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Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

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Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#21

Post by jimhefferon »

chrisdotcode wrote: post #2

> We need a consistent way for third-parties to distribute software Isn't this what package managers are all about? - a thing which, by the way, I believe the notion of an "App Store" from the other two OSes took inspiration from.

> Isn't this what package managers are all about?

I believe that the author means that vendors have been saying for a very long time that there is no cross-distribution place to keep config files, or set of environment variables, etc. What the Linux Standard Base was invented to address.

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#22

Post by branchless »

jarcane wrote: post #11

My lily-white ass it has. If anything, my experience with the Linux distro ecosystem in the last year is worse than I have ever had with Linux going back some 20 years. I would frankly trade any of the dozens of broken "robust desktop distros" for just Red Hat 7 or Mandrake or early 2000's Debian. I have gone through any of nearly a dozen different distros in the last year, Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, more I'm prob…

I don't get this. I use debian and I use a lightweight window manager. I have a ~/.xsession that starts up things I need (chrome/skype/emacs).

This works.

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#23

Post by vezzy-fnord »

murbard2 wrote: post #12
vezzy-fnord wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is on in your end that sound is still such an issue? Admittedly my system is PulseAudio-free with only one exception, that being Skype. I should consider using a compatibility layer like apulse that just multiplexes ALSA calls under the hood.

I've been using Linux as my primary desktop OS for about 15 years, and sound has always been a pain to deal with. I used S/PDIF on my last machine, and it took me months of browsing through endless threads to get the thing to work properly. Skype just won't play any sound as of my last install, I have no idea why, I've given up on it. To get my last monitor to work properly, I had to manually enter modelines in xorg.…

IIRC I remedied my Skype installation by uncommenting the hardware detection modules (udev and static) in default.pa(5). You could try starting it from the apulse shim, alternatively.

I'll agree PulseAudio is esoteric, but thankfully not that many client applications have a hard dependency on it, though it is popular with integrated DEs.

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#25

Post by gamesbrainiac »

A Desktop Operating System is so much more than what the author claims it to be. Lets break down the arguments:

- Viable Gaming Platform: Viable does not mean good.

- Hardware: Things have improved massively, I'll give the author that much, but is nowhere near where Windows is.

- Software: The grade of commercial software for linux is laughable. Sure, you can get plenty of free tools that are also available on other operating systems as well. But you'll be in trouble if you want something as good as Camtasia or Screenflow. Microsoft and Apple both have plenty of high grade commercial apps that work on their platforms.

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#26

Post by _lbaq »

branchless wrote: post #19
_lbaq wrote: post #9

I agree, I love Fedora 23 and Gnome, except for those 2-3 times a month I actually need to print a document and do not have 7 hours to spare....

I use a brother printer with debian and I haven't even thought about printing being an issue. It works.

Hang on to that, its a keeper !

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#27

Post by hadrien01 »

_lbaq wrote: post #9

I agree, I love Fedora 23 and Gnome, except for those 2-3 times a month I actually need to print a document and do not have 7 hours to spare....

I was actually impressed by GNOME the last time I had to print. It found the required driver in seconds, downloaded it in a few instants, and I was ready to print. Compared to Windows where I had to search during half an hour the driver on the HP website and it installed 350 megabytes of crapware.

(of course it's not the same experience for all printers, my 15 years old printer works perfectly on Windows and Linux, and I can't install a network Ricoh printer on Windows or Linux)

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#28

Post by antocv »

Used Linux as a desktop system since 2001, about KDE 3.x series.

Its been good for everything, editing photos/importing from camera/phones (digikam), organizing/listening to music, some easier video production/composing, torrenting and other file sharing, mostly programming (of course), gaming (sometimes through wine, sometimes natively depending on game). Technical writing. I dont do much else on computers. Havent ever felt, oh I really need windows or macosx for that. Not any real problems with drivers. Shit just works.

Avoided viruses/malware without thinking about it.

Re: Linux has matured into a robust desktop operating system

#29

Post by frozenport »

gumballhead wrote: post #24

I feel like I've read an article like this every so often for the past 10 years. I run Linux on my laptop, but it's often a pain in the ass. To be fair though, all operating systems suck in their own ways.

Linux sucks time

MS sucks money

OS X sucks VC money

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