An open letter to Linux community

Originally Posted by Geri SL00b: if you would have right, and the problems i mentioned before, would not exist, linux share would be not 2%.

Can you prove that Linux's "share" is 2%?

I dont think, repeating ,,hurr hurr ur a troll'' will fix the problems of linux.

dugan:

Primarily based on web server statistics, various companies estimated that the desktop market share of Linux range from less than 1% to 4.8%.[79] In comparison, Microsoft operating systems hold more than 85%.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][80][81] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux#M...are_and_uptake

Why do you think that market share has anything to do with technological superiority?

Personally, I'd say the fact that every PC comes pre-loaded with a non-Linux OS has something to do with it.

Days after the 2009th christmas, i was called by several (4-5) friends, to help and install windows to they new computers. All of this computer contained linux. I think, the forum's automatic moderation would not even let me to post, what they sayd about this systems, after they tried it.

Of course this is not a big group to generalise based on this, but still explains a lot: preinstalling linux would not help to push share up.

Originally Posted by Geri Third, i am talking about the Desktop Linux ONLY.

So, what's wrong with Android?

Originally Posted by Geri Its not the developers job to decide, what is a good or a bad user behavior. Developer must do only one thing: satisfy the requirements.

Developers must do only a few things: breathe, eat, drink, shit, sleep, and fire their heating.

If you pay them enough to do so, they "must" do what you expect them to do.

Btw, how much did you pay for Linux, so far?

Originally Posted by Geri For an example, if a user does not want a multi-user, password protected system, he will feel that the operating system forces him to do something, wich taking his time.

Oh yes, I see your point. Even worse, my cash terminal always forces me to type in my PIN, very annoying! I definitely do not understand why I have to do so. I've taped an open letter onto it, complaining about this waste of time!

Btw, if you don't like mutli-user operating systems, have a look at "freedos". It is free and open source ... maybe you need to enhance it a little bit to meet your needs. Feel free to do so.

Originally Posted by Geri With modern operative systems, to incrase/decrase the volume, you press the volume buttons on your multimedia keyboard. Sometimes, linux cant even autodetect even this.

Yes, it is definitely the guilt of some lazy Linux developers that companies produce incompatible hardware. They should get spanked for this!

Originally Posted by Geri ...Okay, (s)he found the software, downloads it. Its a .tar.gz. He clicks two on the catdresser.tar.gz. And nothing happends.

Please, never ever read a manual! The world needs people like you to improve the simplicity of computer systems. Sometimes in the far future, systems will evolve that enable you to do anything whilst knowing nothing. Maybe, you need some more patience ...

Originally Posted by Geri Sometimes, even your older hardwares are not supported any longer by the newer version of the operating system. The ultimate answer of the community: BUY A NEW COMPUTER.

Yes, that's the reason I switched from Windows to Linux some time ago. My scanner is 10+ years old and still works ... great piece of hardware!

The manufacturer went bankrupt some years ago and the developers were to lazy to make drivers for WinXP. They should get spanked, too!

Originally Posted by Geri For example, i have found a bug in the freeglut (wich is an old library for windowing and imput for games). Its a very wide-spread library. And i have found another. And another... And i switched to new version. And i have found tons of other bugs. I have write a bug-report from the API, and have sent it to the leader developer. This was at last year. I do not even got answer on this. Now they even removed joystick support. They say, joystick support is deprecated. This is why they complitely skipped it in the newer version. These developers developing an input API for GAMES.

Uhm ... so, you're relying on external libraries? Didn't you explain to us just, that this is bad and a developer shouldn't be to lazy to write and support his code on his own?

btw, "freeglut" still claims to "allows the user to create and manage windows containing OpenGL contexts on a wide range of platforms and also read the mouse, keyboard and joystick functions."
http://freeglut.sourceforge.net/

They doesn't seem to know they did drop joystick support.

Originally Posted by Geri The structure of the linux is really bad. What a driver do in the kernel?

Where else should they be? In the games section?!?

Originally Posted by Geri Every other thing must be arrive as external, installable module.

I have great news for you! Kernel modules are now possible with linux!

I understand that you are suffering from old hardware, but maybe you should try one of the new 2.6 kernels, nonetheless.

Originally Posted by Geri So here is my suggestions: -Current linux architecture must be throwed out. -Drivers, libraries must be clearly separated from the operative system and each other. -95% of the libraries are unnecessary. Unify them. AND PLEASE DO NOT CREATE MORE. THANK YOU. -Seriously. Kill this dependency problem. -Most of linux softwares looks ugly. Its does not matter if it is good or bad, nobody will use it if it looks like some 2$ application for Windows 95. -Create generic installer wizzards -Binaries need icons. gcc blablabla -i mycuteicon.png -If something must be done with shell, create GUI for it -Unified System Control Panels -Unified, complitely rewriten graphics system (X, kde, gnome, etc can go to the trash, of course must keep the compatibility,

Sounds great! Do you have an alpha preview working already?

Originally Posted by Geri Days after the 2009th christmas, i was called by several (4-5) friends, to help and install windows to they new computers. All of this computer contained linux. I think, the forum's automatic moderation would not even let me to post, what they sayd about this systems, after they tried it. Of course this is not a big group to generalise based on this, but still explains a lot: preinstalling linux would not help to push share up.

Where are your friends buying PCs pre-loaded with Linux?

Ok.
I try to answer with calm, professionalism and common sense.
Linux came from *NIX. The most evident differences between Windows and *NIX was that Windows was a single user O.S. and has no network capabilities by design.
Then Windows become NT (and its descendents Windows 2000, XP, and so on) and enable multiuser capabilities.
So when you say that users want a single user O.S. you are saying that users would like to go back to 1998' Windows.
Maybe when you say that you don't want a multiuser system you don't really mean that but you want the same Windows feature: when a single user is configured autologon is automatically enabled.
Well, you can enable this feature during the setup of many distros.

You can't get what Linux is because you don't know what you're talking about.

bluebox:

I didnt sayd i have problem with Google Android, but this topic is not from that.

,,They doesn't seem to know they did drop joystick support.''
Go and check the implementation in the source code. Or you maybee should not argue about things you have not understand.

Uhm ... so, you're relying on external libraries? Didn't you explain to us just, that this is bad and a developer shouldn't be to lazy to write and support his code on his own?
Of course. And i have just did it in the opening letter. If you had missed it, please read it again.

Yes, it is definitely the guilt of some lazy Linux developers that companies produce incompatible hardware.
Strangely, even xp can detect them witout problem, and witout drivers at the most cases... and if not, it just a few click to install the driver.

Where else should they be? In the games section?!?
Of course, in the driver section.

I have great news for you! Kernel modules are now possible with linux!
...yes, as a kernel module.


I have payed with several source code contributions and bug fixes to various opensource linux related applications, and helped for developers of this apps, i have donated small amout of moneys to various linux communities, and sometimes i gived them free advertises

if i would descripbe all of this in money, calculating with the generic marketial and programmer prices, the total amout would be around 2000 USD. And you?

Google Android is a Linux Distro with a Gui.

,,You can't get what Linux is because you don't know what you're talking about.''
Of course, i know. Even if a problem is worked around in one distro, would not fix it as a structural problem. This wont help.

First, i am sorry for my bad english.

Thats ok. Bad English was a great band here in the states.

Second, i must clarify, i like Linux.

Im glad that you clarified this. I also love this game, Lynx 386 was probably my favorite.

Third, i am talking about the Desktop Linux ONLY.

I agree. But I personally dont remember Lynx 386 being for Nintendo or Genesis. I only had it on my PC.

WE ARE THE HARDCORE LINUX COMMUNITY: WE DECIDE, WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD FOR AN USER.

Sometimes I feel like that too. It always seems like someone is telling me: "Thats the wrong club, you should use a 9iron for this hole." I hate when people interrupt on my game.

USER-FRIENDLY Linux is not user friendly.

I upgraded to the new Lynx 386 and was much more happier with the controls of the Golfer. I find that this is a huge improvement in the user-friendliness aspect of the game.

BAD API

I imagine that this has something to do with your golfing handicap on the course. If you need some instruction, or tutorials to help you out, I would be willing to do some online golfing with you to give you pointers. Im not great at Lynx 386, but I have been playing for quite a few years and have picked up some skills along the way.

INCOMPATIBLITY, AND THE TOTAL LACK OF SUPPORT

I had this problem as well. Moving Lynx 386 onto my new Pentium MMX computer, which I just paid off, turned out to be a real hassle. The ball and golfer were much too small on my new high definition super vga screen. I just couldn't see the course anymore. Also, the speed of the processor was so intense that I never got a chance to see the ball leave the tee. It was always, just immediately where it was going. I could get no support when I called the developers, getting an answering machine that said something about "went out of business in 1995."

Igornance, Enemies, Lack of Innovation

This is where I find myself disagreeing with you. Lynx 386 is a great golfing simulator and is fun to play. I do not feel that *all* of the other users are Ignorant Enemies. I just consider them healthy competition. And as far as Lack of Innovation, I feel that you are completely err'd in this feeling. Lynx 386 is a genre busting, commercially successful, graphics extravaganza. Its GUI and Headsup display are wonderful for the aspiring Digital Golfer. And as far as I know, there is no other game with as much detail put into the courses and fairways and trees and carts and skyline as Lynx 386.

Hope to hit the Lynx with you soon!

I think that Linux has only a big problem: too much fragmentation.
I mean: too many distros, too many package management system, too many differences too.
Usually this can be seen as a multitude of offers giving the freedom to chose, but I see lately only fragmentation.
Each distro has its own "philosophy" and this is good, but I'm not talking about this and not even of the different init script style.
I'm talking about the cofusion this give to people.
I said in the past that Ubuntu made too many "comon" people believe in the binomium Linux = Ubuntu.
If you are talking about a specific Linux Distro maybe you batter give it a name since there are distros that don't show any problem you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Geri bluebox: I didnt sayd i have problem with Google Android, but this topic is not from that.

Of course it is. You wanted to talk about "the Desktop Linux ONLY."

Android is one of the most simple, reliable and easy to use desktop implementations of Linux, I've seen so far. Especially if one defines "desktop" the way you do ... "surfing the net, installing some apps, running some little games".

Originally Posted by Geri ,,They doesn't seem to know they did drop joystick support.'' Go and check the implementation in the source code. Or you maybee should not argue about things you have not understand.

You confuse "knowing" and "understanding". I had a short look at their webpage, found the documentation to be very bad and did not care any further.

Anyways, a joystick implementation is there, definitely:
http://freeglut.svn.sourceforge.net/...up&pathrev=861
And I will surely not go and debug it for free.

btw, this is a cross-platform library. Is the joystick support broken for Linux only, or for Windows, too?

Originally Posted by Geri Yes, it is definitely the guilt of some lazy Linux developers that companies produce incompatible hardware. Strangely, even xp can detect them witout problem, and witout drivers at the most cases... and if not, it just a few click to install the driver.

Yes, this is strange ... really strange, indeed. I suppose this strange effect to be somewhat related to the "compatible with Microsoft Windows XP" stickers pasted at the back of the multimedia keyboards. This is a vague guess, of course.

Originally Posted by Geri Where else should they be? In the games section?!? Of course, in the driver section.

Yes, I must admit ... renaming the "kernel modules" section to "Linux drivers" section would make the world a better place for all Windows users.

Originally Posted by Geri I have payed with several source code contributions and bug fixes to various opensource linux related applications, and helped for developers of this apps, i have donated small amout of moneys to various linux communities, and sometimes i gived them free advertises if i would descripbe all of this in money, calculating with the generic marketial and programmer prices, the total amout would be around 2000 USD. And you?

Oh ... hard to say ... surely less, considering direct payment. Something about 1000 USD of personal investments, I would guess.

One could count in indirect payments like paying the costs for more expansive hardware from manufactures with good linux driver support, or count in time invested in bugreports or bugfixing ... but this would make things much more complicated.

But, please, now count your figures for Windows. Nope, not just your WinXP license that will become useless in 2014 at the latest, but the costs for all this cool, beautiful and superiour commercial software, you're talking about. Don't forget the drivers included with each piece of hardware you're buying and paying for. And don't forget about upgrades you have to pay for, the new "versions" of software as your old version is nor supported anymore, and of course the completely new software you have to buy because your old manufacturer went bankrupt.

Yes, the lib's joystick support works under windows with the last version i checked. But i not using this in the any more, i writed the joystick code for myself. Of course, every game that uses this lib will lack the joystick support becouse of this under linux. I dont want to explain more from this current code, but its a great example in this situation: how not to do something.

The ,,windows'' sticker is of course valid in a lot of situation, but it does not even saves linux in some situations, becouse volume controls and play/stop butons is utilised on almost all generic keyboard on the same way. So for example, on keyboards whose detected as a generic XXX button ps2 device, and this feature works on windows, with some linuxes this still not working for some reason as default.

And NO. You are trying to give some words to my mouth. I didnt sayd that winxp is a beautifull commercial software and we should copy it... of course its beutifull in some ways, look how mutch bill gates earned with it. But in some situations, i think, linux community MUST learn from Windows. As i alreday sayd, we SHOULD NOT copy it, but the community must learn from it.

Blaming Windows by the Linux community is like blaming Redbull f1 team by the Lotus team. Want to win the race? Create better car!