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Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

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Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#61

Post by rconti »

lambda wrote: post #16
mwcampbell wrote: post #9

I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. I think to myself, don't they realize that it's pointless, that the year of the Linux desktop will never come, that Linux will always be the distant third-place desktop OS? More constructively, I wonder if recent Linux distros and desktop environments…

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

5. NetworkManager

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#64

Post by lambda »

rconti wrote: post #61
lambda wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

5. NetworkManager

I have found NetworkManager to be no more difficult to use than setting up networking in Windows. For me, for simple cases, it tends to just work; for more complicated cases with multiple interfaces, it takes some fiddling but can be made to work as well; and pretty similar to the amount of fiddling on Windows. I've found OS X to require less fiddling for some of the simpler and moderately complex cases, but also have problems of its own when you get to some more complicated cases.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#65

Post by justizin »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #20
kenrikm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

~95% of the developers I know in the Bay Area use MacBook Pros. The underlying Unix base Apple runs on is nothing to scoff at and the majority of things someone learns about the command line on a linux machine will be the same on a OSX machine. I'm surprised you point out iDevices, what we should be worried about is keeping them away from the Windows ecosystem.

Didn't you hear? Windows is getting SSH.

But Windows Office still can't open a fucking resume made in Mac Office.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#67

Post by Kephael »

psykovsky wrote: post #38
mwcampbell wrote: post #9

I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. I think to myself, don't they realize that it's pointless, that the year of the Linux desktop will never come, that Linux will always be the distant third-place desktop OS? More constructively, I wonder if recent Linux distros and desktop environments…

You know how you make linux work? Never install pirated versions of any software on someone else's computer. When you start talking about how much they have to pay to use windows and office legally they'll change their mind and use whatever you put in there.

Office starter edition is enough for the vast majority of users.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#68

Post by emehrkay »

omarforgotpwd wrote: post #12

"Remember that shitty computer we got when we were first came to the US?" -- Kids, recounting this experience in 15 years

You know what is crazier than this? When kids will say "remember ipads and iphones?" That is the other end of this spectrum, but goes to show that in 15 years everything will be horrible when compared to current tech

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#69

Post by JupiterMoon »

rconti wrote: post #61
lambda wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

5. NetworkManager

I see this mentioned a lot but what actually is the problem with NetworkManager that people complain about?

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#70

Post by auganov »

dodders wrote: post #54
mwcampbell wrote: post #9

I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. I think to myself, don't they realize that it's pointless, that the year of the Linux desktop will never come, that Linux will always be the distant third-place desktop OS? More constructively, I wonder if recent Linux distros and desktop environments…

> My guess is that GNOME 3 and Unity require roughly as much CPU power and RAM as Windows 7 I have a 7 year-old Dell laptop that wouldn't run Vista with anything like acceptable performance. I installed Debian/KDE and performance is absolutely fine. The only tricky bit (as other comments have pointed out) was the wireless device driver, which I had to download from the Broadcom website.

I think Windows 7 generally runs better than Vista. IIRC Windows 8 should also use less ram than 7. My Dell Inspiron Mini 10 ran windows 8 smoothly, just couldn't run Metro apps because of the low resolution (there's a minimum res required).
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