Cable Forum - View Single Post - Linux users help me: I'm tempted to the Dark Side

Tristan · 20-05-2005, 01:54

So back in November or so I fitted a spare hard-drive to my computer and installed Linux -- Fedora Core 3 to be exact. I did this because we use Linux on my university course, and I wanted to get familiar with it (and being able to SSH to uni is very handy).

I've been using it a lot since then, and in fact it's got to the stage where I now use Linux about 95% of the time, if not more.

Anyway, my brother came down to stay for a couple of days. He saw my computer and was curious about the OS. He'd heard of Linux, but didn't know much about it. His first thoughts were that Gnome "looked okay, but the fonts are a bit strange".

He then told me to "impress him". So I fired up Firefox. Look, I said, it's a great browser. A Google seach box right there. Just start typing and it seaches. No popups, no Active X. "Yes, I know," said my brother, "I use Firefox on Windows"...

Well, okay. I started OpenOffice. Look, I said, you can create a PDF with just one click on the taskbar. "Oh," said my brother, "that's good. Can I get that for Windows?". Yes, I said....

Next, I decided to show off Linux's media capabilities. I put in a DVD and ran Ogle. All well and good. My brother eyed my 5.1 speaker Audigy setup. "Can it do proper surround sound?", he asked. Probably, I replied, but I'm not sure how to set it up...

So games, then. I started Doom 3. He was impressed. The graphics looked fantastic, the sound was good. "Does it run as well as it does on Windows?" he asked. Well, I said, performance is 90% of the way there...

Then I showed him Gaim. I pointed out that he could have all his Yahoo and MSN contacts together. That he could merge them so he just saw one contact, and could message them using either protocol (and any others he might sign up for). Again, he was impressed. I didn't think I'd mention there was a Windows version. I'd scored a point here. Until he said, "so how do I use the webcam?"...

He asked me if it was easy to set up. I replied, cautiously, that it wasn't too bad if you knew what you were doing. So he asked again: would it be ready to use without him having to do anything but click a few options. I thought about having to set up the update repositories for Yum. Probably not, I said.

"So," said my brother, "there's nothing I want to do that it actually does better than Windows, and lots of things it does worse. It's more difficult to set up and a lot less user friendly. I've got a decent antivirus and firewall for Windows, so those things don't bother me. And it doesn't even matter that it's free because I paid for Windows when I bought my PC."

"Tell me," he said, " exactly has it Linux got going for it?"

I couldn't answer him.

Can anybody else?

20-05-2005, 01:54	#1
Tristan Inactive Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Glastonbury! Services: Telewest DTV & 4Meg BB (Bath), NTL DTV and 2Meg BB (Poole) Posts: 1,350	Linux users help me: I'm tempted to the Dark Side So back in November or so I fitted a spare hard-drive to my computer and installed Linux -- Fedora Core 3 to be exact. I did this because we use Linux on my university course, and I wanted to get familiar with it (and being able to SSH to uni is very handy). I've been using it a lot since then, and in fact it's got to the stage where I now use Linux about 95% of the time, if not more. Anyway, my brother came down to stay for a couple of days. He saw my computer and was curious about the OS. He'd heard of Linux, but didn't know much about it. His first thoughts were that Gnome "looked okay, but the fonts are a bit strange". He then told me to "impress him". So I fired up Firefox. Look, I said, it's a great browser. A Google seach box right there. Just start typing and it seaches. No popups, no Active X. "Yes, I know," said my brother, "I use Firefox on Windows"... Well, okay. I started OpenOffice. Look, I said, you can create a PDF with just one click on the taskbar. "Oh," said my brother, "that's good. Can I get that for Windows?". Yes, I said.... Next, I decided to show off Linux's media capabilities. I put in a DVD and ran Ogle. All well and good. My brother eyed my 5.1 speaker Audigy setup. "Can it do proper surround sound?", he asked. Probably, I replied, but I'm not sure how to set it up... So games, then. I started Doom 3. He was impressed. The graphics looked fantastic, the sound was good. "Does it run as well as it does on Windows?" he asked. Well, I said, performance is 90% of the way there... Then I showed him Gaim. I pointed out that he could have all his Yahoo and MSN contacts together. That he could merge them so he just saw one contact, and could message them using either protocol (and any others he might sign up for). Again, he was impressed. I didn't think I'd mention there was a Windows version. I'd scored a point here. Until he said, "so how do I use the webcam?"... He asked me if it was easy to set up. I replied, cautiously, that it wasn't too bad if you knew what you were doing. So he asked again: would it be ready to use without him having to do anything but click a few options. I thought about having to set up the update repositories for Yum. Probably not, I said. "So," said my brother, "there's nothing I want to do that it actually does better than Windows, and lots of things it does worse. It's more difficult to set up and a lot less user friendly. I've got a decent antivirus and firewall for Windows, so those things don't bother me. And it doesn't even matter that it's free because I paid for Windows when I bought my PC." "Tell me," he said, " exactly has it Linux got going for it?" I couldn't answer him. Can anybody else?