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What do you mean linux is going to be windows like? Linux will never be, starting from the root of it(kernel), there are two different OS'es.
Maybe you think that as much people use it? I believe the community wants ppl to learn the powerful os named linux.
Not living in a dark underground working on that thing ppl rumoured it's "linux".
And if it goes to the mainstream, yes viruses will multiply and yes enterprise companies will come into play.
It's all about money my friend. What matters is that we as a community to keep it alive and praise the ones that created it and work their life for this beautiful OS.
And you have a Apple Mac? Or maybe a very old old Mac, one before OS-X because today Apple uses X.org which is the same as most Linux Distro's use.
I know this is off topic (isn't this whole thread anyway?) but I hate this misconception. You CAN run X11 on OSX but it is NOT the native windowing system. Apple uses its own 3D rendered graphical system to support it's gui and has a bunch of properitary API's to work with it. They also provide a package you can download free of charge that runs an xserver along side the standard gui and allows you to run X programs with mac-like window dressing.
I hadn't even read the statement on the Suse site that as far as they know, there is no legal way to run encripted DVDs in Linux. This isn't Linux's fault, but it is still a consideration for someone deciding whether to run Linux.
I have a feeling that something like Audacity IS a good sound editor, I'll try it.
At least Linux is relatively trouble-free; I don't know what has gotten in to me that I've had to reinstall my Linux system from scratch about three times in the last three days. It only used up maybe 20 hours of extra time, what's the big deal?
Someone said that they hope I have fun waiting for Vista. That's ironic; if you read what I said carefully, you'd see that I am running Windows Vista NOW with essentially no problems.
I found some apparently decent text-to-speech software in Linux. It doesn't seem quite in the same ballpark with the excellent software available at a moment's notice at, for example, the NextUp site, for Windows, but it seems to be promising.
I concede that if one spends days and days and weeks and weeks working on establishing a decent Linux environment, you may be able to do it. And I am in fact trying to do it. Since I was here last, I tried all varieties of Ubuntu Linux, for example. In the past, I've run Mandrake and Slackware and I forget what else, but I'm back to Suse now, mainly because I have a copy I bought of it (10.0) and it seems the most trouble-free.
Thanks for all the help! You're right, the endless troubles I had are anomalous, no one else trying to run linux has the problems I had, and the fact that I ran the newly released Windows Vista beta with no problem (and the 64-bit Windows XP beta with essentially no problems either), means nothing. Linux rules!
I hadn't even read the statement on the Suse site that as far as they know, there is no legal way to run encripted DVDs in Linux. This isn't Linux's fault, but it is still a consideration for someone deciding whether to run Linux.
Many of the more commercial distributions will not include libdvdread with there distribution for legal reasons. This is similar, though a little different, from why some distributions don't include an mp3 codec by default.
At any rate, you can always install mplayer on your Suse system and play DVD's if that is what your goal is.
Many of the more commercial distributions will not include libdvdread with there distribution for legal reasons. This is similar, though a little different, from why some distributions don't include an mp3 codec by default.
At any rate, you can always install mplayer on your Suse system and play DVD's if that is what your goal is.
IANAL, but I believe that the technology licensed to you when you buy a retail DVD-ROM (or DVD-RW) drive (that comes with DVD software and codecs) may cover one for using similar codecs under Linux. At least, that's how I justify it to myself.
isn't the world just rediculous, that linux-users are forced to jump threw these legal hoops? sometimes this really strikes me. the way i see it, it works like this:
1/ i go into a shop and buy a dvd
2/ i place the dvd in my computer and watch it. i am now a criminal
3/ the dvd-consortium says 'if you want to watch the dvd you bought, you have to pay us this amount of money for the codecs. you're also not allowed to know what the codec does.'
this reads like a really bad plot for a science fiction series.
I am likely going to get flamed for this, but if there are any people browsing the forums looking for reasons to switch to Linux from windows but need a solid OS for work and life, don't get sucked by all the sweet talk. If your copy of windows is working fine...my advice is stick with it. I switched over for three reasons, 1. WGA, 2. I hate Microsoft, 3. a friend of mine kept telling me how great Linux was. He said "windows does few things well, but that Linux does a lot of things reasonably and many very well" First let me say I have been using Kubuntu for a about 2 months, Ubuntu (or Gnome) was just to basic (cant get into the guts of the system, without resorting to teminal), both desktop environments crash just as much as windows (if not more), and get this, for simple reasons like trying to copy and paste or for just hovering the mouse over a media file that Linux doesn't support. It does many things poorly, some things not at all, and a few things theoretically well (for example journaling, ACPI support, No defrag, etc). The theoretical part is what got me interested, however in terms of basic functionality Linux is lacking. I am running a laptop, Linux was unable to detect an annoyingly large amount of hardware (all of which windows detected). My Internet connection has never been slower, especially wireless (which by the way took me forever to get working), and even the networking card (half as slow). Makes windows connectivity seem screaming fast in comparison. My computers functionality over all has been greatly reduced, my mini usb mouse wont detect (only RARELY if I leave it pugged in on boot, and my other mouse will)...its pnp for blank sakes! Wireless did not work originally, ati drivers are garbage, card reader doesn't work, print drives (gutenprint) are hard to install without root and don't actually do anything when installed(printer just makes some noises and then stops). Ohh and almost all multimedia support is lacking...so many music player applications and none of them can play mp3...what the !@$%'s the point. I resort to vlc to make up for this gaping whole. Going into this i got the impression that Linux was superior to windows in terms of workability, just not as user friendly, this I was ok with. But not only is it not as user friendly a lot of things don't work, don't integrate, aren't supported, or buggy as hell. I hate Microsoft, and I understand that a lot of good people work on Linux, but it saddens me that this is the best the Linux community can throw at them. And I know a lot of you will say that these problems are a result of vendors not supporting Linux and copy right issues, well you right to a degree, but even the in house Linux drivers (based on reverse engineering) don't work or don't work well. An OS should help you save time on work, not waste time working the OS...right? Sadly I am going to have to buy Vista when it finally does come out. But for the time being I am going to have to wast my time working an OS that should work. END RANT...BEGIN FLAME
I am likely going to get flamed for this, but if there are any people browsing the forums looking for reasons to switch to Linux from windows but need a solid OS for work and life, don't get sucked by all the sweet talk.
You're making a fundamental mistake assuming that everyone else will have a difficult time with Linux just because you had a difficult time with it. A lot of people have no problems at all.
Of course, most of us start off using BOTH Windows and Linux, either with a spare computer or by dual-booting. This can be much less frustrating because you still have a working system even if you can't figure out why something isn't working in Linux.
Personally, I have the opposite of your experience. I find getting things to work in Windows highly frustrating, whereas most things just work in Linux with little effort. In particular, getting media files to play in Windows is stupidly frustrating--you install all these codec packs and they tend to mess each other up and soft-subs don't work and...in contrast, with Linux all I had to do was apt-get install kaffeine and copy the w32 codecs from mplayer's web site. Voila! All media formats worked! All with the same media player! And softsubs worked also!
So Linux didn't work out for you--oh well. That doesn't mean it doesn't work out for others.
You're making a fundamental mistake assuming that everyone else will have a difficult time with Linux just because you had a difficult time with it. A lot of people have no problems at all.
Of course, most of us start off using BOTH Windows and Linux, either with a spare computer or by dual-booting. This can be much less frustrating because you still have a working system even if you can't figure out why something isn't working in Linux.
Personally, I have the opposite of your experience. I find getting things to work in Windows highly frustrating, whereas most things just work in Linux with little effort. In particular, getting media files to play in Windows is stupidly frustrating--you install all these codec packs and they tend to mess each other up and soft-subs don't work and...in contrast, with Linux all I had to do was apt-get install kaffeine and copy the w32 codecs from mplayer's web site. Voila! All media formats worked! All with the same media player! And softsubs worked also!
So Linux didn't work out for you--oh well. That doesn't mean it doesn't work out for others.
I second that. Windows is great if that is what you are comfortable with. Personally I enjoy linux. The Freedom to view web pages with out spyware. The freedom of software both in speech and in price. Oh and Primectown linux does not need to Defrag. That is just a windows thing.
Distribution: approximately NixOS (http://nixos.org)
Posts: 1,900
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Yes, Linux has some problems, especially when you try to configure it without experience. Also KDE/Gnome are too bloated, so I use WindowMaker. But are you willing to describe problems exactly and answer all additional questions? If yes - you will be welcome on this forum (and separate threads for different issues, please). Check out mplayer as a player for proprietary formats using - if unavoidable - original libraries - as an example that problems can be solved, if you are concrete. By the way, about hardware support - if you have usb 2.0 it is easier to turn on in Linux than in Windows (where I failed)..
Ok, I get that many people enjoy Linux, as for have an easy time...I doubt that. Driver support alone should frustrate many. I'm just adding a little counter weight, so people can maybe see that linux is not (FOR THE TIME BEING) a viable competitor to Microsoft. You guys must admit that people who switch to Linux and then post in these forums are not average users, there a probably many people who try it...don't like it and then switch back and never post a thing so you never hear from them. I am not an average person, I have a moderate knowledge of computers and I still find Linux frustrating, NOT because its above my head, but because it require way too much attentions to archive even basic functionality. And as for that defrag comment, I know, dude read my post properly, I said it is an advantage that Linux does not have to defrag...But I would gladly defrag if lets say some of my drivers worked or the net was faster. I am just trying to be unbiased is all. But anyways Continue the flame...it will be interesting to see how deep this rabbit hole goes and remember Linux isn't your mother so don't take this so personally.
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