Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Linux
 

10 Reasons you should get Linux instead of Vista (v1.3)
http://apcmag.com/5082/10_reasons_you_should_get_vista
... I was reading the above (please do the same before judging the below) and it struck me that Linux, perhaps, beats Vista on it's own turf. The headings in each section are the suggested "reasons to get vista" in the article. (i.e. They are not my own: I have just chosen a short linux elaboration on them.) The commentary is why this is a strong point in Linux. Enjoy...

1. UI built for the era of video and digital photography
... GPhoto (and varients) come with major linux distributions and support cameras out of the box (no driver disk needed). Hotplug your camera and you're away.

2. Image-based install
... Linux images can be downloaded free of charge, either directly or via bittorrent. However, most major distributions are available on CD or DVD ROM from the distributor or from your newsagent on the cover of a magazine. You can even "try before you buy" with no risk by running demo versions from the media without ever installing a byte.

3. Up-to-date driver base and better driver handling on installation
... linux (out of the box) hardware support is second to none. The vast majority of devices are supported by relatively few drivers, many of which are included in the OS. Linux doesn't require vendor supplied drivers for most hardware.

4. Desktop search and search folders built in
... each distribution has an array of GUI-based and power-user search tools to locate and sort anything you care to name. (I'd like to improve this one.)

5. Sleep mode that actually works.
... ACPI in the linux kernel dosn't expect laptop manufacturer to second guess your operating system requirements in their firmware. Linux has a dedicated team constantly improving all the ACPI functions such as sleep and hybernate. Where there are problems with this, they are likely to get fixed.

6. Rock-solid laptop encryption
... Whole disk encryption with a variety of rugged keys has been available for a long time now.

7. Better file navigation
... and a navigation method for everyone

8. Inbuilt undelete
... yes - breadcrumbed folders, following the web page model. Even favorite folders... if you really want. All practically from the beginning.

9. DirectX10
... DX10 will not be made for XP. Good video will become impossible for you because MS says so. Linux uses the OpenSDL system instead - being open, it will always work.

10. Face it, you have no choice
... Linux is written for you. Vista is written for the multimedia industry. Who you gonna call?

The same magazine also includes ten reasons not to buy Vista.

Please note: This post is a work in progress, and should not be considered complete. I will edit it in response to commentary from readers. Thus, statements made below may not relate to the version you see above.

Versions:
1.0
1.1 - removed "all" reference from #2 and tidied it up
1.2 - removed "all the time" stuff from #5 and clarified the meaning
1.3 - added "vendor drivers not required" line to #3

While I applaud your effort itself you know articles like that are only a marketing effort to compare the Richmond Playstation-like OS (abbrev.: POS) with its predecessors. This IMHO means that if you compare GNU/Linux with POS, you're playing by *their* rules, not by ours (like we would have any ;-p). GNU/Linux and POS are incomparable in many ways. You also know GNU/Linux has it's own set of quirks and problems and happily not addressing those (even unintentionally, I am sure) means misinformation.
IMHO real life cases are still the most effective to show Linux Laughs Last.

>> "Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Linux"

i think "jumping" from system to system was never an upgrade ...

the better one would be "10 reasons why you still need linux ..."


//but probably a little bit humble in tone though ...


.

Oh yes, that is plain in the article. The "alternative" ten reasons you don't want vista in the same mag suggests keeping XP for eg. (Though it is linked on badvista.org)

We need to take care when we advocate linux though:
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilber...-20070125.html
... funny yes, but it is also how many windows users see us.

"upgrade" is, of course, metaphorical. It cannot be "technically" an upgrade since the word implies an improved version of the same system. However, it can be an upgrade of the whole (computer+software) in the sense that you end up with an improved version of the same technology. Note: what is being upgraded has not been spelled out :)

But it wouldn't fit so well with the articles then would it?

Personally, I don't think these are the ten best reasons for migrating... they just happen to be some hacks idea of the ten best reasons for getting vista (unspoken: if you already have XP).

Anyway - the list is not positioned for proper discussion, we are all linux aliens (see link above) right?
//but probably a little bit humble in tone though ...

People really shouldn't say stuff like this. I've seen unnumerable help threads on all the linux forums I've been to with titles like "Hibernation doesn't work", and on my own laptop (IBM thinkpad T22) when I tried using hibernation mode, the thing turned off and I had to remove the battery for it to come on again.

Sure, but only an experienced user will be able to set it up.

It's stuff like this that causes people to come along and post a "linux is not ready for the desktop" thread once in a while. I'm not saying it's bad to promote linux, but this is plain giving people wrong ideas.

I's a bit like that "linux has the best out-of-the-box hardware support: people actually don't care - they just care that their own hardware doesn't go.

What is startling there is that people then complain that their hardware is not supported natively in linux... when it isn't supported natively in windows either (they needed a driver disk and special software). No other OS gets this expectation! The complaint should be that the vendor didn't include a linux driver in their driver disk. (Or that the OEM chose locked-in hardware without informing the customer.)

However, everything I've said is defensible in the same light as the original claims about Vista. Unlike the article, I have posted to a forum where people can make informed objections so I am unlikely to mislead anyone. Consider:... there are two points to be made here;
1. People seldom post "heyy - my hardware just worked like a charm" threads. They mostly post when they have a problem. (But see the HCL...)
2. I didn't claim that it works for your laptop :)

Aside: When I first got my laptop, I had trouble getting the ACPI functions to work properly. But when I compared with someone with the same laptop and windows, I discovered that windows was actually lots worse (despite having special windows specific stuff in the firmware). So I felt a bit better. Further, all I had to do was wait and a few months later... everything was supported and worked flawlessly. It still won't suspend in the OEM WinXP home it came with.

... it's still there. And it ain't that hard to set up. See the November issue (72) of Linux Magazine for eg.

TrueCrypt has a GUI to set it up, and DMCrypt is part of the kernel. One can encrypt files or whole partitions in about three commandlines. Whole disk encryption is an extension of this...
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/html_single/Di...ryption-HOWTO/
... link for folk who got here searching for encryption howtos.

You do need to know that it is there. It is simpler than many newbie tasks in linux. However, it is just waiting for user interest for this to come as an option in the installers of larger distros (SUSE, Fedora, etc)

The weakest one is #4 ... linux doesn't have the actual search helpers that vista boasts. I recall that RH9 had a gui search tool, but it vanished in FC1 never to be seen again. Users didn't want it. Even the slocate database isn't always enabled by default.

We could claim that linux is better organized and the organization published) ... but that sooo many people find the file-tree mystifying.

Of course - not all ten point apply to every distro. Not even to every major distro. Developers just do not have all these as priorities, and rightly so.

If one were to construct ten reasons to migrate to linux, properly, the list would be quite different. I understand there are threads about this.

Nice try, but let's get reasonable.

You are 'a consumer.' You want to achieve "an intended, contemplated result.

Presumably, you want to get there by means of what is for you "the least complicated and the least error-prone path." (Because, you want "result," not 'the [present[ means to it...')
If you want to achieve that by means of embracing Linux, then "come on over, the water's fine!" But realize also that doing so is not the only way or necessarily "the best (for you, here, now...) way" to achieve that result!

The choice is up to you. I "have done that, am here now, and so on." But the choice of what you will best choose to do... is up to you. If that means 'join us,' then "welcome aboard!" And if that means 'not,' then "Godspeed!"

Forsooth, it means all the same to me. And it be not the slightest statement, neither for thee nor against thee!

I'm sorry, but I don't see what that has to do with the previous posts.

Not true. Not all distributions are available as a free download. Doesn't look like that statement was well researched :rolleyes:
Check that. I know personally that sleep mode doesn't work at all on my Linux system, so it obviously doesn't work "always, all the time"!
A completely unjustified remark. What do you find "better" about it? "Better" is entirely subjective anyway. All you saying it's better means is that you personally prefer it. So what?
Care to elaborate? Linux is not the only system in the world, and everyone has the ultimate right to decide what they do with their own equipment. Obviously the user does have a choice!

OK - name ten.Again, I didn't say it works for you. This is on par with the claims in the article - sleep doesn't work in vista for everyone either, yet it is claimed to work "always" and "all the time". I think this refers to sleep in XP which can be erratic even when it does work. I suspect the statement needs to be read: "when the sleep mode works, it will always go when invoked...(etc)". A considerable weakening of the statement I agree - hence my version.I didn't claim this was better - just that it existed. I said there was a desktop search tool for everyone... perhaps just not for you? Did you read the article being spoofed?You seem to have misunderstood what I was doing. The point heading are not mine. These are provided in the article in the link... the article claims that "face it, you have no choice" (to change to vista). There is an unwritten assumption that the only alternative is to use XP, yet there are other OSs out there.

(BTW: if you check the vista eula and the hdcp specs, you'll find that MS disagree with you about this "everyone has the ultimate right to decide what they do with their own equipment" opinion you just spouted. When we say, in English, "I have no choice", this is never literal. Literally, there is always and ultimately a choice.)

Rather than refute each point head on, it occurred to me to take each point and make some sort of linux/OSS/FS version.

If you think I haven't done a good job - fine.
From your suggestions, I should go keep the tone more general... so I can remove the "All" from that iso availability... maybe say that "all major distros" (which leaves "major" subjective). Or perhaps just say that linux is available this way - since I have been somewhat disingenious in this regard with other points.

Can you suggest improvement to each point - or do you thing ground should be conceded on some of them.

Bear in mind, we should not take any of this too seriously. My proposition is that linux (as a generality) can beat vista in it's own terms. But this is misleading, since vista is supposed to champion the proprietary-model in marketing. Linux explicitly flips a bird at this model. To compare the two head on like this will always be misleading.

So it is in fun.
Please bear in mind the point of the original post

From the top of my head, I suppose:
- Red Hat Enterprise
- SuSE Enterprise
- Mandriva's paid editions
- Linspire
- Xandros
- MEPIS Pro
- Oracle (if you consider it a seperate OS)

You can't get those for a free download, last I checked. (Fedora, openSUSE, etc. don't count.)

(Oh well, just 7. Close enough :P)

I have been quite startled with some of the replies. Folk seem content to tear down the image I was hoping to present rather than try to make it stronger. For all that, the strongest argument seems to have escaped all those who have posted so far. Vis: this is besides the point! Linux isn't trying to beat anyone on their own turf or anywhere else. Making direct comparisons like this, and taking them seriously, will just make it look like we are trying to be like windows. Indeed, it increases the pressure to be like windows. This is undesirable indeed.

You should also know that I have been around a while. I know the foibles of linux quite well thank you. I also know that personal experience is not a good guide. But, to avoid further misunderstandings, I thought I'd provide (breif, therefore incomplete) qualifications to each point.

Do do do do read this article before posting critisisms. The whole point is to demonstrate that similar statements about linux are at least as valid as those made about vista. Some are a bit weaker, but most are stronger. The proposition is that the overall effect is favorable to linux - without invoking anything like freedom and so on that are genuine advantages.

If you think the argument is weak - by all means offer a stronger one.

1. UI built for the era of video and digital photography
... GPhoto (and varients) come with major linux distributions and support cameras out of the box (no driver disk needed). Hotplug your camera and you're away.
Interetsingly, no-one has pointed out that quite a few cameras are not supported in gphoto... however, no cameras are supported in windows without some manufacturer provided driver. i.e. Vista is caiming to do something linux users have been used to for years - out of the box camera support - and I bet it still needs manufacturer drivers.

2. Image-based install
... Linux images can be downloaded free of charge, either directly or via bittorrent. However, most major distributions are available on CD or DVD ROM from the distributor or from your newsagent on the cover of a magazine. You can even "try before you buy" with no risk by running demo versions from the media without ever installing a byte.
ISO download is the mainstay of linux distribution. Sure there are commercial linuxes which cannot be downloaded without paying a fee - but these are still available under another name... i.e. RHEL -> CentOS, White-Box etc. Here I am exploiting the fact there are thousands of linuxes to make the statement true. I could also have said, "All linux images are freely available" and exploit the free=liberty definition.

3. Up-to-date driver base and better driver handling on installation
... linux (out of the box) hardware support is second to none. The vast majority of devices are supported by relatively few drivers which are included in the OS.
"Out=of-the box" being the key phrase here. Trouble is, there is always something that doesn't go and that is the thing folk will scream about. Note: vista is making a big thing about the shear number of drivers pre-installed... I would like information about the number of drivers pre installed in the various linuxes: how would I find out? (Yes I know it is misleading - in linux a single driver may support many devices, in windows a single driver typically supports one or a few devices.)

4. Desktop search and search folders built in
... each distribution has an array of GUI-based and power-user search tools to locate and sort anything you care to name. (I'd like to improve this one.)
I still consider this the weakest of all... I am reduced to stating the existence of desktop search tools ... I'd like to clarify what this vista "built in" tool is and how it differs from the XP version. There is also mention of a "my favorite searches" folder where links to frequently saught items appear. This all sounds like encouraging user stupidity to me, something which is anathema to OSS/FS development.

5. Sleep mode that actually works.
... ACPI in the linux kernel dosn't expect laptop manufacturer to second guess your operating system requirements in their firmware. Linux has a dedicated team constantly improving all the ACPI functions such as sleep and hybernate. Where there are problems with this, they are likely to get fixed.
OK OK, your laptops ACPI is wonky - often this is due to a poor BIOS setup and it is dodgy in any windows for which the vendor dosn't have an OEM license. I've actually seen DSDTs where there is a line which basically states "If not windows <version> then break/hobble ACPI". This is the "guess your OS type" part comes from. (The fix is to get linux to tell the bios that it is actually windows.) Linux users should go through their BIOS settings and disable anything in there concerning power management.

6. Rock-solid laptop encryption
... Whole disk encryption with a variety of rugged keys has been available for a long time now.
Linux systems tend to be harder to set up that windows though - compare the linux firewall an the windows one. Windows still give three settings only? It is similar with encrypted filesystems. Linux gives a great deal of configuration flexability, and the option to encrypt the entire drive is not usually available at installation. Anyone know of at least one distro which does, let me know.

7. Better file navigation
... and a navigation method for everyone
In the vista case, this is really part of the desktop search thing. Here I have just stated that a choice exists. You can navigate files how you like. Presumably, once you have found the method you like, this is best for you. I'd like this to be stronger, but it is unclear what the XP file navigation is like which is "improved upon" in vista.

8. Inbuilt undelete
... yes - breadcrumbed folders, following the web page model. Even favorite folders... if you really want. All practically from the beginning.
Nobody has questioned this one... but I found it funny that the article was making a thing of vistas "go back" button in it's file browser. Dosn't XP have one?

9. DirectX10
... DX10 will not be made for XP. Good video will become impossible for you because MS says so. Linux uses the OpenSDL system instead - being open, it will always work.
Nobody has questioned this one. It is a reference to HDCP for "premium content" which I trust doesn't need a reference. "Premium content" is, of course, anything the supplier wants protected - only initially is this HD content. "Always work" is tricky here too - witness all the threads about nVidia or ATI... though I gather the open source supported cards are reliable.

10. Face it, you have no choice
... Linux is written for you. Vista is written for the multimedia industry. Who you gonna call?
The original article states that you will have no choice but to switch to vista (from XP). This is like those evangelists who think the only alternatives are xiatinty vs atheism (or vs devil worship etc). I think I make a better case - though, of course, you always have a choice. (Same comments work for the BSD versions too, or anything OSS/FS.) Here your choice is between casting off the (XP) chains you have OR donning much heavier (vista) chains.

I hope this clarifies these points and what I am trying to achieve here. Please try to keep criticisms constructive. If you think a particular point is not well argues, please present a better argument. Thank you.

Fedora and OpenSUSE etc do count - they are linuxes... but you mean that they don't count as a free version of the commercial release. Certainly the vendors claim they are different. Fedora is aggressively and self-conscuously different... but see below.

There is a problem in trying to determine if a commercial release is sufficiently different to be called a separate OS. After all, "linux" (as in "All linuxes") is, in fact, the kernel. All the kernels are available for download free of charge.

But this isn't actually what we are talking about, so I don't want to stand on that argument too much. It also steps a wee bit beyond the liberties taken in the spoofed article. So, bearing that in mind, I still need to establish how different a commercial version has to be from the free version to count as seperate. (For eg, free and commercial Ubuntu are identical - you pay for support not software.)

Starting with RHEL, I am going to argue that the commercial releases are available in fact, if not in name, for download and free of charge.

* RHEL is available under other names... White Box, CentOS for eg.
* SuSE Enterprise is the retail version of OpenSUSE. It is available for a free download - see the OpenSUSE FAQ for more details.
* Linspire is free - Called FreeSpire: the only difference is access to the CNR package repository which is restricted for FreeSpire. You pay for better saccess to services, not for the OS. (OK, this is a recent change...)
* Mandrivia: though the Mandrivia website makes a great deal of the commercial product being "a different product", the differences are in the presence of proprietary products with the standard "download edition". The same page admits that it is possible to download Mandrivia Free and install the other bits (also for free) and thus have, de-facto, Mandrivia Commercial... the selling points remain: easier install and professional support.
Considering that it is possible to obtain the commercial version in the form of a live CD (Mandrivia One), the position that the commercial version is not available for free starts to look weak.
* Xandros: from 14th Sept 2006 it has been possible to download Xandros Premium free of charge. (OK 30 day evaluation... but I never claimed there were no time limits, only that the ISO was available for download and free of charge and this is the case.)
* Mepis Pro... according to the Mepis site, there ain't no such product. The only product requiring a subscription is MepisLite Desktop (A subset of SimplyMepis). It is possible to buy SimplyMepis from the Mepis Store - but you do not have to do this.
* Corel ... OK you got me there... but that is because it is a dead distro. It was first released in 1999 but died out quite soon. The development website vanished in 2002. Its code is now part of Xandros.

What was that about my research?

You still owe me three more... you only need one clear hit to disprove my absolute statement.
However, I have changed the wording of that point to make it stronger.

I should point out, in connection with this, that the visa article makes a big deal about being available for download as an ISO - something linux users take for granted.

Wow, this turned into an evangelical argument pretty quickly. I think we can rule out reasoned debate once we need to start redefining common terms (like "all" "free" "distribution" etc.) to bolster a weak statement. Actually, once you need to start adding long clauses to each of your statements, to reshape the common understanding of what you actually said... it's almost pointless to even continue.

Since this is purely religious at this point, should we start going door to door and handing out little fliers?

True - Micro$oft is free in Vietnam/China/Pakistan and in parts of India. It is easy to find .

Unlike Linux - If you so chose to buy it - Cost of CD and Support would be approximately say about $20.

True - I love recovery consoles.


True - With Vista Bitlocker in place - People do have a choice(read - decision) to make - If they wanted to use Linux or Vista. With windows making dual boot as crappy as it could - It cannot be called healthy competition.

For People it would be easier to take decision - had it been fair competition but unfair things - Microsoft/Netscape Showdown, Microsoft/Novell Showdown, Microsoft/Oracle Showdown, Microsoft/Sun Showdown, Microsoft/Apple Showdown - I belv all these companies cannot be collectively wrong. But It can be equally subjective.

You did say that it works "always, all the time". Given that it doesn't work on my machine, there is obviously at least one time when it doesn't work, hence that statement is false.

See, you did say that!

You did list "Better" file navigation as a reason to choose Linux over Vista. You didn't say "File navigation exists under Linux". If you had that wouldn't be a reason to choose Linux over vista anyway, since file navigation also exists under Vista.

I never "spouted" any "opinion". What I did was state a fact that no one is forcing anyone to install Linux on their own machine, so obviously users do have the choice of whether to install Linux. That is a provable fact, not an opinion!

Wherever this came from, the point remains the same. That list contains a lot of claims that are completely untrue, greatly exaggerated, or are attempts to disguise what is nothing more than the writer's own personal opinion as facts.

I agree with the hand of fate. Let's build bridges to Simon so we can show him how his argument points are no good, and how his original post is indeed misleading.

Any statement that leads users to expect easy working suspend and resume from suspend on laptops is optimistically misleading at best and intentionally cruel at worst.

I agree - did you read the original article?

Anyway - I doubt users will expect this from this thread.

I did read the original article. I don't see your point.

That seems to give the impression that suspend and resume are easy to get working in Linux.

Ah... I see.
Perhaps I should emphasize the reliability of working suspend/hybernate, much as the article does.

You see the article gives the impression that it is easy in vista ... but, if the firmware doesn't support vista then it is impossible to get acpi going. Whereas, with linux there is at least a chance.

Thus the reference to "guessing your OS type" and the ongoing ACPI development.

The positive "spin" in the list is a reflection of the similar spin in the vista article.

Personally, I found getting suspend/hybernate very easy under linux: I installed Ubuntu edgy and it worked as advertised. Under the OEM windows that came with it - with updates - it still doesn't work.

OK: hybernate is much more likely to work well under an OEM Vista than under a random linux... but I did not claim that it wouldn't be.

Your personal experience notwithstanding, this is increasingly the experience of linux users. However: I await your constructive comments concerning how to rewrite the offensive passage to better reflect the situation as you see it. (Remember: positive spin, in-keeping with the spirit of the vista article.)

It works on my machine on every instance in which I call it. Always - all the time. Never mind, I'm getting so much objection to this particular phrase that I'll have to change it. Perhaps remove it all together.Nope - look at the title again... ten reasons to upgrade to linux"... look at what I said under file navigation... I said that there was a method for everyone. I did not say these were reasons to choose linux over vista (more like over XP - like the article I'm spoofing)... sorry if that wasn't clear. However, I think that the case for making linux file management a feature in linuxes favour is as good as that for vista. Do you disagree? Well, I'm sure many people will find the "improvements" in vista file management more annoying than helpful.

I would like to have a stronger message under file navigation though... as I have explained.
In other words - exactly the same as the vista article :)

I guess I'm going to have to run another post listing the facts and providing backup references for them. However, I did ask for suggestions to improve the arguments under each heading.

So, I take it you disagree with the proposition that linux can beat vista on it's own terms?

10 Reasons you should get Linux instead of Vista
http://apcmag.com/5082/10_reasons_you_should_get_vista
I have been accused of spouting my personal opinion as facts - or greatly exaggerating those facts which are present... of course, this is all in keeping with the spin-doctoring going on in vista and the article in the link. I am expressly following the style of this, and similar, articles.

I'm afraid that this kind of spin is very common in marketing. Someone selling apples from a barrow doesn't shout out "Quite OK apples, not many brown bits!" Do they? Nah - they shout out "Get yer fresh apples, they're loverly!"

I think we can forgive a certain amount of this, provided we are allowed to play the game too.

Further - in a short statement (single paragraph) it is not possible to be exhaustive or completely accurate.

1. UI built for the era of video and digital photography
... GPhoto (and varients) come with major linux distributions and support cameras out of the box (no driver disk needed). Hotplug your camera and you're away.

http://www.gphoto.org/
gphoto2 supports more than 800 cameras. The documentation suggests trying cameras not supported in gphoto as mass-media. Further, it is often the case that an unsupported camera will be detected as a different, but supported, camera... and thus used that way.

"Hotplug your camera and you're away." Is an exaggeration - there exist cameras which are not supported by gphoto and the mass-media method is not mentioned in the note. This could be construed as misleading... however, writing: "Hotplug supported cameras and you're away" would also be misleading about the wealth of digital camera support built into major linux distros. If anyone would care to write a short statement which does betterjustice to this, please do so and I'll happily concede.

2. Image-based install
... Linux images can be downloaded free of charge, either directly or via bittorrent. However, most major distributions are available on CD or DVD ROM from the distributor or from your newsagent on the cover of a magazine. You can even "try before you buy" with no risk by running demo versions from the media without ever installing a byte.

www.distrowatch.org lists locations to download ISOs for each distribution they cover.
The vista article claimed improved availability (implied: over XP). I suspect everyone will agree that linux beats vista here... except maybe for pre-installed versions.

3. Up-to-date driver base and better driver handling on installation
... linux (out of the box) hardware support is second to none. The vast majority of devices are supported by relatively few drivers which are included in the OS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
"Common for hardware to work 'out of the box' in many linux distributions"
http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/?page=all
"No where else will you find out-of-the-box support for FireWire"
http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/ols_2006_keynote.html
"Linux supports more devices (out of the box) than any other operating system ever has."

Of course, the catch is that vendors support windows. So the statement by itself could be construed as implying that your hardware will work in linux. Perhaps it could read: "Linux doesn't require vendor supplied drivers for most hardware". In fact, I think that is an excellent add-on.

4. Desktop search and search folders built in
... each distribution has an array of GUI-based and power-user search tools to locate and sort anything you care to name. (I'd like to improve this one.)

Googling around, it seems they are talking about something similar to Beagle. And a google-bar on the desktop... only it's the MS search engine. There are also traditional versions - CLI based slocate and its GUI front-ends.

5. Sleep mode that actually works.
... ACPI in the linux kernel doesn't expect laptop manufacturer to second guess your operating system requirements in their firmware. Linux has a dedicated team constantly improving all the ACPI functions such as sleep and hybernate. Where there are problems with this, they are likely to get fixed.

http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Fix_Com..._functionality
... this is an example of DSDT entries which have windows-only functionality built-in. Notice that the entries are for specific windows versions. One suspects that anyone upgrading an OEM-XP machine to vista may need to update their bios as well or face suspend/hybernate problems. Then there may be conflicts with premium content protection. Time will tell.

The same wiki also asserts that various acpi projects are under active development. In particular, for the acpi4asus project:
"if you have a recent Asus laptop that isn't yet supported by the driver, support may be coming soon"

6. Rock-solid laptop encryption
... Whole disk encryption with a variety of rugged keys has been available for a long time now.
http://www.bigwebmaster.com/General/...ryption-HOWTO/
The DM-Crypt man page etc.
DM-Crypt has been part of the device mapper from kernel version 2.6.4

It is very easy to encrypt parts of the file-system using DM-Crypt. Encrypting an entire drive (the root filesystem) is more of a pain - but howtos exist to take you through this step-by-step. However, the ease of the encryption method is not at issue here. The supplied heading says "rock solid". DM-Crypt uses any encryption scheme supported by the kernel. For eg. a standard example (i.e. Linux Magazine 72 p24) uses 256 bit key, CBC mode data, and supplies an sha256 hashed initialization vector.

Interestingly, if you google for "encrypted filesystem install", you get one entry for windows server (moved) and the rest are linux - with howtos for various encryption schemes.

7. Better file navigation
... and a navigation method for everyone

Note: the title isn't mine. In the original article the vista file navigation is touted as "better" without saying what it is better than. This is a common advertising spin. One hopes that it is better than XP - but they don't actually say that. Following this form, I can imply that recent linux file navigation is better than the past ones. Well, on would hope so. So I elaborate: there is a navigation method for everyone.

http://applications.linux.com/articl...&tid=13&tid=49
... a list of file managers in linux which compares them. By no means exhaustive. With so many to choose from (including the option of using a windows file manager in wine) there is bound to be something to suit anyone.

Of course, that's just an opinion... without actually doing a statistical servey, I cannot authoritatively assert the likelyhood of someone finding a search method they are happy with. However, with a choice of many vs a choice of one, it would seem more likely that one may find a file manager in linux one is happy with.

Then again: there's no pleasing some people.

8. Inbuilt undelete
... yes - breadcrumbed folders, following the web page model. Even favorite folders... if you really want. All practically from the beginning.

"breadcrumbed folders" looks functionally like the back-button and history you see in nautilus and konqueror (amongst others). The "undelete" option is usually provided by the "trash". this isn't really what they are talking about... the disk-space is free'd but a program keeps track of the file until it is actually overwritten (but I think I saw something like this in earlier windows).

If something like this is possible in linux, please let me know.

Usually this is referred to as data recovery or forensics... one can, in principle, "undelete" using grep for eg... but this says that when you tell vista "yes, I really want to permanently delete that file", it doesn't believe you. (For some folk I know, this is probably wise.)

9. DirectX10
... DX10 will not be made for XP. Good video will become impossible for you because MS says so. Linux uses the OpenSDL system instead - being open, it will always work.

I refer, of course, to analysis concerning the HDCP specifications. MS gets to disable your hardware if suspects that anyone on the planet has tried to use it for copying premium content.

10. Face it, you have no choice
... Linux is written for you. Vista is written for the multimedia industry. Who you gonna call?

Of course, choice exists: nobody is putting a gun to your head.
Funny how everyone "chooses" MS Windows (whichever OEm comes with their computer)?

Usually, when one says "I had no choice", we do not mean this literally. So I am going to be generous to the article and assume they mean it in this sense.

The note is pure opinion I'm afraid. You got me there... I've made a political statement based on two observations:

1. linux software is written by folk who use it, to "scratch an itch" (from, The Cathedral and the Bazaar")http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/ca...r/ar01s02.html
2. The MS Vista HDCP specifications of course, particularily the following commentary:
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut00...vista_cost.txt

I feel I can afford to do this as a bit of a throwaway statement. I feel this is in the spirit of the article being spoofed... and how else can I follow the theme of using the article's own headings against it?

The same magazine also includes ten reasons not to buy Vista.
... hmmm perhaps I should provide ten reasons not to adopt linux, and see how many complaints I get?


Overall: there is a general bit of misleading here which still, nobody has admonished me for. All this is besides the point of linux!

"Linux isn't ready for the desktop" We don't care.
"Linux will never replace windows on the desktop" So what?

Linux isn't about marketplaces and shares, it is about freedom.
It works for me.
I'm sure it will benifit anyone who tries - even if they don't like it and go back to whatever they were doing before.

Lastly: some people may get their backs up because I singled out linux.
Let me say - these comments apply to various degrees to other open systems like FreeBSD (and other BSDs) and Solaris. (But what about FreeDOS or CP/M I hear ... OK, tell me... like anybody really cares what I say... I mean: what makes me so important? murmer, mumble urbm...)

@handoffate

Well by same token - does windows delivers everything it advertises - And does it Work EXACTLY the same way dude.

Whatever Windows has - EVERYTHING was INPIRED(read copied) from other OS's.

i dont understand why people are so particular about and so fond of things like(for example) sleep/suspend/hibernate of their computer ...


.

You didn't specify that it only works "always, all the time" on your particular machine.

If that is what you meant, then why do you think anyone else should care about what works on your machine? What makes a difference to the user is what works on their machine. What works on one particular random machine that they will never have to use, belonging to someone they've never even met is completely irrelevant.

You wrote a list with the title and in that list wasso yes, you did list "better file navigation" as a "reason to choose Linux over Vista"!
Check this. Windows is built with the needs of users in mind, and is funded entirely by selling a service to the user. It's very existence depends on providing a competitive product that the user will be prepared to pay for.

Compare this to the way a lot of the Linux kernel was developed. Most of the code was done by programmers purely for their own needs. Most of the developers didn't even care about the needs of the end user, and certainly didn't have any real incentive to deliver the best possible product to them.

Just because someone else might have done ti once doesn't excuse it. We certainly shouldn't forgive this attempt to promote Linux under false pretenses.

It is possible to refrain from telling blatant lies in a paragraph of any length, as any decent, honest person would do!

On laptops, the ability... to close the lid, have it sleep, and then wake up again when you open the lid... is an essential part of computing.

Do you know anyone who boots up her laptop, then shuts it down after leaving it? Then boots it up again?

This is interesting. I havent heard of a free Windows system, ever.

All I know of is www.merawindows.com offering free Windows Vista Beta 2 DVDs if you answer a quiz correctly.

Not just mine - here is a very old FAQ (c.2004) from linux on dell which states that suspend is easy to get working. But that's enough on the matter: Please check post #23. This entry has been altered since it is obviously causing too much confusion. Thank you for your input. If you would like to direct future comments towards the revised version, this will be appreciated.Yeah, all right, you got me. But I also wrote:... I had hoped that people would realize that, by using the same headings, I was using the predefined "same turf" as vista promotions. Oh well... best laid plans...

also see the #7 entry in post #23. The thing is, you have linked two statements from quite different parts of the post in a way that is not intended.

You know, of course, that "better" will always be a comparative - and qualitative at that. This will always be an opinion stated as opinion, not an opinion stated as a fact. It remains only to show that it is a substantiated opinion. To that end, I assert that the wide choice is what makes it better. Presumably you disagree... that's OK: that's your opinion. I hope that post #23 makes a better case. However, I have also stated that I think this entry is weak and have asked for a stronger argument... can you provide one?Now that is your opinion. Can you substantiate it?This is a very negative spin on things - not in the spirit of the original article at all. Nope, I don't think I can use this... especially as it is so manifestly against the facts of kernel development. Please try again.

A great deal has been written on the relative advantages of the open and proprietary models for development. That the OSS model works as well as it does is confusing to people who advocate the proprietary model - there doesn't seem to be any reason for these people to even want to produce good code.

It is beyond the scope of this thread to add to this mountain of argument. If you are interested in the foundation I am using for the statements, you should start with the links provided in post #23.

If you have any constructive commentary to add, please feel free.

Once? Oh dear - you don't get out much do you?Promote? I don't think I need to promote linux here do I? Perhaps you think I have attempted to disseminate this stuff amongst folk who know no better - possibly maliciously misleading them into the perils of linux and OSS/FS?

Just so we know where you stand: the premise is that linux can beat vista on it's own turf. Do you disagree? (You have so far refused to state your position.)

It can be - especially people who move about a lot, and can need everything available quickly.Yes: me. (Though I usually shut it down before leaving it.) I also know about a dozen people who use windows XP who do this too... because sleep is unreliable. In fact - don't actually know any windows-laptop owners who routinely use suspend. I do know a couple of linux-laptop owners who do.

I don't think these guys can be a representative sample though. I point this out to illustrate the error of argument ad hominem.

Interestingly, suspend to disk seems to work well where there is sufficient swap space. Suspend to ram is the bit most folk who have trouble, have trouble with. Either they don't have enough RAM, or their system doesn't refresh the RAM during suspend, or the bios won't let them in some other way. The debian manual suggests switching off particular bios power management features because they often interfere with the kernel ACPI - most people seem to just make sure they can boot from CD and leave it at that.

I have changed that entry in the updated version of the list. Can you suggest any other improvements (considering the stated aims, that is.)

It is always possible to get windows for free... but Microsoft will call you a thief :) I have heard that MS tends to be slow moving on EULA violations in developing countries. While some see this as a calculated move to hook the poor folk on windows then reel them in when they are fully addicted, I suspect that the folk in question are just too poor to sue profitably.

Sometimes windows (or a windows upgrade) is available free (of charge but not of chains) as a "freebie giveaway" as part of a promotion. I don't think this counts in the above context - but someone else may, so I should really mention it. I should also point out that the original article doesn't claim that vista is available "free as in beer" anywhere.

On that note - I see that it is possible to get beer that is "free as in speech" these days... http://freebeer.org/

Please learn the difference between a fact and an opinion. It is a fact that Windows is financed by selling a product, and it's finance is dependant on it's product being salable.

How many times other people have committed the same offense before doesn't change the fact that you are guilty of it, nor does it excuse you committing the same offense.

This is nothing to do with any "spin". The point is that your statement that "Linux was written for you [the user]" is somewhat at odds with the reality that most of it was in fact written by developers purely for their own needs, and not for the user at all.

So you ask for constructive commentary and then resort to using kiddy "LOL YOU NEVER GET OUT" type insults. Ok.

Just wondering, what kind of person is your original post "Ten reasons to upgrade to linux" targeted at?

A very good point - I'm afraid I am fallable too. I plead strong provocation and withdraw the comment. I should have said:

"That kind of thing is much more common than your statements would have it."

I was hoping it was aimed at people who already thought that linux was really cool and were interested in a different kind of argument. Sort of like an intellectual exersize, or a thought experiment. Perhaps I should have stuck that in the thread title vis: "Thought Experiment: Linux can beat Vista-hype on it's own terms?"

I was also hoping for interesting responses. I have received some too.

Pretty soon I'll have to abandon the experiment as "inconclusive".

Yea...but this doesnt make a difference to almost anyone over here.

But theres' one thing I would like to point out, though it has nothing to do with the thread topic.
People here using pirated MS Windows copies aren'nt necessarily poor...they just seem to think that putting in a months' salary to get an original copy of Windows isnt worth it, especially when even the neighbourhood cig shop owner will gladly give you a copy for Rs. 100 or less (Win Vista basic home edition without the Aero UI n stuff costs Rs. 8000 here). I had talked to a few ppl, and they dont know what it takes to write a good piece of software, or dont give a damn about it. They will gladly shell out Rs. 20K+ for the latest hardware, but wont buy an original copy of a game even.
Now I have no idea what M$ thinks about this, but sooner than later they will have to tighten the noose, considering the huge number of PCs using pirated Win copies. And Linux comes in over here...many of the distros are as good as Windows for most of the tasks...and it is free too.

And I don't expect it to :) that's why it is an intellectual exercise. Some people do this for fun: ever joined a debating society?

The exercise has some profit - for eg. some of my assumptions have been challenged - requiring me to rethink some of my ideas.

But you are talking about something else :)
Something that may make a difference would be to burn ans supply free software disks to the local cig shop operator. Produce one of OSS/FS windows apps and another of an easy to use disto you think fits the local mentality well. Suggest he gives them a go and point out that he is free to copy and sell as many as he likes.

Oh sure - same in NZ. But poverty is relative - what I mean is, if you don't have enough money to pay the damages, there's no point suing you.

This is why major distros (mostly) do not ship with proprietary format support, but you can install that support yourself. The companies doing the distributing are rich enough (or make a more profitable target in other ways) to be worth suing. An individual, by and large, isn't.

This is pretty much what got me into linux, so I can relate.Yes - I've noticed a recent upsurge in interest in linux from your neck of the woods. We had a similar surge from Brazil when MS tightened their noose over there. As the cost of vista hits home, we can expect more to "see the light".

MS views the practices you have related as "theft". Pure and simple. And you are right: sooner or later they will tighten the noose!