Linux: Light on its feet and ready to strut its stuff

Let's get the unpleasant part out of the way first: If running Adobe
Premiere is the most important thing in your life, or you want to play
Halo, Linux isn't going to do it for you, at least right at the moment.
While most Windows software can run under Linux in one fashion or another,
applications that make extensive use of hardware drivers or high-end
graphics may not work right.

But for everything else, Linux is definitely the way to go.

Unlike Mac OS and Windows, Linux is free as air and open to development by
folks who are motivated by the desire to make the technology better,
rather than by corporate tech farms whose real interest is the bottom
line. Which is all very nice, but is it any good as a desktop operating
system? You bet. Size and speed

Let's start with the hardware footprint: With the possible exception of
BSD, Linux's 'sister,' Linux is the lightest thing you'll ever install on
your computer. While the minimum required hardware for Windows has been
bloating, and Macs need more and more horsepower to run OS X, you can
still dig out your old 486 and fire up Linux without problems. © Larry
Ewing, Simon Budig, Anja Gerwinski

I recently got one of the One Laptop Per Child XOs -- a machine with 256MB
of RAM and a power-miserly processor -- and had no trouble running Xubuntu
Linux on it. Meanwhile, Windows XP needs to be sliced and diced like crazy
to fit onto the same hardware.

It's not for nothing that you'll find Linux inside of devices where
hardware cost is an issue, like DVRs (TiVo anyone?) and routers. I was
somewhat shocked to find that my recently purchased 52-in. LCD TV has a
Linux kernel inside of it. If you hunt around, I'll bet you'll find at
least one device in your home running Linux. Stability, security,
transparency, flexibility

Linux is not only small, but it's also stable. I have several Windows
boxes at home, and it seems like whenever I blink, something has gotten
screwed up in the registry or I have a Dynamic Link Library conflict.

Linux has all the configuration data and libraries right out where you can
see them, in files. You can see what's changed and make edits manually,
without having to figure out which of 9 million HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
registry entries is the one you want. Even the system-configuration tools
that have nice graphical user interfaces (GUI) end up generating
human-readable and editable files at the end of the day.

In the recent "Pwn 2 Own" hacker challenge, computers running Mac OS X and
Windows Vista were cracked, but the Linux machine wasn't. I won't claim
that Linux has no security or virus problems, but they tend to be right
out in the open where you can see them if you look. At the moment, there
are far fewer Linux viruses out in the wild than Windows viruses, and
there are fairly bullet-proof ways to detect viruses under Linux using
checksums on files.

Conversely, it's much easier to move your Linux system to new hardware or
clone an existing system because there's no licensing. I've never had a
problem moving a Linux system disk to a new computer, even when the
hardware was drastically different. There's basically no way to do this on
either a Windows or a Mac system.

You also have your choice of Linux distributions, from geek-friendly
Debian and end-user-friendly Ubuntu to business-friendly Red Hat and
Novell SUSE. And no matter which one you pick, you can rest assured that
they'll all run the same apps. The Ubuntu Linux desktop
Applications and interface

It used to be the conventional wisdom that the problem with Linux was
desktop applications. But with tools such as Wine, CrossOver Linux and
VMWare Player, many Windows applications run just fine under Linux these
days.

And in some cases, native Linux applications may serve you just as well.
OpenOffice is a mature replacement for Microsoft Office, and there are
good (and free) tools for video and photo editing, audio editing, and many
other common applications. Just do a quick Google search for "Linux video
editing," for example, and you'll see what I mean.

More importantly, more and more applications are transitioning to
Web-based versions using JavaScript or Flash/Silverlight/Flex/Air. Who
cares if you can't run TurboTax on Linux, when you can use the Web-based
TurboTax right from your browser?

Finally, the Linux desktop experience is now the match of any other
desktop GUI in existence. The user interface is intuitive and clean, but
still powerful. If you choose a user-friendly distribution like Ubuntu,
installing Linux is as easy as installing Windows -- and unlike Windows,
you can even "try before you buy," since distributions such as Ubuntu have
a "live" install CD/DVD.

You can even run a full Linux distribution such as Damn Small Linux from a
128MB (or larger) USB drive. Did your Windows PC crash again? Plug in the
USB drive, and you've got access.

Heck, most Linux distributions will even shrink a Windows partition and
set up dual-booting automatically. Ignore all the fear, uncertainty and
doubt you'll hear about nightmare installs and bad device support --
that's from the bad old days! Bottom line

Linux is free, fast, small, powerful, stable and flexible. It will get you
off the "new hardware every other year" life cycle and let you concentrate
on being productive rather than playing nursemaid to your operating
system. You almost certainly already have Linux in your home or business,
even if you don't know it. So why not give it a try on your desktop?

--
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software

So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998

http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002

"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"

"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."

"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."

© Copyright for the Digital Millennium

> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
/\
||
||
98% of all Paid Trolls use GNU/Linux to post here
--
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software

So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998

http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002

"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"

"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."

"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."

© Copyright for the Digital Millennium

"Ruben" wrote in message
newsan.2008.05.03.23.49.49.672005@www2.mrbrklyn.com...
> Linux: Light on its feet and ready to strut its stuff
>
> Let's get the unpleasant part out of the way first: If running Adobe
> Premiere is the most important thing in your life, or you want to play



So how much does your employer, Microsoft, pay you to "advocate linux" this
way?

You know exactly what I mean. How much do they pay you to act like such an
extreme idiot that it gives linux users in general a bad reputation? Do
they pay you well to make such an idiotic fool out of "linux" that it drives
"normal people" away?




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Sat, 03 May 2008 20:44:04 -0400, Ezekiel wrote:

>
> "Ruben" wrote in message
> newsan.2008.05.03.23.49.49.672005@www2.mrbrklyn.com...
>> Linux: Light on its feet and ready to strut its stuff
>>
>> Let's get the unpleasant part out of the way first: If running Adobe
>> Premiere is the most important thing in your life, or you want to play
>
>
>
> So how much does your employer, Microsoft, pay you to "advocate linux" this
> way?
>
> You know exactly what I mean. How much do they pay you to act like such an
> extreme idiot that it gives linux users in general a bad reputation? Do
> they pay you well to make such an idiotic fool out of "linux" that it drives
> "normal people" away?
>

Oh - Good Double troll!! They should pay you TWICE for that one.

Ruben

>
>
>
> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

--
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software

So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998

http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002

"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"

"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."

"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."

© Copyright for the Digital Millennium

"Ezekiel" writes:

> http://www.oreillynet.com/linux/blog...ics_nothi.html
>
>
>
> Linux vs. Windows Metrics -- Nothing Is Quite What It Seems To Be
>
>
> I'm going to try and sift through the morass and say what I think the
> numbers really mean and what they don't mean. Those with an agenda, either
> agenda, will, I'm sure, attack what I have to say. I think anyone who
> really tries to look at things objectively probably won't. I'm just not
> sure that very many people are truly objective.
>
> In the interest of fairness let me disclose where I am coming from: Yes, I
> tend to have a pro-Linux bias. I also have a bias against hype and B.S.
>
>
>
>
>
> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Balanced article. She should come to COLA.

,----
| What usually makes Linux painful or impossible for the average Joe or
| Jane user is the task of installation and configuration. Asus took away
| that pain by offering a very attractive little box at a good price with
| an easy to use, ready to go Linux installation. Now the trick is getting
| Joe or Jane user to seriously consider that the Xandros Linux version,
| if they did their own cost vs. benefit analysis, really is the better
| choice and not just because it boots up faster.
`----

Pretty much exactly what I said when I posted about my eee experiences.

On Sun, 04 May 2008 08:27:48 +0200, Hadron wrote:

> "Ezekiel" writes:
>
>> http://www.oreillynet.com/linux/blog...ics_nothi.html
>>
>>
>>
>> Linux vs. Windows Metrics -- Nothing Is Quite What It Seems To Be
>>
>>
>> I'm going to try and sift through the morass and say what I think the
>> numbers really mean and what they don't mean. Those with an agenda, either
>> agenda, will, I'm sure, attack what I have to say. I think anyone who
>> really tries to look at things objectively probably won't. I'm just not
>> sure that very many people are truly objective.
>>
>> In the interest of fairness let me disclose where I am coming from: Yes, I
>> tend to have a pro-Linux bias. I also have a bias against hype and B.S.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
>
> Balanced article. She should come to COLA.
>
> ,----
>| What usually makes Linux painful or impossible for the average Joe or
>| Jane user is the task of installation and configuration. Asus took away
>| that pain by offering a very attractive little box at a good price with
>| an easy to use, ready to go Linux installation. Now the trick is getting
>| Joe or Jane user to seriously consider that the Xandros Linux version,
>| if they did their own cost vs. benefit analysis, really is the better
>| choice and not just because it boots up faster.
> `----
>
> Pretty much exactly what I said when I posted about my eee experiences.


The nuts in COLA would label her a troll because she doesn't agree 100
percent with the Linux cult religion.

In COLA you are either with the Loons 100 percent, or you are considered to
be against them 100 percent.

It's weird.



--
Moshe Goldfarb
Collector of soaps from around the globe.
Please visit The Hall of Linux Idiots:
http://linuxidiots.blogspot.com/

Moshe Goldfarb is flatfish (in real life Gary Stewart)

http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/2008/...arb-troll.html
http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/2007/...ish-troll.html

Traits:

* Nym shifting (see below)
* Self confessed thief and proud of it
* Homophobic
* Racist
* Habitual liar
* Frequently cross posts replies to other non-Linux related newsgroups
* Frequently cross posts articles originally not posted to COLA