Comments on: Ubuntu Linux vs Windows Vista: The Desktop Battle

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:29:42 +0000

using an nVidia geforce 4000 and they work beautifully on mine. How bad does a video card have to be in order to not be good enough for Compiz?

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:27:41 +0000

just because you can do it in a command line doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to use a GUI as well. Setting up a program shouldn’t require going into the terminal, using apt-get or any other commands. For the most part, this works very well in Ubuntu, but a few programs do have their problems. When I let someone else use my PC, I don’t want to have to train them to use a terminal first. If I just want a new program, it shouldn’t be required to educate myself on every little nuance of that program before I can use it or even install it. I’m not saying take this out, I love that I can go into every program on my OS and see how it works, what makes it work and how to change that behavior to do whatever I feel like. I love how easy the terminal is to use and get used to and I love how fast it runs, but I get tired of it. I have a mouse for a reason. I like to use it, I like to click on things and get things done that otherwise I would have to type in commands for. I’m not an idiot when it comes to computers of any kind, I’m not lazy, I’m realistic and I like to get my moneys worth. I’m also cheap, so getting my moneys worth means a lot more to me than for most. An OS shouldn’t be a learning experience unless you’re in school learning about an OS. Use the command line as an alternate way of doing things, but not as the only way. Linux is about choice and it’s about community. Saying the terminal is it reminds me a lot of how a certain large company everyone loves to hate operates. In other words, when you say “it’s my way or the highway”, you’re saying for everyone to bow down to you. My answer to that, I don’t think so Mr. Gates.

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:58:53 +0000

The kind where we all laugh at you for thinking it’s a joke

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:02:02 +0000

Haven’t tried Kubuntu, but I’m pretty sure that would fit your needs for a KDE desktop. Might be worth a shot. I’d love to know if the newest Ubuntu works better on your laptop as I haven’t read any other comments about difficulties.

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:40:29 +0000

1 month ago I’d never used Linux, the most I’d done is watched while my aunt tried to set up OpenSUSE on her PC using the terminal over and over and over again. Thought that’s how it had to be with Linux. Of course, since I’m cheap, I decided that since XP was about to be null, I’d give Ubuntu a shot. I burned the CD then got cold feet for a few days. Finally installed it and after the first week, I haven’t booted into XP since. Ubuntu works well and the learning curve is mainly just figuring out that instead of doing a google search, I check synaptic manager for programs. Instead of defragging my harddrive nightly just to keep my PC running smoothly, I leave it up. Instead of running malware detectors and antivirus programs and defraggers and cleaning the cache constantly just to keep a decent operational computer, I just have a decent, operational computer. I believe you when you say you had a bad experience, my aunt went back to Windows after trying OpenSUSE, but so far, my experience after a month using Ubuntu has been a dream.

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:18:04 +0000

For most apps, as long as there’s a .deb package made, it’s easier than installing a .exe package. You double click it and the installer program handles the rest. There’s never been a “click next…next” screen that I’ve come across. That being said, when the program doesn’t have a .deb file created, the installation takes a bit more know-how or at least a decent google search for instructions.

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:54:36 +0000

What distro did you use to come to that conclusion? What programs exactly weren’t made to be put together in order to make a fully functional desktop? In what ways does the desktop of either Gnome or KDE fall short where Windows excels? From my own personal experience, it took me a day to forget how “user friendly” I thought XP was and realize what ease of use actually meant. I don’t perform a daily routine for maintaining my system anymore. I’ve used Ubuntu 8.10 for a month, nothing’s slowed down, I’ve installed a fairly large number of programs and I’ve even dabbled with WINE. The worst experience I had with it was in Flash implementation, but as I’ve read about this, studied up on the subject, even looked at the Adobe website, it’s Adobe that has the problem, not Linux and, also from what I’ve read, Gnash is being developed so that Adobe can drag its heels as much as it feels like. In other words, Windows is patchwork. It might be unibody construction to use a car term, but when the body is made of paper, that doesn’t do much good. Linux might just be a bunch of parts, but each part was developed to fill a need and is continually being developed. Linux as an easy to use, fully functional desktop exists. There are many distros, many choices. The only thing missing is a fully blind, unbiased comparison between the different OS’s to see who is really not ready for the desktop. My vote for removal to refine the software is Windows. Linux is doing just fine.

By: tmsbrdrs

tmsbrdrs — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:15:57 +0000

My only criticism comes from personal experience. My aunt installed OpenSUSE on her PC. They bought books on Linux, specifically OpenSUSE, tried setting up lots of the software a person needs on a day to day basis and for the most part were working in the terminal for most of that time. They gave it around a year and a half, more than most people for an OS they don’t like, but switched back to Windows. I installed Ubuntu 8.10 a month ago, everything they spent so long looking up and trying to set up is already set up. I’ve used the terminal a few times, mostly to set up an antivirus program to protect my Windows friends when I help them with papers or help edit photos. I’ve used it comfortably for a month, even to the point where XP is just taking up space on my harddrive, soon to be replaced completely with Ubuntu. Most of the tweaks I’ve done to my system weren’t necessary, just play. Most of the programs I’ve downloaded and installed, I could have lived without. What took my Aunt so long to set up in OpenSUSE was the basics, those are accounted for in spades.