Linux sucks

[Erkki]

Not really, but it is ugly. I have this Mandrake 10 installed and haven't really used it. Now my mother asked for more games so I showed her how to boot to linux (loads of casual games installed by default).

I was too lazy to restart when I sat down here, so I'm now browsing the web with the Linux version of FireFox and it's fucking UGLY.

Nearly every font looks like it's in bold. Everything looks blurry, there is a whole lot of unnecessary spacing in menus etc. Even the mouse cursors are ugly. Text size in web pages is wrong. ETC.

Not to mention that many applications have a completely different look & feel.

When are they going to make a linux distribution that is as good looking and easy to learn as Windows or MacOS?

[Wormsie]

That will be the END of Linux.

[Erkki]

That will be the END of Linux.

Why?

[hermes]

Because then the linux-people can't feel special anymore... and what should they do in their freetime - where should they turn when they wanted to reprogram kernels for ms paint???

[Erkki]

I hate Linux people who think they're special. Well not the persons, but that attitude. One of my friends is like that.

If I asked him advice when I wanted to learn linux, I got answers like "why do you want that? GUIs suck" etc. Recently I asked him what PHP IDE he uses at work, and he found a way to mention "I don't even use the find in files search inside the IDE. I use grep for that."

[tabacco]

I hate Linux people who think they're special. Well not the persons, but that attitude. One of my friends is like that.

If I asked him advice when I wanted to learn linux, I got answers like "why do you want that? GUIs suck" etc. Recently I asked him what PHP IDE he uses at work, and he found a way to mention "I don't even use the find in files search inside the IDE. I use grep for that."

Agreed. Linux is great for server purposes, though. This server runs Redhat Enterprise Linux 3, for example. But for desktop purposes? ech.

[Twilo]

The "blurry" text is anti-aliased, and is optional. I prefer it because it looks better on high resolutions, but it can be turned off (Try your Look 'n' Feel settings if you're in KDE). Text size is a Firefox thing, you can turn it up in the options.

The point with Linux is that you can change (almost) anything you want. It isn't Linux' fault that the mouse cursors are ugly, it's up to you to find one you prefer. Mandrake aren't the best at picking the pretty things, but they do provide a nice number of alternative graphics for your stuff with their KDE distro that you probably have installed

As for programs looking and feeling differently, the same thing happens with Windows; viz. winamp etc. It just doesn't happen as often in windows as it does in linux, because (like it or not) most linux users are proud geeks and like to be able to do what they like.

There are easy to use Linux distros, look harder. Mandrake is a half-way house between the easy-to-use-hard-to-customise and the hard-to-use-easy-to-customise distros. Try a live-cd distro for your mother, (eg Knoppix, or Morphix, which comes in a special games-focused distro full of lots of good casual games, plus some quake 3 demos and things).

Don't give up on the command line just because your irritating friends think it's the best thing ever (it's not), but it is good for doing some things that are a little harder to do through the GUI. It also happens to use the same commands as the Mac operating systems (Mac OSX is a version of Unix, which Linux is based on).

[tabacco]

Agreed again. The trouble with Linux is that there are utter zealots out there who try to convert absolutely eveeryone they meet to it, no exception. tthese people are to be avoided at parties at all costs. Of course, the same is true of Macs, really. And Windows.

And it's true, command-line is really a great way to get certain things done, like bulk file operations. For example, see how much it takes you to do a chown on our image db directory in a GUI compared with what it takes to do it via command line

I also find cron a lot easier to work with than the windows task scheduler.

As far as Darwin, it drives me insane that /usr/bin/locate is there but not /usr/bin/updatedb

[Tanukitsune]

Agreed again. The trouble with Linux is that there are utter zealots out there who try to convert absolutely eveeryone they meet to it, no exception. tthese people are to be avoided at parties at all costs. Of course, the same is true of Macs, really. And Windows.

It is ok to try to convert everyone to Firefox, right?

[tabacco]

It is ok to try to convert everyone to Firefox, right?

Well, obviously

[Lars]

Let everyone have they're own niche and feel special and different. Who cares if Linux is ugly and does'nt have the glimmery interface osx or windows has. It's giving alot of weirdos (i mean that as a good thing) they're fun. Do you hear me as OSX user complain about Windows with they're crappy Virus protection and loopholes in the software huh?! or shit on Gates because his friggin company has to see it's stocks rise every second. Nope you don't now come on kiss and make up kids.

[Erkki]

All I'm saying is that if Linux continues as it is, it's never going to take any market share away from Windows as a desktop OS. But that's what it should be doing IMHO. The potential is there. And I have looked for but haven't found the most easy-to-use-but-hard-to-customize distribution instead of Mandrake (well, I haven't looked very hard to be honest).

And I have nothing against the command line. The linux shell is definitely better than the windows/dos one. I'd just be more comfortable if I could do most basic things from the GUI instead of having to memorize obscurely named commands (some of them are, really).

[toblix]

Just the fact that there are a shizzillion of different distros is a big turnoff for me. I mean, what's so special that there has to be all these different versions? Why can't there be just one, like in the Matrix?

[Erwin_Br]

Just the fact that there are a shizzillion of different distros is a big turnoff for me. I mean, what's so special that there has to be all these different versions? Why can't there be just one, like in the Matrix?

Heh. I already hate the fact that a PC doesn't just operate on ONE operating system. Especially since the PC is already a niche market in the games industry.

--Erwin

[tabacco]

Let everyone have they're own niche and feel special and different. Who cares if Linux is ugly and does'nt have the glimmery interface osx or windows has. It's giving alot of weirdos (i mean that as a good thing) they're fun. Do you hear me as OSX user complain about Windows with they're crappy Virus protection and loopholes in the software huh?! or shit on Gates because his friggin company has to see it's stocks rise every second. Nope you don't now come on kiss and make up kids.

Have you noticed that nobody is really arguing?

I feel basically the same about OSs as I do about religions. Go with what works for you, but you'd better not try to convert me

(owner of a Windows XP desktop, an OSX 10.3 laptop, and an RHEL3 web server )

[MrHoatzin]

(owner of a Windows XP desktop, an OSX 10.3 laptop, and an RHEL3 web server )

You are what we in the religion business call hippy liberal agnostic pinko commie. Or somesuch.

[ysbreker]

anyone of you tried unbuntu yet? it's (yet another) linux distro that is supposed to be easy in use and easy to configure. You can get a free cd mailed to you if you can't be bothered to download & burn it.

The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit.

[AGA]

That "manifesto" can be found on pretty much every single Linux distro's homepage (except the stupid, pay-for ones, obviously).

I have used Linux some amount (although it would take me the rest of my life to get to the kind of level I am with Windows and DOS on it). For desktop purposes it's just fine, there are like 3 or 4 major GUI front-ends to choose from (KDE and GNOME being the two most prevalent), all of which do different things. As for whoever said it was ugly, you either had a crap GUI, or just didn't set up the styles right. GNOME looks very pretty with some customisation. For most 'desktop' things, like surfing, word processing, IMing, IRCing, all that stuff, Linux works just as well as Windows. If Linux ever natively supports all new game releases (never gonna happen), I'll swap over permanently. As it is though, I'm a gamer, and like gaming too much to spend any serious time and effort on Linux.