Re: Linux is SHIT

[Barak Zalstein]

"John Hasler" <john@dhh.gt.org> wrote in message
873c5pvlm9.fsf@toncho.dhh.gt.org">news:873c5pvlm9.fsf@toncho.dhh.gt.org...
> Barak writes:
> > There's a difference between approaching an already set-up standard
> > machine, launching a tutorial and following the instructions, and
between
> > partitioning, setting up dial-up settings, compiling the kernel, and
> > googling for serial numbers of your hardware.
>
> Modern Linux distributions are at least as easy to install as Microsoft
> Windows (and Googling for serial numbers would be singularly useless).
>
Installing Linux is not the problem. And working with it for the proper task
is straightforward as well.
So let's talk about home usage:
I've only tried so far RedHat, SuSE, Knoppix, (all 3 quite late versions)
and Debian Sarge Beta 3 (never again).
The problem is what do you do when you find out that your hardware is
unrecognized, or that the web
site that you visit requires Explorer (is crossover office still
proprietary?) etc.
There is always a windows task that you can't do on Linux and vice versa.
Those who enjoy hacking as a hobby, or are being paid to create a better
distro, may want to fix those things.
OTOH, I don't see programming as a quality activity for my spare time, so
even though I know that as much as Windows is buggy, full of viruses, and of
course comes with the wrong licence , it still makes more sense as a
computing experience.

http://www.design.caltech.edu/erik/Misc/pirsig.html
"He is not stubborn, not narrow-minded, not lazy, not stupid. There was just
no easy explanation. So it was left up in the air, a kind of mystery that
one gives up on because there is no sense in just going round and round and
round looking for an answer that's not there.

It occurred to me that maybe I was the odd one on the subject, but that was
disposed of too. Most touring cyclists know how to keep their machines
tuned. Car owners usually won't touch the engine, but every town of any size
at all has a garage with expensive lifts, special tools and diagnostic
equipment that the average owner can't afford. And a car engine is more
complex and inaccessible than a cycle engine so there's more sense to this.
But for John's cycle, a BMW R60, I'll bet there's not a mechanic between
here and Salt Lake City. If his points or plugs burn out, he's done for. I
know he doesn't have a set of spare points with him. He doesn't know what
points are. If it quits on him in western South Dakota or Montana I don't
know what he's going to do. Sell it to the Indians maybe. Right now I know
what he's doing. He's carefully avoiding giving any thought whatsoever to
the subject. The BMW is famous for not giving mechanical problems on the
road and that's what he's counting on."

Windows is certainly not BMW, but at least everything works out of the box.

Barak