Linux and Other Strangers

Penguin still gives me the chills -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I’ve sacrificed about the last 3 weeks of evenings and weekends playing with the Linux operating system. I last tried Red Hat 7.0 in 2002, and thought it was kludgy and difficult. No less than 5 of my office coworkers swear by current versions of Linux and convinced me to try again in 2009 -- this time with Ubuntu or Fedora. Low-end netbooks are coming with Ubuntu preinstalled, so what the hey, it’s almost mainstream now.

I won’t bore you with my installation problems (See “The Geek Shall Inherit ..”). Suffice it to say that I had to become highly knowledgeable about disk sectors and boot managers to get the damn thing installed on my USB hard drive. I’m not really a computer genius and don’t undertake to do extreme things; here is what 99% of my computing experience is made of: blogging, emailing, budgeting, shopping, iTunes and simple Excel spreadsheets.

Here are some of my Linux frustrations so far …(and probably no further)…
1) Rhythm Box (poor Linux excuse for iTunes) cannot play mp3’s -- must get special decoder
2) Rhythm Box corrupted my iPod Nano and the Nano had to be restored on Windows
3) A couple of packages installed without needed dependencies or and/or they created selLinux (security) violations -- programs wouldn’t execute
4) Xfce interface was hell to get installed and displayed; Gnome interface slows down a low-end PC.
5) Linux software tends toward two extremes: (1) Cheesy low-budget imitations of mainstream Windows/Mac programs or (2) genius-level maestro programs with PHD-level jargon and confusing menus

No need to extend this list much further ... Linux appeals to the same people who in previous years would’ve enjoyed Heathkit TV sets and older model Jaguars -- people who like to tinker. I’m thinking of someone like a harried Mother who puts her key in the ignition of her Nissan Maxima. She doesn’t care if it’s a straight 6, a V6 or fuel-injected engine. She certainly doesn’t want to open the hood and jiggle any wires. She wants the damn thing to start and take her where she needs to go. Linux is a 1969 Jaguar with a Heathkit TV dangling off the side. Jiggling, lots of jiggling is required.

Bill Gates "Derangement Syndrome"

A lot of people hate Bill Gates and all that Microsoft represents. They see him as a machinating uber-capitalist who has sought to take over computing everywhere. What baffles me about this is that Bill Gates is absolutely no worse than Jack Welch, Ted Turner, Steve Jobs or any other entrepreneur. In our Wild West capitalist system, they all charge what the market will bear and do whatever they can to capture markets and make you come back to their products. Why don’t you also hate GM, GE or Kellogg’s with the same level of vitriol? You might as well move to Hanoi and join the Revolution if you can’t abide corporate Titans who manipulate their markets -- computers are the least of where it all happens.

I’m not in favor of anti-competitive practices either (where they occur, not conceding that MS has done anything terribly wrong), but why all the focus on one man?

CONCLUSION

When I install software, I want the computer to automagically unpack everything and put it in the right place. Don’t want to have to be overly concerned about packages, dependencies, tar files, permissions or any of (excuse my French) that crap. So will I be blogging on Linux anytime soon? I will not -- maybe I'll check back in another couple of years. I’m doing this on a new HP Mini, using Windows XP (for Ultra low-cost PC’s) but that’s another blog.

© 2009 blogSpotter