Long-time OSNews reader Kaiwai has written down his experiences with his Acer Aspire One, Linux, and Windows. He concludes: "After a hectic few weeks trying to get Linux to work, I am back to square one again - a netbook running Windows XP SP3 as it was provided by Acer when I purchased it. I gave three different distributions a chance to prove themselves. I expected all three distributions to wipe the floor with Windows XP - after all, these are the latest and greatest distributions the Linux world have to offer. There has been at least 7 years since the release of Windows XP for Linux to catch up to Windows XP and from my experience with Linux on this said device - it has failed to step up to the plate when it was needed."
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2007-11-17
It's tempting to put the blame on you for choosing a distrobution which does not focus on providing (for example, since you wanted to use kstars) a nice KDE environment or non-mainstream niche programs (as much as I like stellarium, it is not a middle-of-the-road kind of application), because it is targeted at different useage scenarios and hardware usually too limited to run KDE or other graphically intense programs at reasonable speeds (puppy fans, don't shout at me, that is the impression innocent bystanders get). You may be able to install the corresponding KDE 3.x and the stellarium packages from Slackware (stellarium may only be available as a slackbuild or a contributed package via slacky.eu or linuxpackages.net, though) since Puppy has (iirc) a certain level of compability with recent Slackware releases (starting with 12.x, if I'm not mistaken).
In general, I try to refrain from posting "had you used distro xyz, everything would have worked marvelously" type of comments, because they
a.) don't help the persons having problems
b.) imply that they were to stupid to arrive at the "correct" distrobution by themselves and last but not least
c.) always provoke posts of the "well I'm using said distro xyz and while this or that may work, instead using feature foo is broken beyond recognition" type.
I would be interested to know why your choice fell on puppy (a fine distro, no arguments about that) instead of a distrobution with a more complete base repository of software, though.
More on topic, it would be interesting to know why manufactors of netbooks chose to either roll out their own half-baked, seldom updated distrobutions (acer/linpus, I'm looking at you) or go with a rather obscure player like Xandros instead of cooperating with established distros like the *butus, openSuse or Mandriva (or at least seem to have done so, during the first two waves of netbooks). If I remember correctly, this whole buisness started with the Everex PC and gOs.
And since so many users here seemingly have to build their own kernel drivers from sources: Do this popular, newbie friendly distrobutions really have no precompiled kernel module for the most common models (eee 70x/90x/1000, acer aspire one / MSI wind, etc.) in their repositories? I only have netbook - experiences with arch linux and although you have to perform several installation-steps manually after the vanilla setup has finished, there is a binary kernel package in a contributed repository (I choose to go with blind's kernel from AUR for my eee 1000h, but that is just because I prefer to stay close to the vanilla kernel)?
EDIT: various typos and gramatical errors
EDIT2: The first sentences were really not ready for primetime :-)
Edited 2009-03-01 21:58 UTC
Member since:2006-10-08
And when "Windows" was released, everything was harder to use again. :-)
No, honestly: GeoWorks was a very fine piece of software. In some regards, it had functions that even today's "Windows" doesn't have, such as the ability to detach menues or simple drag and drop between applications.
I don't know the Linux distribution in particular (PuppyLinux), but I think it comes with a means intended to install software on it, maybe a kind of package manager (like apt-get, yum, pkg_*). THIS is the tool that is supposed to install software. If you need to download and unzip something, you're mostly doing something wrong on a mondern Linux distribution. Like with every toolset, you have to use the correct tool for the task. Downloading things (from the web) and manually installing them looks like "from the dark age" to me.
What do you think (binary) programs come from? Grown on trees? :-)
Honestly again: The advice you've been given seems to look strange. Modern Linux distributions usually don't require you to use a compiler or anything else to install software. Maybe you should have studied your toolset a bit more carefully? Of course, there are highly-customizable Linux distributions that do not come with installable precompiled software packages where compiling is needed. But if you use a modern Linux distribution that is "easy" to use (definition of "easy" depends on the standpoint and experience, as always), you can simply use the tools it provides to install software.
Your standpoint and experience, not mine (which is exactly the opposite).
Well, it already has. Of course there are distributions loaded with bloat and crap, just like the MICROS~1 products they want to imitate to make its new users "feel home" faster. You cannot take them to compare.
And you're mixing "simple" and "speed", both of them usually are individual feelings of the user. "Speed" is usually a term based on efficient algorithms and maximum control over hardware functionalities. "Simple" depends on, as I said, the standpoint and the experience of the user. What may look simple to me may look strange to you, and vice versa, such as manually downloading software... dark age of 1985... :-)
Doesn't look this way to me, but I'll believe your statement. :-)
Member since:2009-03-01
I hated it until a graphical menu system came out called Geoworks. Now the computer was easy to use.
And when "Windows" was released, everything was harder to use again. :-)
Yes, Windows was a joke compared to Geoworks. And Windows still is a joke compared to that 20 year old Geoworks.:-) Sad,but true.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?You can say what you will about Windows Phone and Windows 8's Metro interface (I refuse to drop that name) - it's inefficient, unpopular, cumbersome, beautiful, ugly, organised, clean, limiting - but there's one thing we can all agree on: it's unique and distinctive. CNet has published a profile of Microsoft's Albert Shum, the man behind Metro, and he highlights what I think is at the very core of Microsoft's problems in mobile right now.
Member since:
2009-03-01
Darknexus hit the nail right on the head. I started using computers about a year before Windows came out. That meant working with Dos. I hated it until a graphical menu system came out called Geoworks. Now the computer was easy to use. I mean you still had the problem of driver load order locking up the machine whenever you installed new hardware but overall it was much much easier than working from the command line.
I have the new and easy to use Puppy Linux. Installed easily with just a few clicks but I still had to edit a file to get Grub to work. Printer and internet configured easily. So far so good. Next I downloaded Kstars and Stellarium,unzipped them and proceeded to locate a setup or install file - nothing. Couldn't figure out how to install a couple of simple applications. Went to a Linux forum and found out that I had to use a compiler or some other tool from the dark ages. WTF! Too much BS. At first I thought Puppy Linux was Great - until I tried to install another program which should have taken a couple of clicks. As bad as XP is, it's still way easier and faster than Linux. Like others have said,it's not 1985. Simple is always best;) Maybe in a few more years Linux will catch up to Windows speed. Just for the record,I'm not a Micrsoft fan.