The Linux Experiment...

[Liquid Cool]

I've been visiting Tweakguides.com for almost two decades. It's probably the oldest site around that I still visit on a daily basis. You might know Tweakguides because the sites owner(Koroush Ghazi) wrote all of those Tweaking Companions for Windows and used to write gaming guides up until a few years ago. I remember he wrote for nVidia for awhile as well.

I think people that know me, know I'm not going to mention something...anything unless I'm dead serious about meaning it. So here it goes...

My firm opinion is...that Koroush is an excellent tech writer and I enjoy reading his views. I've mentioned once before that TPU should have picked up this gem of a writer a long time ago. I meant it.

At any rate...

Koroush gave linux a try and wrote a nice article entitled:

The Linux Experiment

I thought it was a good read and wanted to pass it along.

Best Regards,

Liquid Cool

 

[johnspack]

So cute to watch a linux newb struggle to understand. He went about the winehq install completely wrong. It just takes a copy and paste of 5 lines of text from browser to term box to complete
the installation. I've done it hundreds of times in the last 2 years. Still fun to watch him actually try to go the the ftp and get the individual files... heh!

 

[Solaris17]

Meh, he is right in alot of regards. I run entire linux/unix server fleets with no gui. I run suse on my workstation at work. At home I use windows on my desktop and laptop, but I have a macbook too.

I'm pretty well rounded and I dont get the shock factor anymore when using an OS. even diff linux flavors generally. But while I like alot about all of the OSs;

I feel his pain with linux initial usability. It is the only OS family where you almost immediately end up in the terminal. I dont mean because were sharp and just do it out of habit.

I mean if you lookup how to do something simple a large percentage of the guides immediately tell you to drop into it.

Thats hard for alot of people. Of course an argument can be had that linux is not for or meant for all people. Maybe thats true im not certain, but he hits alot of the adoption pains on the head without necessarily saying adoption pains.

Techy? Linux probably isnt a problem. Teenager? neuroplasticity strikes again and you get used to it.

Teaching my wife how to use linux? She's a sharp cookie but thats probably not happening.

 

[johnspack]

I'll admit I'd agree with a lot of it too. But I spent 2 years forcing myself to learn it inside and out because I refuse to use windows 10. I just had a good enough reason I guess.
Linux is much better, it's faster, and wine is advancing so rapidly. I can game, I can run windows apps on it. Why do I ever need to run windows again? Answer: I don't.
I ran ms stuff since dos 3.1.... not many here even know what that is.

The point is, it doesn't have to be that difficult to set up a linux install. And his instructions lead you astray from that. I'd be willing to post a simple step by step guide on how to install
winehq wine in ubuntu or mint, it is really quite simple. Would take about 2 minutes to set up. Let people who know show you how, don't go by newbs who have never seen it before.

 

[Solaris17]

I'll admit I'd agree with a lot of it too. But I spent 2 years forcing myself to learn it inside and out because I refuse to use windows 10. I just had a good enough reason I guess.
Linux is much better, it's faster, and wine is advancing so rapidly. I can game, I can run windows apps on it. Why do I ever need to run windows again? Answer: I don't.
I ran ms stuff since dos 3.1.... not many here even know what that is.

The point is, it doesn't have to be that difficult to set up a linux install. And his instructions lead you astray from that. I'd be willing to post a simple step by step guide on how to install
winehq wine in ubuntu or mint, it is really quite simple. Would take about 2 minutes to set up. Let people who know show you how, don't go by newbs who have never seen it before.

Thats really the point though I feel. This trancends wine. But your offer is exactly what makes it difficult.

You shouldn't need to read a tutorial to install software.

 

[johnspack]

Let's hope winehq makes it simpler soon. I so want to see all these sheeple off windows......

 

[TheLostSwede]

Terminal is easy enough in Linux, the problem I have is all the weird commands like grep | which makes no sense to a Windos user. I mean, shit, I started out with DOS 3.0 and I've tinkered enough with Linux to manage the basics and some, but when I have to do some really weird shit just to figure out why something isn't working, I feel like I waste a lot of time on nothing.

I also hate the fact that installing/updating drivers in Linux is such a chore. Not only do you have to compile the drivers, but you need to do a bunch of crap to just be able to do so.
These are some of the reasons why Linux will never become a mainstream consumer OS, as people simply don't have time to mess around with this crap, nor do they care how their devices work or what hardware they're running in general. They just want to get on with it and use their devices.

 

[Solaris17]

Let's hope winehq makes it simpler soon. I so want to see all these sheeple off windows......

Meh, I'd like to see more people use linux, but I also dont mind windows at all. Personal issues: Linux has problems, that are frustrating. OSX has a pretty easy learning curve but I seriously dislike how the security is really in your face. Terminal on OSX is fantastic for working with network equipment but I hate strangling my OS when I want to install anything not on the app store.

I dislike the test time of windows updates.

I hate how if I linux fails to remove something the software could have threw them in several different places.

Macs make removing software easy, but navigation of the OS file system I find difficult.

But I don't hate any of them. I used to. A long time ago. I remember XP I was hardcore linux a year or so before vista having used XP. I was trying all sorts of stuff. Mac OS 8 or 9? was a joke in my eyes.

I work in the field though, and recently I've grown ever more accustomed to all of them and none of them are ever going to be perfect.

From design, eco system or usability none of the 3 will ever become perfect so I just use what makes more sense.

Shit at this point the one that makes the most sense and the one I use the least is OSX. Virtualized OSX is terrible and imo anyone that says hacking OSX to run a hackintosh is just as good as the real thing is lying or an idiot. But Macs can virtualize both Windows and Linux prettly flawlessly. If I ever wanted an all in one system to do it all to switch between for tasks id go with one full time. I dont because well thats an Apple thing. I sometimes really need the extra cores or the ram or a seperate disk and there eco system makes that expensive and challenging.

All par for the course imo.


EDIT:: Mind you thats not a holier than thou play. I get it. Like I mentioned I dont use my mac unless I justify the need. Id rather do something in putty if I can slog through it than use my mac. Only if I have to do ALOT of configuration will I do it. So you know. Hate on brother.

 

[johnspack]

For me, window is no longer relevant. I need multiple vms running at any time, linux uses memory resources much better. I guess games aren't really a factor for me, but the ones I
do run, run perfectly under winehq staging. Use Ubuntu, install synaptic, and you can remove software as easily as install. All through a gui if you like. Kde has it all. Start menu just
like win classic. And you can run a lot of windows apps as well. My desktop is mostly windows apps. People just don't try hard enough.

The Linux screenshots thread

Here comes Kubuntu Eaon, the beta is already quite stable: I'm using it as a main os already, it's ready for prime time. If you are unsure, I recommend using a 2nd drive, and installing it to that. I have 4 os installs including windows, it's always good to be prepared. The Eaon install...

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