_ windows platform of the same time period. <br><br>Why can't Fred get networking to work on his new laptop with Linux distro foo? Because the company that made the network chip blocks the opensource crowd from writing working drivers and they are too meek to stand up to microsoft and write one themselvs. Or they have a bazillion patents all tied up in a knot and their lawyers won't let them do anything "open".<br>
<br>The problem is no Linux, it microsoft (and apple) hammering away to keep Linux off "their turf". Microsoft has all but lost the server war to Linux. Soon there will be LINUX running the server room, a few microsoft machines to run exchange server (and linux systems to back them up and filter and...) there will be the oracle/sun boxes for databases.<br>
<br>Apple would dearly love to clobber Linux as well. The open nature of Linux is even more of a pariah to apple than it is the microsoft.<br><br>So they cut deals to "allow" hardware makes to get "discounts" on "licensed windows software" if the hardware makers use chipset baz which has a tight business tie-in with microsoft and no opensource drivers available due to patents, etc. <br>
<br>So don't gripe that Linux isn't ready for the user masses. It's been ready for a decade. The user masses are not ready for a full-on opensource environment where they have to _think_. The user masses are dumb and like it that way. The IT support industry is not prepared to have 1 million new Linux users calling in asking how do they install this cool rpm package they found onto their Ubuntu machine. Can you imaging the horror inside GeekSquad? I would split my sides laughing if I could see that!<br>
<br>Besides, every hardware maker has to ship a driver disk with their laptop because the drivers are not part of the windows install. They are add-ons. This fantastic stuff called Linux has most of those drivers built in and ready to go.<br>
<br>No. It's not Linux that's not ready. It the vast scores of windows users who are not ready to take off the training wheels and step up to some real computing power. And the hardware makers know this and are terrified that Linux will continue to spread (like the virus gates claimes the GPL to be :-) and they will have to find a way to support windows, mac AND Linux and most can't support mac.<br>
<br>It all really depends on how you want to define "us"...<br><br>My "us" doesn't have windows anywhere except in doors and walls and apples are a tasty fruit that are eaten fresh or baked into yummy pies.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 2:02 PM, Asher Vilensky <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ashervilensky@gmail.com">ashervilensky@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<font color="#993300"><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Continue....<br><br>My personal "fun" aside, as much as I like Linux, I feel that it's not yet ready for "the rest of us". Don't get me wrong: first of all, I'm working on Linux myself. It pays the bills. But there's a diff between RHELor SLES on servers and running Ubuntu-like distros on laptops. It's the later one I'm claiming "is not there yet". If you have to google a solution (from another computer, since the one you just installed cannot connect) to manually solve it (in the best case) or just live with it (worst case) when it comes to wireless and audio/video and printing, this is a tough selling point.<br>
<br>The problem is not you and I. The problem is that you can't "sell" Linux (pick any flavor and version) to the mass until these things work out of the box. I want to convert those around me - basically so I don't have to keep install virus protection etc. But I'm hesitant in doing so. I don't want to either have to educate people too much or stand there embarrassed when things don't work. I hate Windows like the rest of this group, but I also recognize that Linux is not a viable substitute for most users. Not yet. I would recommend Mac (to somebody like my in-laws) before I suggest Linux.<br>
<br>My 2 cents.<br><br><br clear="all"></font></font></font>-- Asher <br><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 10:40 AM, Asher Vilensky <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ashervilensky@gmail.com" target="_blank">ashervilensky@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<font color="#993300"><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">In
the past I installed Mint/Ubuntu 9.04 (I believe) on a Dell laptop, but
had trouble with the Broadcom wireless card. Nothing I googled
helped. The only advice was to wait for 10.04.<br>
Well, yesterday I installed a MiniInspiron with Remix 10.04. Again,
the b-com did not work out of the box. They lied. However, a simple
and quick apt-get and then install <whatever> from a terminal
window fixed the problem. Nice!!!<br>
<br>(What __wasn't__ nice was that in order to install Remix in the
first place, I had to create an live-USB from ISO drive. After
struggling with the creation on both Ubuntu (8.04) and Mac, I raised a
white flag and went to Windows. Yes, I know. It was too easy creating
it on Windows. Maybe had I used a later version of Ubuntu it would
have been easier. Oh well. I guess there are a few things Windows is
good for...sigh)<br>
<br>Learned a good lesson on both assignments.<br><br clear="all"></font></font></font>-- Asher
</blockquote></div><br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>-- <br>James P. Kinney III<br>Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness <br>Doing pretty well on all 3 pursuits <br><br> Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.<br>
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