Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 16th Jan 2012 22:55 UTC
"The fragmentation of Android is very real and very problematic for end users, developers, mobile operators, device manufacturers, and Google. However fragmentation does not mean Android is going to 'die' or 'fail' as some seem to think. On the contrary I think we can count on Android playing a significant role in our world for a long, long time. I also am confident that Google has already lost control of Android and has zero chance of regaining control. This post explains why I'm so confident about this."
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RE[5]: Divided We Fall
by sbergman27 on Tue 17th Jan 2012 05:23
in reply to "RE[4]: Divided We Fall"
Member since:2005-07-24
Distrowatch is a geek site and is not indicative of general Linux usage.
True, but irrelevant to the current context.
There are only four basic distros (Debian, Red Hat, Slackware and Gentoo).
The real problem, as I described, is not so much the incompatibilities between contemporary versions of distros in any 6 month period. (Although that is still a very significant problem.) But the ongoing, pointless, reckless incompatibilities between Distro X Ver. A and Distro X Ver A+1. Every project involved thinks they are allotted a major incompatibility.
Linux is still a developers playground. Unsafe for the average desktop user. With a dedicated and savvy sysadmin, who's given a sufficient supply of anti-ulcer pills, it's great.
To the non-technical end user the Linux experience on any mainstream distro is virtually identical. KDE and Gnome offer a user experience similar to any other modern desktop OS.
Until they try to upgrade by themselves. Remember, they've gotten and applied a lot of advice about getting their systems to work right with the software they want. (Often not considered, or even ethically approved of by their distro's devs.) Pointing to various repositories, installing various codecs, and making various tweeks to work around problems.
And then... when they go to upgrade... boom!
If I organize a help desk for non-technical end users having these "virtually identical experiences" would you be willing to man the phones for free?
Thought not.
Edited 2012-01-17 05:25 UTC
RE[6]: Divided We Fall
by unclefester on Tue 17th Jan 2012 06:49
in reply to "RE[5]: Divided We Fall"
Member since:2007-01-13
Linux is still a developers playground. Unsafe for the average desktop user. With a dedicated and savvy sysadmin, who's given a sufficient supply of anti-ulcer pills, it's great.
You obviously have no real experience of Linux to make such absurd claims.
The average user can use any mainstream Linux distro without the slightest problem.
Until they try to upgrade by themselves. Remember, they've gotten and applied a lot of advice about getting their systems to work right with the software they want. (Often not considered, or even ethically approved of by their distro's devs.) Pointing to various repositories, installing various codecs, and making various tweeks to work around problems.
And then... when they go to upgrade... boom!
And then... when they go to upgrade... boom!
You are either a bullshit artist or a total moron. If a newbie sticks to Mint, Ubuntu or Mandriva their life is drama free. No sane person recommends Slackware, Suse or Fedora to a novice (however they are extremely easy to use once configured).
Ubuntu has a software store that is effortless to use. Alternatively you only need to tick Ubuntu Restricted Extras and all codecs, flash, MS fonts etc are automatically installed and configured.
Mint comes fully configured out of the box.
In comparison a clean Windows doesn't do anything useful unless you have no ambitions beyond using Notepad and Internet Explorer
Upgrades of any mainstream Linux distro go without a hitch. If you have a separate user partition you can even easily switch between distros and still retain all your personal files and settings.
The average user has no real need to ever upgrade their distro. If it ain't broke don't fix it. A Linux distro is perfectly usable long after the support period ends.
If they use Debian they can upgrade their system via rolling releases for as long as their hard drive works.
Most Windows users never upgrade their OS. Most of them wouldn't be able to do so anyway. I have met many long time Windows users who have absolutely no idea how to perform the most basic tasks such as a defrag or instal a programme.
If I organize a help desk for non-technical end users having these "virtually identical experiences" would you be willing to man the phones for free?
Thought not.
Thought not.
I would much rather support a variety of Linux distros than a a bunch of average windows users. For start I wouldn't be dealing with all the crapware found on the most Windows machines.
Member since:2011-06-17
The real problem, as I described, is not so much the incompatibilities between contemporary versions of distros in any 6 month period. (Although that is still a very significant problem.) But the ongoing, pointless, reckless incompatibilities between Distro X Ver. A and Distro X Ver A+1. Every project involved thinks they are allotted a major incompatibility.
I've noticed this as well. 10 years ago, in most cases, we used to be able to just pick a distro of choice and install third party applications without too many issues. These days you need to do your homework and match the distro and version to where the application has been developed and tested on or you're certain to bump into library incompatibities which make you end up wasting a lot of time trying to fix. SDK stability seems to be something completely alien to the Linux developer crowd.
Member since:2005-07-06
But the ongoing, pointless, reckless incompatibilities between Distro X Ver. A and Distro X Ver A+1.
Until they try to upgrade by themselves. Remember, they've gotten and applied a lot of advice about getting their systems to work right with the software they want. (Often not considered, or even ethically approved of by their distro's devs.) Pointing to various repositories, installing various codecs, and making various tweeks to work around problems.
And then... when they go to upgrade... boom!
Why should a Linux distro do any better with version A to A+1 than, for example, a heavily augmented (read third party applications and tools) Windows XP to Windows Vista? Dist-upgrade is replacing an entire OS, not just a "simple" update of the existing one. Which non-tech oriented end user is able to replace any OS? For these circumsances, LTS versions were invented. 3 years of stability and no dist-upgrade head aches. This only poses a problem when someone has updateritis. (For non-Debian/Ubuntu/Mint/etc. distros, replace the terminology with the appropriate equivalent.)
I have three desktop users to keep happy and dist-upgrade is expressly forbidden. I handle the OS replacements, they can do the update manager within the same version. I'm guessing this scenario is the same for every non-techie, for most available OSes. They can click on the in-version update icon, but replacing the OS is simply out of their league.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
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."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
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.More Features »
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Member since:
2007-01-13
Distrowatch is a geek site and is not indicative of general Linux usage.
There are only four basic distros (Debian, Red Hat, Slackware and Gentoo). Every other distro is a fork or spin of these.
There are only two mainstream Linux distros Debian-based (Debian/Ubuntu/Mint) and Red Hat-based (Fedora/Suse etc) which realistically cover well over 95% (probably >99%) of desktop users.
There have been large educational and corporate rollouts involving tens of thousands of individual machines rollouts. AFAIK every one of these rollouts has used some type of Debian or Red Hat base.
To the non-technical end user the Linux experience on any mainstream distro is virtually identical. KDE and Gnome offer a user experience similar to any other modern desktop OS.