Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 19th Nov 2007 21:22 UTC, submitted by irbis
"Linux has proven amazingly flexible: after nearly 10 years of use, I'm still impressed by how the Linux operating system does exactly what I want on any type of hardware. Desktop customization is no exception; from the ultra-modern KDE and GNOME window managers to with the likes of Fluxbox and AfterStep, there's a Linux desktop to suit everyone."
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Member since:2007-02-17
the equivelent on windows means you don't have to learn a set of command (that are different on pretty much every linux distribution).
Sigh!
Au contraire, the commands of the linux command line are the same across all distributions.
See the GNU Project.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Project
http://directory.fsf.org/GNU/
You download the program, click the installer and it puts an icon on your taskbar, on your desktop (if you like). - unlike apt-get that might install things anywhere it please and is often hard to find when installed.
You forgot the hardest bit for Windows ... finding a trustworthy program to download.
apt-get does not install things just anywhere, and apt-get installs icons on the system menu. You don't have to find anything.
If you don't like the command line, use Synaptic. That is a GUI program that takes care of everything from finding the program, downloading it and any dependencies, and installing it all automatically with a few clicks. Even a Windows user would find Synaptic easy.
http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/
http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/action.html
http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/gallery.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaptic_Package_Manager
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
The other beauty of the windows system is. if you get a computer magazine it comes with software that you can install straight from the disk. not have to compile from source - which means having all your header libraries installed.
You do not have to compile from source. There are such things as Linux computer magazines.
http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/
http://www.linux-mag.com/
Another benefit, is that you can then copy the install program on a disk or usb file and give it to a friend (if it's freeware or shareware of course) or install it on a machine that isn't connected to the internet or doesn't have broadband.
Why do you imagine this is not possible also for Linux?
http://autopackage.org/
Try using sudo urpmi openoffice 2.2 on a 56k dialup connection..
Do you somehow imagine that a 56k dialup is faster for Windows?
Try doing the same on a non-internet connected computer.
Use the postal service:
http://www.linuxcd.org/
http://www.osdisc.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi/products/linux?ad=google
http://www.osdisc.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi/products/dvd
http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/linux/index.php
http://www.linuxcollections.com/
It isn't hard.
Edited 2007-11-20 12:39
RE[3]: wm for a server?
by apoclypse on Tue 20th Nov 2007 14:24
in reply to "RE[2]: wm for a server?"
Member since:2007-02-17
Um the same can be said if you use a Linux magazine. Not everything has to be compiled from source. You can usually find packages straight from the devs in whatever popular format your distro uses. There are only really three formats with varying degrees of compatibility. There is RPM, DEB, and TGZ as the major ones. One of them is just a plain old archive format, the others are a little more complex but there are many distros that use them as their basis. Windows has the luxury of only coming form one source and so MS controls how things are packaged across the OS.
There is no reason whatsoever that full compiled app can't be distributed in a tgz file. In fact most games on Linux are packaged this way, with very little to no dependencies at all to deal with. The reason Linux uses package managers is two-fold, due to the way most apps in Linux share libraries. Library files are usually packaged separately.
1. This reduces memory usage and footprint since many apps can use the same lib without having to install their own version like most installers do in Windows.
2. Security, because each lib is its own entity and package. updating errors in a lib or a security flaw is trivial. You usually don't have to reinstall the apps that use the libs at all, only the libs are affected.
Now, memory footprint isn't really an issue with the amount of ram most people have to spare nowadays. But the security issue is important, as well as having to download 80MB-100MB packages just to update a lib, like you have to do with Windows and OSX. Most Linux packages are usually only 20MB at the most in size, and thats monsters like OO.o. But for the most part installing apps, many apps, in most Linux distro would surprise you at how little the download sizes are.
RE[3]: wm for a server?
by KenJackson on Tue 20th Nov 2007 14:27
in reply to "RE[2]: wm for a server?"
Member since:2005-07-18
the equivalent on windows means you don't have to learn a set of command (that are different on pretty much every linux distribution).
This comment hearkens back to the 80's argument about which is better, the command line or the GUI. I referenced the commands instead of the GUI tools because that's my preference. Even though this article is about GUIs, the terminal window running a Bash shell is ever present, and is the primary application I run under any WM. But you don't have too--you can click on the menus until you find synaptic or rpmdrake or pup.
Yes, there are different management tools on different distros, but I hardly see choice as a disadvantage. Lack of choice and therefore lack competition are contributors to the problems with Windows.
lemur2's answer hit many excellent points also.
RE[3]: wm for a server?
by wirespot on Wed 21st Nov 2007 01:17
in reply to "RE[2]: wm for a server?"
Member since:2006-06-21
the equivelent on windows means you don't have to learn a set of command (that are different on pretty much every linux distribution).
Linux distro's have easy to use package managers. There nothing remotely like it under Windows.
You download the program, click the installer and it puts an icon on your taskbar, on your desktop (if you like). - unlike apt-get that might install things anywhere it please and is often hard to find when installed.
You're trolling. The freedesktop.org standards have been out for a while now and any package comes with standard ways of making it into the menu. Not only that, but it appears in the right category too. And wait, there's more: it will show up in the menu of every window manager or desktop environment you have installed, ie. both in the Gnome menu on my gnome-panel and the Blackbox menu.
Should I even mention that when you get that .exe installer on Windows it sometimes comes with spyware?
The other beauty of the windows system is. if you get a computer magazine it comes with software that you can install straight from the disk. not have to compile from source - which means having all your header libraries installed.
Oh, more trolling. You don't have to install anything from source on a Linux system. But the possibility is there if you need it.
Another benefit, is that you can then copy the install program on a disk or usb file and give it to a friend (if it's freeware or shareware of course) or install it on a machine that isn't connected to the internet or doesn't have broadband.
As opposed to putting rpm or deb files on that disk?
Try using sudo urpmi openoffice 2.2 on a 56k dialup connection..
Try doing the same on a non-internet connected computer.
Try doing the same on a non-internet connected computer.
Try doing anything with a Windows machine without a network connection, right after installation. Oh, that's right, it only comes with a handful of applications: Explorer, Solitaire, Media Player and Calculator. Whoo-peee, what a feast.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2006-01-08
the equivelent on windows means you don't have to learn a set of command (that are different on pretty much every linux distribution).
You download the program, click the installer and it puts an icon on your taskbar, on your desktop (if you like). - unlike apt-get that might install things anywhere it please and is often hard to find when installed.
The other beauty of the windows system is. if you get a computer magazine it comes with software that you can install straight from the disk. not have to compile from source - which means having all your header libraries installed.
Another benefit, is that you can then copy the install program on a disk or usb file and give it to a friend (if it's freeware or shareware of course) or install it on a machine that isn't connected to the internet or doesn't have broadband.
Try using sudo urpmi openoffice 2.2 on a 56k dialup connection..
Try doing the same on a non-internet connected computer.