Major Linux Problems on the Desktop, 2016 Edition

Post by ori_b » Thu, Dec 31, 2015, 4:34 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #193

serge2k wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there source available for this or QNX?

Not for my stuff, I do have it (obviously) but it is definitely not worth sharing in the state it is in. Essentially it is a kernel, some userland device drivers and a rudimentary (but functional) network stack cobbled together from various bits and pieces. The toolchain was GCC and djgpp to bootstrap the development until it was capable of self hosting. It would need serious work (several man-months) before it could…

Post by workitout » Thu, Dec 31, 2015, 5:01 AM UTC

ishbits wrote: post #18

I've been using Linux on the desktop daily since about 1998. It may look a little prettier today, but I find it crashes and freezes a whole lot more these days.

Post by vacri » Thu, Dec 31, 2015, 5:02 AM UTC

vezzy-fnord wrote: post #226

addicted wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really interesting post, and I'm glad I read it. I find myself agreeing with Linus quite a bit, and until now I did not realize that there is programming being done without step by step debugging. And I think Linus's claims that people would be more careful when first designing and writing code if they didn't have a debugger to help them going forward makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately I work with too many…

The point is his view about kernel debuggers is complete nonsense, and I'm baffled that you and so many others could ever take it seriously. Yes, people would be more careful without debuggers, the same way they'd be more careful with cooperative multitasking hanging the system when they forget to yield. That doesn't make it good.

Post by ramgorur » Thu, Dec 31, 2015, 5:11 AM UTC

derefr wrote: post #246

Animats wrote: post #62

He's right. Many of the driver problems come from the fact that Linux finally worked on the desktop about the time desktop machines were replaced by laptops. Desktops with slots tended to have relatively well-defined hardware, and plugging in third party hardware was normal. This is much less true for laptops. OS development for laptops requires that laptop. It needs a Q/A organization which has one of everything you…

> Microsoft got drivers under control with the Static Driver Verifier, which uses automatic formal proofs of correctness to determine whether a driver can crash the kernel. ... Linux has no comparable technology. That's a pretty cool idea (also similar to the static verification in NaCl.) Is there a reason one couldn't implement a static verifier for Linux drivers? Would the problem be harder in any sense for Linux,…

Post by i336_ » Thu, Dec 31, 2015, 5:14 AM UTC

mAritz wrote: post #204

One problem specific to gaming: Adjusting mouse pointer speed and acceleration is a huge pain. I've tried SteamOS for gaming but especially playing FPS type games is really bad with acceleration. Disabling it usually requires X.org config changes and knowledge of some semi-arcane acceleration math. It's doable, but certainly not in any way easy.