Architectural mood swings

PERFECT...

Hahahah Wat een onzin (en aanzet tot flamen)... Dat jij het allemaal niet meer snapt heeft hier niets mee te maken.. Waar je wel een punt mee hebt is, dat als iets er anders uitziet als de mainstream Windows (wat iedereen ongeveer tot in z'n hersenstam geïndoctrineerd heeft gekregen) het direct niet goed is...

De andere voorbeelden slaan nergens op css kan je gewoon met ubunti activeren en skype is niet goed geprogrammeerd voor Linux.. In het ergste (nood)geval doe je een aantal dingen onder Wine(x).. Wine is overigens ook al stabiel en gewoon aan te klikken onder Linux..

Rob, ik denk dat je de essentie van dit verhaal niet helemaal vat

De reden is dat jij niet kunt uitleggen, en dat je users absurd dom zijn?

You start off with a lie in the title of your post. Your wish list of Linux shortcomings goes down hill from there (http://boycottnovell.com/2008/07/09/big-lie-web-stats/).

Enjoy your fun with Microsoft. Their days of "running the big show" are coming to an end.

This is the reason why mac is becoming more popular:
* How do we video chat in ichat?
- Wel you just ...
* Nevermind, already clicked on the camera next to your name
- Ok, happy to help
* Hey look, I'm on a video conferencing session, o wait I can show you my slideshow from my last iPhoto import when I click on this button
- Nice, looked like a fun trip

Although this might not be what you want to hear, but a lot of work is going on to make Wine in Ubuntu not suck anymore. See Why Wine sucks in Ubuntu Hardy and how I plan on fixing it for Intrepid for more information about what I mean. Nevertheless, you're right about a lot of things. Linux might seem on par with Windows, but in the minds of many Linux users it's not. It's different and that's what has to be acknowledged by its users. Apart from that, more work has to be put into making Linux a viable option for Windows users: feature-wise and application-wise.

can't make anything more out of it than a failed attempt to flame, sorry.

@Rob & Richard: The reason why Windows is so popular (and Mac is becoming more popular) is because it's easy to use. Even a kid can use it. And on windows, you can play games without messing around with Wine or something based on Wine, praying to god it will run.
Except if someone makes a really, but really easy to use Linux distribution(you can say what you want, but no, it doesn't really exist), it will stay something for the most advanced computer users.

@ Apache

I donnow but in msn there is a button for a webcam which does the same.

@ Story

Nice but seen a lot of them
Generally its true, if you want something which isnt what most people do making it work is difficult for a n00bie.
That's why I stick to Windows xD

Amen.

by the way: those responses maybe say even more about linux then your conversations. Linux is made by programmers for a tech showoff, while windows is made by software developers for people. Like Mac/Apple is made for people.

@ Ruudjah
I do not agree with you on that. Maybe there are distibutions that need a high amount of tech knowhow but there are distributions that are working hard to be accessible for the general user. Ubuntu to name one.

<begin sarcasm>

@NilsVG

Sorry Nils, your arguments can be reduced to one simple phrase: Linux is not Windows. All this crap about Linux not being "ready for the normal user" trace their roots to very old Linux shortcomings and not being Windows. What are saying, in other words, is: If Linux would change this, "fix that", remain free (as in beer) and look and act just as Windows, then the World would beat a path to its door. What you call "easy to use" is a euphemism for "like Windows". Don't forget, like almost every other Linux user on the planet, I was a Windows user. In fact, my experience with Microsoft products goes back to 1986. If Linux was "like Windows" then why use it? Wouldn't it make more sense to just continue using Windows? Why is anybody at all switching to Linux? What's wrong with the ecosystem Microsoft has created around Windows to make anyone switch. If you want to spew that nonsense about not wanting to pay for software or be a pirate, then go ahead "let he who has not sinned cast the first stone".

Hey, I just had a grand idea. Slap Ubuntu on some proprietary hardware and fine tune it to that hardware while your at it, make the keyboard and monitor real slick looking and white, over charge hipster wannabes US 2500 and call it a MocK. I tell you, they couldn't keep them on the shelves. Come to think of it, it's been done already.

<end sarcasm/>

Hey, wasn't that funny?

When there's a war, it's not considered funny to dress up as the enemy and charge your own unit. No, not funny at all.

"The fact that you think this blog post is a flame tells more about you than me."

That's a good first step. Just don't forget to keep walking. I'll leave you alone now. But before I go, I want you to think of this. My needs are fairly simple but if you were to take my computer away and replace it with something that I have been trying to avoid for the last 3 years, I will get very angry, like anyone would. Now imagine someone who depends on their computer for a living. If you take their computer away then you better run like Hell. I know you don't think you are doing anything like "taking someones computer away" but you are reinforcing exactly the kind of misinformation Microsoft would like people to hear. And Microsoft would like nothing better than to replace everybody's computer with their brand of central control. This is not a war. People are not being killed. The worst thing that's happened was Bill Gates getting not one, but two pies in his face. But you have no idea how powerful Microsoft is. The computer industry is in a state of flux and who comes out the victor has yet to be determined. I think it will be Linux and Open Source but I admit I believe that only because my mind cannot comprehend Microsoft or any other proprietary interest in control. If you love Linux and want to have fun, do it at Microsoft's expense.

Precies waarom ik dus ook mac os x gebruik. Elke idioot kan er mee werken. Een gewone gebruiker zit gewoon niet te wachten op /configure toestanden. het is nogal efficient ontworpen. Helaas willen ze dit blijven gebruiken. Efficient is niet altijd user friendly.

- I want to view this DVD, but the player says it cannot open the disk"
- You have to install the xine_d4d_plugin."
- How? I can't find it in the software database"
- Just dowload the source, then ./configure, make and make install"
- "......"

Above is not true, you need not install the xine backend just to watch DVD's as Gstreamer can do this (not great yet admittedly), the better alternative is VLC (unfortunately its interface isn't great but it is functional and works outstanding). You do not have to download source packages and compile those manually if you're on Ubuntu. medibuntu.org gives you about 3 or 4 steps to follow (directly) which are simple and will always work.

It's no different than helping out your parents with a similar problem in, say, Windows XP, because that won't run any more DVD's out of the box than Ubuntu does.

The other points mentioned are valid points which will be corrected over time - hopefully. We cannot possibly say Ubuntu sucks because The Sims does not run on it. You could say Ubuntu doesn't meet your personal requirements because of it. Lots of people will care about that, lots of other people won't. For some reason webcam support isn't up to par after so many years. It is being worked on but it seems as tho this has very low priority.

Good god people.

Richard Chapman; "You start of with a lie...."
Cyphax; "Above is not true, you need not to install...."

Lighten up people...

Hi
The comments are even funnier than the blogpost.

Despite many ppl think its a flame, one can not jump to that conclusion without making assumptions about the authors goals. And that... is only known to the author, not to you, the reader. So instead of turning loose on assumptions, talk about the statements made.

The most important concepts in the 4 examples are (according to my limited brain/time capacities):
1) linux is not windows. windows we know and we mastered through a long and sometimes painful experience. Thus the reason to repel change is comfort, time investment, ...
It might not be a good reason to not try linux or even a sissy excuse for their fear of change. But it is one reason why linux penetration is lower as could have been.

2) It doesnt run games. or at least not all. or at least not that easy. Games are a very big and important applicationpool. And you have to make everything possible in order to appleal to the masses.

3) In usabilty: packages >> installers >> source compilation.
Because packages have their limitations as well, not everything is possible. Often you can have a windows installer which is more standardized as a source tarball. Automatic packaging tools should be used more by the linux developers in order to appeal to the non tech savvy.
This is a human problem, we all assume too much that others are like us.

4) A lot is possible, even hard things. Windows just disables those possibilities, linux invites you to try them (as in "Unix offers you all the rope you need to hang yourself. And then a little more, just to be sure" quote from what-was-his-name-again)
If a user can fuck it up, he will. This yields for everyone and for every level of understanding you have of a system. Its the price you pay for the possibilities offered. The possibilities offered by windows also came at such a price. More than enough ppl have deleted their system files because they were not restrained. If a user doesnt need the possibilities of linux, he isnt going to pay the price for it. The right tools for the job.

4 well established and known reasons why ppl turn linux down. Its good to know them because then we can harness them. Mark that we never said that linux has to change to nullify those reasons. It is just and explanation for why linux has less appeals as windows.

There is no source for your claim of having a 1% marketshare on desktops. I also dispute that claim because most of those claims are not based on any research. Or any decent research that is. Browser statistics are known to be very unreliable.

I gave Ubuntu to my sister once.

She wasn't pleased that evrything looked different. But hell, she got used to it.

But then she wanted a nice background for a powerpoint presentation. A functionallity wich we both could not locate in Open Office. So that meant exit Ubuntu.

She worked with it for 3 weeks. In my perspective this means. Linux distributions are workable, they are close but not yet ready for use by every-day public.

Key is that a programmer makes his program understandable for users. Users dont need te learn how the program works. Unfortunatery most applications are developed in the latter way.

I want to view this DVD, but the player says it cannot open the disk"
- You have to install the xine_d4d_plugin."
- How? I can't find it in the software database"
- Just dowload the source, then ./configure, make and make install"
- "......"

Above is not true, you need not install the xine backend just to watch DVD's as Gstreamer can do this (not great yet admittedly), the better alternative is VLC (unfortunately its interface isn't great but it is functional and works outstanding). You do not have to download source packages and compile those manually if you're on Ubuntu. medibuntu.org gives you about 3 or 4 steps to follow (directly) which are simple and will always work.

It's no different than helping out your parents with a similar problem in, say, Windows XP, because that won't run any more DVD's out of the box than Ubuntu does.

The other points mentioned are valid points which will be corrected over time - hopefully. We cannot possibly say Ubuntu sucks because The Sims does not run on it. You could say Ubuntu doesn't meet your personal requirements because of it. Lots of people will care about that, lots of other people won't. For some reason webcam support isn't up to par after so many years. It is being worked on but it seems as tho this has very low priority.

This will be fixed in Fedora 10, and looking at the Fedora/OpenSuse history after Canonical came into existence with Ubuntu, I expect the same amount of support in Ubuntu 9.04 / 9.10, maybe even better then what Fedora 10 will offer.
In any case, 2.6.27 (I think, I might be wrong by an offset of 1) will support a better set of drivers making *a lot* of webcams be detectable by userspace apps. Whether they will work out of the box without extra userland support remains to be seen.

By Cyphax, Tuesday 12 August 2008 10:20
- I want to view this DVD, but the player says it cannot open the disk"
- You have to install the xine_d4d_plugin."
- How? I can't find it in the software database"
- Just dowload the source, then ./configure, make and make install"
- "......"

Above is not true, you need not install the xine backend just to watch DVD's as Gstreamer can do this (not great yet admittedly), the better alternative is VLC (unfortunately its interface isn't great but it is functional and works outstanding). You do not have to download source packages and compile those manually if you're on Ubuntu. medibuntu.org gives you about 3 or 4 steps to follow (directly) which are simple and will always work.

Exactly in 3 or 4 steps, and those steps are just not: doubleclick, press next to install and click icon to start programme.

And that is what the average (75%+ of all computer users) want I think . However no-one forces linux to be made for that 75%.

Windows can become quite complicated as well! Yet, the reason why Linux won't gain popularity is simply because people who use it keep bitching how bad windows is and how everyone should switch.

Hey mOrPhie

ik vind je artikel geweldig om te lezen, maar a.u.b.: doe dat niet meer in de toekomst ;-) ... een heleboel mensen die een gebruiksinstrument verwarren met de Heilige Graal, zien de humor niet in van zulke posts (spijtig genoeg) en maken er in de comments dan ook een behoorlijk enerverende/saaie/... boel van (tenminste toch voor diegenen die dit artikel opvatten als iets lichts en humoristisch).

It is quite funny to read how hysterical people respond to something they perceive to be negative about Linux. Most of the responders never even understood that the blog writer was quoting a relative in saying things only marginally negative about Linux. For people who claim Windows users are dumb, you actually just made yourself look quite stupid here.

The frantic fanaticism in the accusation towards the writer of the blog actually reflects negatively on Linux. Who really enjoys being in a conversation with somebody that only gets along with you when you absolutely agree with what he's saying, because if you don't, you might be flamed to hell for it? The loudest screaming Linux "advocates" are actually making me (and I'm sure many others) want to turn away from Linux .... what an unpleasant bunch of people. If I'd ever need help with Linux, I'd have to depend on their advice at the risk of being called a stupid Windows user and what more? I don't think so ... Personally I think a lot of you prefer 'being right' over 'getting along' and that is a lousy way to live. It reminds me of a lot of other extremists in the world ... you might want to think about that.

Now you might all construe this as me being 'anti-Linux' and a dumb Windows user, but it might surprise you to know that I've been running Ubuntu 8.04 for a while now and I'm actually pleasantly surprised by it.

Leuke voorbeelden en nog veeeel leukere comments.

It is quite funny to read how hysterical people respond to something they perceive to be negative about Linux. Most of the responders never even understood that the blog writer was quoting a relative in saying things only marginally negative about Linux. For people who claim Windows users are dumb, you actually just made yourself look quite stupid here.

The frantic fanaticism in the accusation towards the writer of the blog actually reflects negatively on Linux. Who really enjoys being in a conversation with somebody that only gets along with you when you absolutely agree with what he's saying, because if you don't, you might be flamed to hell for it? The loudest screaming Linux "advocates" are actually making me (and I'm sure many others) want to turn away from Linux .... what an unpleasant bunch of people. If I'd ever need help with Linux, I'd have to depend on their advice at the risk of being called a stupid Windows user and what more? I don't think so ... Personally I think a lot of you prefer 'being right' over 'getting along' and that is a lousy way to live. It reminds me of a lot of other extremists in the world ... you might want to think about that.

Now you might all construe this as me being 'anti-Linux' and a dumb Windows user, but it might surprise you to know that I've been running Ubuntu 8.04 for a while now and I'm actually pleasantly surprised by it.

While Linux is not mainstream yet to be sure, Linux is already being used by people who are not ubergeeks, or even geeks at all. These people are exactly people who would (and were) using windows about 4-5 years ago. This, however, also means that there are some people using Linux who aren't the intelligence cream of the crop

You also speak of fanaticism; Take a good look at the apple guys, and then come back to me to speak of fanaticism. Mouth-to-mouth advertisement is way more effective than those little text/picture/motion annoyances commonly found on the web, especially if the person doing the advertising is a friend or a family member (e.g. someone the listener trusts). So don't confuse advertising something because of a good, solid experience with something (in this case Linux) with fanaticism, although I admit something could be said for the remarks made above.

Also, while there might be some people on this earth/internet that would call a person who just switched to Linux "a dub windows user", this is only a testimony of their closed-mindedness as a person, much like there are still way too much racists left in this world.
It is not a reflection of the Linux spirit, at least not in my experience, even when I just started using Linux.

Don't install Linux on the computers of people that want to play games.

Don't expect people to fix their own computers. They can't. Not even if they are running Windows.

Do install a decent sound server instead of letting your users use plain ALSA or OSS. That's just cruel.

And most important of all: don't install Linux on computers of people that aren't interested. They will smite you down!

By Simon, Tuesday 12 August 2008 15:16
Windows can become quite complicated as well! Yet, the reason why Linux won't gain popularity is simply because people who use it keep bitching how bad windows is and how everyone should switch.

Yeah, the true road to Linux domination is to keep bitching about how bad Linux is and how nobody should switch.

Why do people become so offensive when someone has some arguments on Linux. And why they take it so incredible personal as they seem to be hurt themselves.

Face the fact, its not that easy to get Linux to work, and the normal standard user is not used to go to some prompt and type in a whole command to a appliaction or device to work. And that is the same on a Windows a like system.

I don't care at all what people think about Windows and oh yes its definitly not safe but it works fine for me and it does my job!

Linux is like a wigwam...no windows, no gates...and apache inside!

(someones sig somewhere)

Some people dont know good humor when they see it, i applaud your post Morphie

No one seems to respond to the reason for 1% marketshare but get all defensive about , linux and say that people do not understand, hitting the nail right on the head

(Like Saab correctly argues:)
The biggest part of people DO NOT give a monkeys about learning anything to operate a pc they just want it to work for them. So if any linux distro wants to have a bigger market share they will need to address the wishes of this huge group of people, thats all !

A nice story . My sister was in a clinic for two weeks, I was unable to visit her. But her laptop (windows XP) was showing no user interface, probably dus to some bug. So I told her: install windows XP after you copied the valuable data onto an external drive. So she did: I send her a link to some linux bootcd distro, she already had the XP install CD.
She booted linux on her laptop, and found the files on her hard drive and copied them to an external drive. I never used the linux distro, so I could not help her in pulling it off. She did it with no help whatsoever.
Linux is getting there, they are currently in a transition to tech-oriented to user oriented. That's a good thing. Microsoft has been there for over 10 years, but hardly innovated untill recently with Vista (much better UI). They also innovated with the Office ribbon, much better implementation of the user actions (as opposed to tech actions).
Next step is to implement real UI intuitiveness, which has been started with the Office ribbon. Think of removing dialog boxes, removing "OK" and "cancel" buttons in favor of i.e. "Yes, save this document" with an icon with a good metaphor. Implement Firefox-style yellow bars above the webpage when an alert has been made, etcetera. Implement the full UI for all data available in the system without omitting critical status information.

I'm sorry to say that Linux probably doesn't stand a chance, not even with Vista's bad start (Vista is great, just get some decent 3Ghz+, 4GB+ hardware). I think it doesn't even have any real potential, simply because overall I haven't seen any big changes in the last 5 years. Like, oh great, WiFi finally works without crappy wrappers (who's idea was that, anyway?).

Basically, the only true desktop OS out there today is Mac OS X... Apple, developers, users; they all know what to expect from eachother. It's not perfect, but most manuals of any 3rd party hardware out there have only one line on one page on OS X; 'Connect your blah blah to your computer'. Want to play games? Get a 360 or PS3, or better yet, get some work done. Want a powerful UNIX system, go... oh wait. Yeah.

A word of advice to Linux developers out there (poor guys). If you want some end-user friendlieness, get this; affordances. Hide your mad programming skillz from the application's interface. Some people here mentioned it before; the user is not interested in technology, but in his/her endgoal.

And drop the prefixes, such as k*, gnu*, x*, whatever. That's just stupid.