Warning: Geeks only beyond this line
Things I love about Ubuntu (and Linux in general):
- Dude, everything is like, free. Not that my Windows software wasn't free, but the main difference is I don't have to pirate it.
- Don't like a certain program or feature? Don't worry, there are approximately 5,724 alternatives to any given app, including the one that controls your entire GUI. Nearly every single little thing is customizable.
- Used to spend hours tweaking your XP system with WindowBlinds and various other programs to change look 'n feel, then have to go hunting for themes? That functionality is built right in, and [kde|gnome|xfce]look.org has all the themes, icons, and cursors you could possibly want.
- For a command line Nazi like me, bash is about 10^5 times more useful than cmd.exe.
- Since when have you been able to install Windows software by typing (essentially) 'install this program?
- Tired of waiting for Vista? Install XGL/Compiz and get Vista-quality effects today!
- Spyware? Viruses? What? The closest thing to a virus for Linux had to be helped by Linus Torvalds himself before it'd run properly.
- One word: amaroK.
- NO REGISTRY OMGZ. All configuration is done via text file.
- There's something inherently cool about knowing that the same OS running on your computer could also run on a toaster.
Things I don't love about Linux:
- About three minutes to start up on a speedy 1.8gHz Pentium M. You kidding me? My XP system does it in less than 30 seconds. Yes, I know about InitNG, but should I have to comb through every single startup service and make sure it's being loaded correctly? And yes, I've installed bootchart, but again, should I have to put a magnifying glass to every single service and see which one could have 5 seconds shaved off by optimizing it?
- Running into circular dependencies in the repositories. Then you have to hunt around for the exact right .deb packages, or compile from source.
- ACPI support is craptastic, at least on my Vaio. Sure, we can do hibernate - if by hibernate, you mean shut down and forget the part about saving your RAM to disk.
- Sure, we can do CPU throttling - if by CPU throttling, you mean keep the laptop at the heat of 2.5 suns while you're using a text editor, then randomly throttle down, then throttle back up for no reason.
- Sure, we can do games - if by games, you mean the same stuff that came in the Windows 95 Plus! pack. Oh, and Unreal Tournament. (To be fair, UT2004 runs awesomely. But only because they actually PORTED it.) Yeah, there are tons of other clones, but they FEEL like clones.
- I feel sorry for the distros that don't have Automatix or EasyUbuntu. Codec support can be a bitch sometimes, even with apt/yum/emerge. And currently, mplayerplugin feels kinda chintzy somehow. (And yes, I can bag on emerge because I compiled my own damn Gentoo system and didn't get what the fuss was about.)
- Everything works great, except when it doesn't. And when it doesn't, it can take hours of combing Google to fix the config file that shouldn't have unfixed itself in the first place.
- Wine support isn't across-the-board awesome yet. Your experience will be entirely dependent on if you happen to rely on one of the platinum apps or feel like messing around enough to get one of the gold apps working. And yes, I know about Cedega, but - what the hell - it's NOT FREE?
- Seriously, is Gimp the best you can do?
- According to kSysGuard, this is using WAY more RAM than a comparable XP system would. And don't give me crap about KDE being bloated, because even Gnome is guilty of nearly the same usage. I guess it doesn't matter, since it still runs speedy anyway.
With all my bitching, I'm still running it as my primary OS. It's more work, but I'm experienced enough to deal with it. It still pisses me off when I randomly stop getting sound in Flash, for example, but so far the only thing that ever drives me back to Windows partition is Paint Shop Pro for web design. When there exists a true PSP clone for Linux, or Wine can run something other than version 4.0, I will be happy.
- Dude, everything is like, free. Not that my Windows software wasn't free, but the main difference is I don't have to pirate it.
- Don't like a certain program or feature? Don't worry, there are approximately 5,724 alternatives to any given app, including the one that controls your entire GUI. Nearly every single little thing is customizable.
- Used to spend hours tweaking your XP system with WindowBlinds and various other programs to change look 'n feel, then have to go hunting for themes? That functionality is built right in, and [kde|gnome|xfce]look.org has all the themes, icons, and cursors you could possibly want.
- For a command line Nazi like me, bash is about 10^5 times more useful than cmd.exe.
- Since when have you been able to install Windows software by typing (essentially) 'install this program?
- Tired of waiting for Vista? Install XGL/Compiz and get Vista-quality effects today!
- Spyware? Viruses? What? The closest thing to a virus for Linux had to be helped by Linus Torvalds himself before it'd run properly.
- One word: amaroK.
- NO REGISTRY OMGZ. All configuration is done via text file.
- There's something inherently cool about knowing that the same OS running on your computer could also run on a toaster.
Things I don't love about Linux:
- About three minutes to start up on a speedy 1.8gHz Pentium M. You kidding me? My XP system does it in less than 30 seconds. Yes, I know about InitNG, but should I have to comb through every single startup service and make sure it's being loaded correctly? And yes, I've installed bootchart, but again, should I have to put a magnifying glass to every single service and see which one could have 5 seconds shaved off by optimizing it?
- Running into circular dependencies in the repositories. Then you have to hunt around for the exact right .deb packages, or compile from source.
- ACPI support is craptastic, at least on my Vaio. Sure, we can do hibernate - if by hibernate, you mean shut down and forget the part about saving your RAM to disk.
- Sure, we can do CPU throttling - if by CPU throttling, you mean keep the laptop at the heat of 2.5 suns while you're using a text editor, then randomly throttle down, then throttle back up for no reason.
- Sure, we can do games - if by games, you mean the same stuff that came in the Windows 95 Plus! pack. Oh, and Unreal Tournament. (To be fair, UT2004 runs awesomely. But only because they actually PORTED it.) Yeah, there are tons of other clones, but they FEEL like clones.
- I feel sorry for the distros that don't have Automatix or EasyUbuntu. Codec support can be a bitch sometimes, even with apt/yum/emerge. And currently, mplayerplugin feels kinda chintzy somehow. (And yes, I can bag on emerge because I compiled my own damn Gentoo system and didn't get what the fuss was about.)
- Everything works great, except when it doesn't. And when it doesn't, it can take hours of combing Google to fix the config file that shouldn't have unfixed itself in the first place.
- Wine support isn't across-the-board awesome yet. Your experience will be entirely dependent on if you happen to rely on one of the platinum apps or feel like messing around enough to get one of the gold apps working. And yes, I know about Cedega, but - what the hell - it's NOT FREE?
- Seriously, is Gimp the best you can do?
- According to kSysGuard, this is using WAY more RAM than a comparable XP system would. And don't give me crap about KDE being bloated, because even Gnome is guilty of nearly the same usage. I guess it doesn't matter, since it still runs speedy anyway.
With all my bitching, I'm still running it as my primary OS. It's more work, but I'm experienced enough to deal with it. It still pisses me off when I randomly stop getting sound in Flash, for example, but so far the only thing that ever drives me back to Windows partition is Paint Shop Pro for web design. When there exists a true PSP clone for Linux, or Wine can run something other than version 4.0, I will be happy.