Is Linux a better operating system?
On paper it sure looks that way considering Microsoft can't seem to
lock down it's system from hackers.
However, there is so much more to an operating system and a computer
in general than security and if one looks at security in the general
sense, most of these exploits have/are/rely on ignorant users.
Seeing as Windows has 90+ percent of the desktop market place, the
number of ignorant users is going to be much higher than Linux with
say 2 percent of the desktop market place.
That is one reason why Windows is attacked, the other is of course
Windows has it's problems with security.
It's no secret.
However, I use both Linux and Windows and I get far more security
alerts from Suse Linux than I would like to see.
As Linux becomes more popular, it will become a target and hackers
will exploit the stupidity of the end user, it will happen given time.
It's a fact.

So why is Windows easier?
Simply because Windows is designed to easily integrate hardware and
software into a cohesive environment where things "just work".

Example: User wishes to play an audio CD with Windows. All he has to
do is put the CD in the tray and it works.
It might work via the analog cable connected to the sound card, or it
might work via DAE if the sound card does not have an analog input for
CD like many high end cards.

Now try this with Linux and say xmms...

Holy ****!

Create a directory where the audio CD will mount making sure not to
pick one that is in fstab, like /mnt/cdrom because it will screw up.
Now pick a sound system.
Now figure out what controls on the mixer need to be activated and
move them up.
Oh yea, nothing is labeled on the typical mixer control and I still
don't know if the green light means the function is enabled or
disabled because the help system is so dammed lame.

Now make certain to raise all the volumes, on all mixers because Linux
seems to set them to zero and BTW if you reboot there is no guarantee
they will be set back.
Check the number of threads that talk about this, going back to 2000
or so.
I guess this is not an important feature for Linux developers.
Maybe another editor is more important?
Yea that's the ticket.
Another editor to add to the already 100 that exist already.


How about an iPod and Linux?

Hey that's a real winner!!!

NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIrst off you HAVE TO HAVE WINDOWS in order to set it up.
Then even after you do that, the dammed hot plug system mounts it in
some weird ass directory and there is no way to over ride it.
Bottom line is GTK-PoD won't work right.

Even if you make it work, if you EVER CONNECT THE IPOD TO A REAL
SYSTEM like Windows, it will erase everything!!!!!!!!!
And then you are back to square one.

mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/dev/ipod -v -t....................and so forth!

Hey that's user friendly!

Yea, yea I know, iPod is proprietary and won't tell Linux all it's
secrets.

Tough ****!!!

It's a popular device and people use it.

And that is the entire point.
There are a LOT of popular devices that simply won't work right with
Linux but yet work fine with Windows and Apple.

Blaming others seems to be the Linux user mantra.

Blame everyone else except Linux.

Theories are great, but actual practice is what counts.

I don't care how my dishwasher works, as long as I turn the knob and
it starts.
My computer is a tool that is supposed to make my life easier not more
difficult.
I don't want to have to tell my computer how to do things, I want it
to tell me and allow me to accept or decline.



Let's play DVDs!!
Shall we?

My Plextor DVD player came with a CD that included various players and
CODECS and all I did was insert the DVD and everything worked.

Linux?

HAHHHHH!!!!!

apt-get....ooops I use Gentoo.
emerge sorry but I use Fedora.
RPMFIND....Sorry, I use Suse.
Yast....Ooops I use Slackware.....

When you install a popular distribution like say SUSE you will find
that the video players have been emasculated and don't include CODECS
to play anything useful.

So now you get to scour the internet to find obscure sites that will
allow you to make things work, and BTW you had better have a broadband
connection because these files are numerous and HUGE!!!


How about sound under Linux?

Am I using ARTS?
ESD?
OSS?
ALSA?
OSS-Emulation?
Jack (the worst of them all)

How do I even know?

Is my sound card /dev/dsp1?
dsp2?
Maybe it's hw:0?
or hw:0,1?

So what is it?

What if I have 3 sound cards?


How come I can't use Jack as a user and get real time?

Why must I enter a command like:

jackd -R -d alsa -d hw:0 -r 44100 -p 1024 -n2 -i12 -o10 etc..... to
make things work?


This is a facrce!!!!

With Windows I pick which sound card I wish to use, BY NAME and it
works.
No su'ing to root, nothing like that.

Why is Linux such a mess?

Let's continue.............

How can I design Flash pages under Linux?
Not EMULATED, HALF ASSED flash pages, but REAL ONES 100 percent
compatible with REAL FLASH?

Answer is it can't be done.

Hell, even viewing web pages under Linux is a chore because Linux
browsers suck!
Even firefox, which works great under Windows takes 20 seconds to load
under Linux.
Why is Linux so slow?

How about fonts?

Why does Linux have to steal TTF's from Microsoft in order to look
decent?

How about DAW work?

Ardour
RoseGarden
Audacity

Compare them to Sonar 4 or Cubase and see what happens.

Where are Linux plugins that are decent?

There are none.

Linux sound card support?

Linux doesn't support even the **** Sblive 24 bit cards.

Video support?

How is ATI support coming along these days?

Not too good I hear...

Sorry but Linux is a mess, a joke and THAT IS WHY it is being ignored
as users flock toward Apple and WIndows for real solutions to solve
real everyday problems.

If you want to run a geek cluster, use Linux.......
If you need to accomplish everyday work, use anything BUT Linux.