The merits of open source software...as argued by others

[onefixedstar]

I spent a good chunk of time last weekend creating a new XP profile for myself to fix my task bar. And it worked...for just over a week. It's no longer working. I am not impressed.

Comments

[rinjava.livejournal.com]

Microsoft has produced an unimpressive product?!
*gasps*

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

I know, I know. But what are the alternatives? MacGuy has tried to sell me on Apple, loyal employee that he is, but I've witnessed some of the problems that he's had. Besides, based on what I've heard about Steve Jobs, I'd rather give my money to Bill Gates. I suppose I could look into more open source products...

[rinjava.livejournal.com]

Yep. It's all about open source and free software. Just install Firefox or Mozilla or Gaim or OpenOffice on your MS box, test drive them, and get to know all the happy things that the other side has to offer.

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

I have Firefox. The only differences I've noticed are the tabs (which are very nice, especially when the taskbar isn't working), its sometimes annoying indiscriminate blocking of pop-ups (as opposed to the more selective Google toolbar blocking on IE), and the fact that many secure sites won't let me log in using Firefox. There are always trade offs. In my admittedly limited experience with open source, the trade off is in the user interface. But if I'm feeling ambitious this summer, I might explore further and see if things have changed.

[rinjava.livejournal.com]

You're bang on about the trade-offs, but if it comes to consumer=supporter, I'd rather make trade-offs in support of Open or Free software than a Microsoft. Websites that don't support any browser but IE really munch me. Come on people, plant one kind of potato, and what happens?
If only Debian could get its OS together, I'd be such a happy camper. From what I hear, they're working on the desktop market. Now, if they could just...do...it...faster....

[semiotic-trader.livejournal.com]

All sorts of Linux distros are "working on the desktop market," and none of them have got it right. From what I understand, RedHat and SuSE are probably closest, but when it comes down to it, Linux is still the sort of operating system that needs an "administrator."

That being said, I plan on playing with some Linux distro or another once I have time (i.e., when the thesis is done and I've recovered) and can get my other computer fixed.

And I'm typing this in Mozilla: tabs, indiscriminate pop-up blocking (which pop-ups do you want?) and very few sites that don't support it, at least among the sites I visit.

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

Right--Linux is something that you need time to play with, even apart from the learning curve of a new OS. I have not had such time over the past two years. Maybe I'll this summer.

As for the limitations of Firefox: I want the pop-up that lets me use my university's web-based email, and I want to be able to access online banking. Maybe I should try Mozilla instead and see if that's any different.

thoughts about getting linux

[(Anonymous)]

Some ramblings (thx rinjava for sidetracking me from working!) :

There are no self-administering systems. What makes Windoze/MacOS seem easier is:

a) restricted options
b) prior experience
c) GUIs and wizards

Linux is based on a different way of using your computer, where users get to choose what's best for them instead of product managers. I think it's fair to say that most proprietary software companies are more interested in what's best for them than what's best for you.

- CPwr

Re: thoughts about getting linux

[semiotic-trader.livejournal.com]

The only thing I'll give you 100% there is "prior experience." But I think I'm willing to put in some time on learning a new system.

For GUIs and wizards, I don't see any reason why a given Linux distro couldn't incorporate these. For example, the last time I tried to play with a Linux distro (I don't remember which one), I had to know all sorts of mumbo-jumbo about monitor refresh rates and so on to get XFree86 working.

And restricted options, of course, are the biggest option. Unless you're a hacker to begin with, most people want their options restricted. I don't have the time or the wherewithal to customize my entire system; I want a system that works out-of-the-box that I can then go and tweak later, as I gradually learn new things. I recognize that there is a segment of the community that would say, "then Linux isn't for you," but I don't think you're one of them, CPwr. Maybe I'm wrong?

I'm hoping that both of these aspects have been dealt with in more recent and more highly-developed distros. That's why I'm willing to give it another go, once I have some time. Oh, and I don't necessarily expect to get all these things for free-as-in-beer, either.

I also realize that I'm just rehashing the larger Linux community's constant bickering about why the OS isn't ready for Joe Blow user, but just because it's been said a million times doesn't make it less true.

[sunir.livejournal.com]

You may have explained this before, but what's wrong with the taskbar?

Windows XP has all sorts of stupid bugs if you don't clear out your /temp directories (plural!) and your temporary internet files. Once it loses hard disk space, Windows XP silently goes into "save system resources mode" and starts shutting down a lot of stuff, such as the menu bar of the Task Manager. So, first, clean out your system's garbage bins, and then if you have lost the frame around the task manager, just click on the border as if you are resizing it, and it should come back.

I wasted a week and a half fixing these problems this semester as well. One victim was Adobe Acrobat Reader which refused to open. !!!

Happiness level? "Grr."

[onefixedstar.livejournal.com]

A missing menu bar is the main problem, followed by the mysterious self-replicating ability of the language toolbar (I'll have three or four copies of it running every time I start up). Thanks for the heads up on the "save system resources mode." I've encountered it before when I couldn't view the source code for websites, but I never made the connection between that and problems with the taskbar. I'll take your advice and see what happens.

Source code for websites

[sunir.livejournal.com]

Yes, not being able to view source of websites happens when your Temporary Internet Files folder exceeds 2GB. (I had this problem as well, a couple months ago.)

Older versions of Windows automatically cleaned out these directories, but XP doesn't, hence the problems.

Glad I could help!