Why do you use GNU/Linux? What keeps you enthused?

[Steve]

I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.

I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.

I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.

What do all of you think of that thought?

How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows.

However, I have been thinking about why I continue to use GNU/Linux.
I can afford any computer at home that I want and the reasons why I
thought I should use GNU/Linux don't necessarily apply to me anymore.

I read Richard Stallman's book. I am STILL enthused about his
philosophy, but I have never read the source code for a Linux
program. I never cared to and I don't think I will have that
interest.

Over the years I kept telling myself that using GNU/Linux would
improve my education. I have gotten the ethic of looking up and
figuring things out my own imbued into me, which I think is a good
thing and worth all of the years I have been with GNU/Linux.

However, when I learn it is usually in response to a problem on my
system. Being honest, most times I am only interested ( and ONLY HAVE
TIME ) in learning just enough to get things going again....which
isn't that much of an valuable education.

I do get off on watching GNU/Linux improve.

I would never use windows.

However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.

Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use
things Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party
things. I wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested
in......only stuff I want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so
incredible this is becoming a non-issue for main stream tasks.

What do people think?

Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

[Damp Squid]

Post by Steve
I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.
I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.
I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.
What do all of you think of that thought?
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?
I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows.
However, I have been thinking about why I continue to use GNU/Linux.
I can afford any computer at home that I want and the reasons why I
thought I should use GNU/Linux don't necessarily apply to me anymore.
I read Richard Stallman's book. I am STILL enthused about his
philosophy, but I have never read the source code for a Linux
program. I never cared to and I don't think I will have that
interest.
Over the years I kept telling myself that using GNU/Linux would
improve my education. I have gotten the ethic of looking up and
figuring things out my own imbued into me, which I think is a good
thing and worth all of the years I have been with GNU/Linux.
However, when I learn it is usually in response to a problem on my
system. Being honest, most times I am only interested ( and ONLY HAVE
TIME ) in learning just enough to get things going again....which
isn't that much of an valuable education.
I do get off on watching GNU/Linux improve.
I would never use windows.
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use
things Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party
things. I wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested
in......only stuff I want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so
incredible this is becoming a non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."

-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

[Snit]

Post by Damp Squid

Post by Steve
I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.
I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.
I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.
What do all of you think of that thought?
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?
I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows.
However, I have been thinking about why I continue to use GNU/Linux.
I can afford any computer at home that I want and the reasons why I
thought I should use GNU/Linux don't necessarily apply to me anymore.
I read Richard Stallman's book. I am STILL enthused about his
philosophy, but I have never read the source code for a Linux
program. I never cared to and I don't think I will have that
interest.
Over the years I kept telling myself that using GNU/Linux would
improve my education. I have gotten the ethic of looking up and
figuring things out my own imbued into me, which I think is a good
thing and worth all of the years I have been with GNU/Linux.
However, when I learn it is usually in response to a problem on my
system. Being honest, most times I am only interested ( and ONLY HAVE
TIME ) in learning just enough to get things going again....which
isn't that much of an valuable education.
I do get off on watching GNU/Linux improve.
I would never use windows.
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use
things Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party
things. I wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested
in......only stuff I want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so
incredible this is becoming a non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."
-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

So why not do as I do and use a Mac... and then launch Linux in a virtual
machine as needed.

Hmmm... one thing I neglected to say when I responded was, at least with
Fusion, the video card emulated really is not good for Linux. Works fine
for Windows. Maybe I will look at the VMWare site and see if there is a
solution...

[Thufir]

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?


-Thufir

[Snit]

"Thufir" <***@gmail.com> stated in post eRFqj.2538$***@pd7urf1no
on 2/7/08 8:54 AM:

...

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit

Post by Damp Squid

Post by Steve
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use
things Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party
things. I wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested
in......only stuff I want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so
incredible this is becoming a non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."
-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

So why not do as I do and use a Mac... and then launch Linux in a virtual
machine as needed.
Hmmm... one thing I neglected to say when I responded was, at least with
Fusion, the video card emulated really is not good for Linux. Works fine for
Windows. Maybe I will look at the VMWare site and see if there is a
solution...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

I returned some of the context you missed. Does that help you to understand
my comment and how it was completely relevant and on topic? If not, well, I
suspect you are just incapable of understanding. Not my problem.

[Rick]

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

[Snit]

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit

Post by Damp Squid

Post by Steve
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use things
Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party things. I
wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested in......only stuff I
want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so incredible this is becoming a
non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm, reasons
for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."
-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

So why not do as I do and use a Mac... and then launch Linux in a virtual
machine as needed.
Hmmm... one thing I neglected to say when I responded was, at least with
Fusion, the video card emulated really is not good for Linux. Works fine
for Windows. Maybe I will look at the VMWare site and see if there is a
solution...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Ah, even Rick has figured out one cannot stop what has not started.

I am oh so proud of you, Rick. Well done!

[Rick]

Post by Snit

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit

Post by Damp Squid

Post by Steve
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use things
Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party things. I
wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested in......only stuff I
want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so incredible this is becoming a
non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm, reasons
for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."
-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

So why not do as I do and use a Mac... and then launch Linux in a virtual
machine as needed.
Hmmm... one thing I neglected to say when I responded was, at least with
Fusion, the video card emulated really is not good for Linux. Works fine
for Windows. Maybe I will look at the VMWare site and see if there is a
solution...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Ah, even Rick has figured out one cannot stop what has not started.
I am oh so proud of you, Rick. Well done!

Screw you.

[Snit]

Post by Rick

Post by Snit

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit

Post by Damp Squid

Post by Steve
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use things
Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party things. I
wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested in......only stuff I
want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so incredible this is becoming a
non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm, reasons
for using GNU/Linux?

You didn't miss anything. Your question can be answered by this one single
sentence."
-----> " I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows. "

So why not do as I do and use a Mac... and then launch Linux in a virtual
machine as needed.
Hmmm... one thing I neglected to say when I responded was, at least with
Fusion, the video card emulated really is not good for Linux. Works fine
for Windows. Maybe I will look at the VMWare site and see if there is a
solution...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Ah, even Rick has figured out one cannot stop what has not started.
I am oh so proud of you, Rick. Well done!

Screw you.

More juvenile lashing out by you. It is a bad habit of yours. In this case
you lashed out when I noted you were *correct*. Just weird.

[Moshe Goldfarb]

Post by Rick
Screw you.

Be careful about using sexual innuendo in COLA.
Roy Schestowitz might send you some off line email asking for a date or
something.

He's been a bit frustrated because Mark Kent is off trundling around in his
self powered hot air balloon.

Don't pick up the soap!

[Snit]

Post by Moshe Goldfarb

Post by Rick
Screw you.

Be careful about using sexual innuendo in COLA.

The weird thing is Rick used that sexual innuendo after I told him he was
right about something.

Might be more to his following me around than meets the eye. I hope not.

Post by Moshe Goldfarb
Roy Schestowitz might send you some off line email asking for a date or
something.
He's been a bit frustrated because Mark Kent is off trundling around in his
self powered hot air balloon.
Don't pick up the soap!

[Rick]

Post by Snit

Post by Moshe Goldfarb

Post by Rick
Screw you.

Be careful about using sexual innuendo in COLA.

The weird thing is Rick used that sexual innuendo after I told him he was
right about something.
Might be more to his following me around than meets the eye. I hope not.

I absolutely loathe you. I consider you a waste of flesh and a blight on
the planet.

[Snit]

Post by Rick

Post by Snit

Post by Moshe Goldfarb

Post by Rick
Screw you.

Be careful about using sexual innuendo in COLA.

The weird thing is Rick used that sexual innuendo after I told him he was
right about something.
Might be more to his following me around than meets the eye. I hope not.

I absolutely loathe you. I consider you a waste of flesh and a blight on
the planet.

Do you think *anyone* believes you? If you really did not like me you would
not follow me around trying to impress me with your knowledge... seriously,
how many times have you parroted back the same information I have told you
(such the problem with Ubuntu's repository having KDE apps) and showing me
your claimed experience. It makes no sense that you would try to impress me
with such things if you felt as you claim.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

Weird how you feel the need to speak for me... to clear up your lies:

* I am not trying to do the Mac user base any favors by talking
about Linux in a Linux advocacy group. It would be silly to
do such a thing...

* I am no less or more important that any other person...
though I am clearly not the type to spew such lies
as you did, above.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:42:02 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

* I am not trying to do the Mac user base any favors by talking
about Linux in a Linux advocacy group. It would be silly to
do such a thing...

I didn't say what your intent was, please pay attention to the words
that were written, not the voices in your head.

Post by Snit
* I am no less or more important that any other person...
though I am clearly not the type to spew such lies
as you did, above.

*sigh* Snit, I don't know if you can understand this, but I'll try to
explain for you.

Don't worry, you can run away instead, if that makes you feel better.

I didn't claim you were more important.


Now, it's really hard to read the words for you, I know, but just try,
try your best, and you *can* do it! really!


Now, for the gold star of the day! point out any lies I made in the post
you replied to!



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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:42:02 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

* I am not trying to do the Mac user base any favors by talking
about Linux in a Linux advocacy group. It would be silly to
do such a thing...

I didn't say what your intent was, please pay attention to the words
that were written, not the voices in your head.

Post by Snit
* I am no less or more important that any other person...
though I am clearly not the type to spew such lies
as you did, above.

*sigh* Snit, I don't know if you can understand this, but I'll try to
explain for you.
Don't worry, you can run away instead, if that makes you feel better.
I didn't claim you were more important.
Now, it's really hard to read the words for you, I know, but just try,
try your best, and you *can* do it! really!
Now, for the gold star of the day! point out any lies I made in the post
you replied to!

You made a BS claim:

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any
favours, but he imagines himself to be important in some way.
Don't know why, but it's easy to filter out so it's not a big
deal.

I called you on it and you freaked out. Oh well. Your freaking out is not
the topic of COLA. Can you move on?

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:55:18 -0700,

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:42:02 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

* I am not trying to do the Mac user base any favors by talking
about Linux in a Linux advocacy group. It would be silly to
do such a thing...

I didn't say what your intent was, please pay attention to the words
that were written, not the voices in your head.

Post by Snit
* I am no less or more important that any other person...
though I am clearly not the type to spew such lies
as you did, above.

*sigh* Snit, I don't know if you can understand this, but I'll try to
explain for you.
Don't worry, you can run away instead, if that makes you feel better.
I didn't claim you were more important.
Now, it's really hard to read the words for you, I know, but just try,
try your best, and you *can* do it! really!
Now, for the gold star of the day! point out any lies I made in the post
you replied to!

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any
favours, but he imagines himself to be important in some way.
Don't know why, but it's easy to filter out so it's not a big
deal.

Wha't sthe BS claim? that you do the Mac userbase no favours? that you
don't have an imagination? that you aren't easy to filter out? that it's
not a big deal? c'mon! you can do better! I know you can. (well, hope
any way, you've been a bit of a dissapointment lately.)

Post by Jim Richardson
I called you on it and you freaked out. Oh well. Your freaking out is not
the topic of COLA. Can you move on?

there you go again! what's it with you and the phrase "freaked out" word
of the day dictionary stuck or something?


Try reading the definition, then look in the mirror. Just saying.


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Jim Richardson
Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any
favours, but he imagines himself to be important in some way.
Don't know why, but it's easy to filter out so it's not a big
deal.

Wha't sthe BS claim?

Quoted. Above. You made a BS claim about what I "imagine"... a claim I
have told you is utter BS... I do not claim to be any more or less important
than anyone else.

You also imply I am trying to do the *Mac* userbase some good in *COLA*...
something that I am not trying to do. Macs are not the topic in COLA... not
sure why you and other Linux folks focus on Macs so much.

Post by Jim Richardson
that you do the Mac userbase no favours? that you
don't have an imagination? that you aren't easy to filter out? that it's
not a big deal? c'mon! you can do better! I know you can. (well, hope
any way, you've been a bit of a dissapointment lately.)

Post by Jim Richardson
I called you on it and you freaked out. Oh well. Your freaking out is not
the topic of COLA. Can you move on?

there you go again! what's it with you and the phrase "freaked out" word
of the day dictionary stuck or something?

Well, what term would you prefer for your absurd and irrational behavior? I
simply do not want to get side tracked into a big discussion on this, though
- in COLA I prefer to talk about Linux.

[Rick]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:36 -0500,

Post by Rick

Post by Thufir

Post by Snit
So why not do as I do and use a Mac...

Would you fucking stop advocating Mac's in cola?

No, he won't.

Like Oxford, he doesn't actually do the Mac userbase any favours, but he
imagines himself to be important in some way. Don't know why, but it's
easy to filter out so it's not a big deal.

... except I have this weakness for calling liars on their lies. Oh,
well, maybe somday I'll progress.

[Snit]

Post by Steve
I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.
I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.
I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.
What do all of you think of that thought?
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

I work for a number of schools and businesses handling their tech support /
tech training needs - I like being able to use older / extra hardware that
the schools often have donated without an OS and be able to use them as bell
systems, word processing / net surfing stations, and the like. Linux allows
me to do this in a secure and inexpensive way... though I simply do not have
the time to try to figure out what distro is best for what task so I tend to
use Ubuntu for everything. For the most part it works well for those
limited needs (OpenOffice has even gotten to the point where HS students can
use it with little problem). There are also tons of free programs so when a
teacher has a specific need I can often find a free program that does the
trick.

With that said the Linux lab is a secondary lab - the primary one is with
Macs. They allow me to run Photoshop and Dreamweaver and, under Windows, we
will be able to run Autocad if the need arises. The Mac, simply, is easier
for the students to use and they prefer it to Linux (though some also state
a wish that we ran Windows).

Post by Steve
I hate Microsoft as a company and I don't care for windows.
However, I have been thinking about why I continue to use GNU/Linux.
I can afford any computer at home that I want and the reasons why I
thought I should use GNU/Linux don't necessarily apply to me anymore.
I read Richard Stallman's book. I am STILL enthused about his
philosophy, but I have never read the source code for a Linux
program. I never cared to and I don't think I will have that
interest.
Over the years I kept telling myself that using GNU/Linux would
improve my education. I have gotten the ethic of looking up and
figuring things out my own imbued into me, which I think is a good
thing and worth all of the years I have been with GNU/Linux.
However, when I learn it is usually in response to a problem on my
system. Being honest, most times I am only interested ( and ONLY HAVE
TIME ) in learning just enough to get things going again....which
isn't that much of an valuable education.
I do get off on watching GNU/Linux improve.
I would never use windows.

There are some things on Windows which are excellent - I make screen casts
for some of the college classes I teach and I know of no better tool than
Camtasia to do so - and Camtasia, for now, is Windows only. I run it on my
Mac in Fusion with Windows. Also allows me to easily have a 1024 x 768
virtual screen, so even when Camtasia is ported to the Mac I likely will
stick with the Windows version for much of what I do.

Post by Steve
However I have been thinking of possibly migrating to the Mac and
installing a VM.

That is what I do. Macs cost about the same as a similarly equipped Windows
machine *but* you cannot get as many configurations with the Mac, so you may
end up spending more. Apple also tends to have a bit more software and a
bit less hardware, so if you are looking at only hardware Macs sometimes
appear to cost more.

Post by Steve
Doing that I could continue to get the pleasure of watching GNU/Linux
improve, I could run windows programs for work, I could use a BSD
command shell whenever I want. I could run *nix programs whenever I
want. I would get more third party support like being able to use
things Turbo Tax, Adobe/Macromedia software and other third party
things.

Well, you can not longer use Macromedia software - it is all Adobe now. :)
But, yes, one benefit of the Mac is the ability to run Photoshop,
Dreamweaver, and the like.

Post by Steve
I wouldn't have to futz with things I am not interested
in......only stuff I want to futz with.......though Ubuntu is so
incredible this is becoming a non-issue for main stream tasks.
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

I am very happy with my setup - I have an iMac and I run OS X primarily and,
when needed, Linux (any of a number of distros now) or Windows (two copies -
one with IE 7 and one with IE 6 so I can test the websites I make on both).

[chrisv]

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

[alt]

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective manner?

Not to mention, in a secure and more flexible environment.

[Steve]

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

That is why I decided to review the reasons of why I got into GNU/
Linux 8 years ago. I wanted to see if they still hold and if there
are enough reasons for me to keep using Linux as my primary system at
home.

I still hate Microsoft as a business, I still do not like Windows, I
am still enthused about Richard Stallman's views, and I still enjoy
watching GNU/Linux evolve.

Those aren't enough reasons given today's options to use Linux at
home. Most of my time at home is spent in cross platform apps like
Fire Fox and Visual Slickedit.

I could install Ubuntu in a VM on a Mac, but I wouldn't end up using
it much as there wouldn't be any special software that I would need to
go there to use.

So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".

So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

[t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com]

Post by Steve
The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Nothing wrong with buying a Mac if you want. You might find, though,
that there are good reasons to keep a Linux system around also. We
use a linux box as our house router/firewall/PVR/file-server. The
Mac sits behind the firewall and is used for video editing. The
Mac is nice, but has been a bit touchy about dropping frames while
doing firewire video capture if we push it to do anything else at
the same time (granted, its a few years old).

Post by Steve
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

The community around a product can actually be important if you
rely on it for support or creative input. Mac has its own vibrant
communitity, though in my experience it tends toward artistic and
creative media creation types and less toward the tinkerers and
developers that form the original core of the Linux crowd. Of
course those characterizations are not as true as they maybe once
were, as both platforms continue to grow and attract new sorts of
users.

For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Thad

[Snit]

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com

Post by Steve
The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Nothing wrong with buying a Mac if you want. You might find, though,
that there are good reasons to keep a Linux system around also. We
use a linux box as our house router/firewall/PVR/file-server. The
Mac sits behind the firewall and is used for video editing. The
Mac is nice, but has been a bit touchy about dropping frames while
doing firewire video capture if we push it to do anything else at
the same time (granted, its a few years old).

Post by Steve
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

The community around a product can actually be important if you
rely on it for support or creative input. Mac has its own vibrant
communitity, though in my experience it tends toward artistic and
creative media creation types and less toward the tinkerers and
developers that form the original core of the Linux crowd. Of
course those characterizations are not as true as they maybe once
were, as both platforms continue to grow and attract new sorts of
users.

True...

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com
For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Well, if you like Unix like OSs why not go with a certified Unix...
like OS X. :)

Just being silly - your answer is above: for you the value of the philosophy
of OSS is important - and Linux is the best choice in that arena and it,
likely, serves your needs well.

[JEDIDIAH]

[deletia]

Post by Snit
True...

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com
For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Well, if you like Unix like OSs why not go with a certified Unix...
like OS X. :)

That certification is about as meaningful as toilet paper.

If I want a "real unix" I will just download Solaris.

[deletia]
--
Apple: Because a large harddrive is for power users.
|||
/ | \

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

[Snit]

Post by JEDIDIAH
[deletia]

Post by Snit
True...

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com
For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Well, if you like Unix like OSs why not go with a certified Unix...
like OS X. :)

That certification is about as meaningful as toilet paper.

How so?

Post by JEDIDIAH
If I want a "real unix" I will just download Solaris.

Use what you please.

[JEDIDIAH]

Post by Snit

Post by JEDIDIAH
[deletia]

Post by Snit
True...

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com
For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Well, if you like Unix like OSs why not go with a certified Unix...
like OS X. :)

That certification is about as meaningful as toilet paper.

How so?

It confuses some very superficial and incomplete criteria
with the actual state of the art.

Post by Snit

Post by JEDIDIAH
If I want a "real unix" I will just download Solaris.

Use what you please.

[Snit]

Post by JEDIDIAH

Post by Snit

Post by JEDIDIAH

Post by Snit

Post by t***@tux.glaci.delete-this.com
For some users, the phylisophical underpinnings of OSS is enough
to tip the decision in favor or Linux. It certainly plays a role
for me, though I also prefer Unix like operating systems for
purely technical reasons also. Ultimately, only you can answer
how important it is to you.

Well, if you like Unix like OSs why not go with a certified Unix...
like OS X. :)

That certification is about as meaningful as toilet paper.

How so?

It confuses some very superficial and incomplete criteria
with the actual state of the art.

What criteria would you prefer to use?

[Snit]

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Why feel bad about it? Heck, I am a fan of OS X but if someone were to show
me something better I would jump ship in a moment. I also have had very
good luck with Toyota cars - but if I can be shown that Ford makes a better
one (for my needs) I will get a Ford next time I buy one.

Post by Steve
That is why I decided to review the reasons of why I got into GNU/
Linux 8 years ago. I wanted to see if they still hold and if there
are enough reasons for me to keep using Linux as my primary system at
home.
I still hate Microsoft as a business, I still do not like Windows, I
am still enthused about Richard Stallman's views, and I still enjoy
watching GNU/Linux evolve.

No problem with the idea of liking things evolve... I like watching Linux,
OS X, and Windows evolve.

Post by Steve
Those aren't enough reasons given today's options to use Linux at
home. Most of my time at home is spent in cross platform apps like
Fire Fox and Visual Slickedit.
I could install Ubuntu in a VM on a Mac, but I wouldn't end up using
it much as there wouldn't be any special software that I would need to
go there to use.
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

Use what works best for you - you do nor owe the Linux community your usage,
just as I do not owe Apple mine.

Out of curiosity: what blew you away about the Macs?

[Kelsey Bjarnason]

[snips]

Post by Steve
The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw

Okay - why? What, exactly, did you see on the Macs that you can't do on
your Linux box?

If it was just "glitz" - eye candy - then you're not really buying
anything. If it's actually getting something done, in a manner which a
Linux box simply cannot achieve, the obvious question then is why can't
it achieve it, and can you make it so it can?

So why the "wow" factor? Sure, Macs are pretty, but skip the pretty -
what did it actually *do* that had a wow factor?

[Moshe Goldfarb]

On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 14:10:26 +0000, Kelsey Bjarnason wrote:


Kelsey uses Linux so she can complain about the Windows boxes she hoses.

[[H]omer]

Post by Kelsey Bjarnason
So why the "wow" factor? Sure, Macs are pretty, but skip the pretty
- what did it actually *do* that had a wow factor?

Sounds like Steve may have fallen under Messiah Jobs hypnotic spell.
--
K.
http://slated.org

.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.
`----

Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.23.8-63.fc8
05:11:25 up 47 days, 2:47, 4 users, load average: 2.15, 1.03, 0.44

[Kelsey Bjarnason]

Post by [H]omer

Post by Kelsey Bjarnason
So why the "wow" factor? Sure, Macs are pretty, but skip the pretty -
what did it actually *do* that had a wow factor?

Sounds like Steve may have fallen under Messiah Jobs hypnotic spell.

I just want to know what makes him go "wow" over macs? Is it just the
eye candy, or is it something with a little more meat to it?

[7]

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

I don't understand! Nobody is forcing you to give up your quest to become a
mac retard and pay through your nose for crap technology.
You are free to choose.
If you want to see Linux in action then look in www.youtube.com
Search for Linux, ubuntu, compiz and beryl - mac nowhere to be seen.

Download and try it yourself...
http://www.livecdlist.com
http://www.distrowatch.com

[Cross Posting HO]

Post by 7

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

I don't understand! Nobody is forcing you to give up your quest to become a
mac retard and pay through your nose for crap technology.
You are free to choose.
If you want to see Linux in action then look in www.youtube.com
Search for Linux, ubuntu, compiz and beryl - mac nowhere to be seen.
Download and try it yourself...
http://www.livecdlist.com
http://www.distrowatch.com

Please, whatever you do don't listen 7. If you want to use a Mac, then
you by all means go right ahead. 7 is on a quest to take over the world
with Linux firmly planted up her ass. I don't know if she is being paid
or not with Linux money under the table, but she is not doing a good job
on the sale of anything. In any case, she needs to be fired.

[7]

Post by Cross Posting HO

Post by 7

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

I don't understand! Nobody is forcing you to give up your quest to become
a mac retard and pay through your nose for crap technology.
You are free to choose.
If you want to see Linux in action then look in www.youtube.com
Search for Linux, ubuntu, compiz and beryl - mac nowhere to be seen.
Download and try it yourself...
http://www.livecdlist.com
http://www.distrowatch.com

Please, whatever you do don't listen 7. If you want to use a Mac, then
you by all means go right ahead. 7 is on a quest to take over the world
with Linux firmly planted up her ass. I don't know if she is being paid
or not with Linux money under the table, but she is not doing a good job
on the sale of anything. In any case, she needs to be fired.

<wank> <wank> <wank>... <SPLAT!!!>
Yaahhahooohhhooooooo!!!!!

Phew!

I think I have made some extra splooky for you!
Would you like it in a test tube or some other container?

[Cross Posting HO]

Post by 7

Post by Cross Posting HO
Please, whatever you do don't listen 7. If you want to use a Mac, then
you by all means go right ahead. 7 is on a quest to take over the world
with Linux firmly planted up her ass. I don't know if she is being paid
or not with Linux money under the table, but she is not doing a good job
on the sale of anything. In any case, she needs to be fired.

<wank> <wank> <wank>... <SPLAT!!!>
Yaahhahooohhhooooooo!!!!!
Phew!
I think I have made some extra splooky for you!
Would you like it in a test tube or some other container?

The BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA from you is more sexy. Can
you give me a BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA? I'll give you what
you need and what you want, because you have not had a good drilling in
awhile, knee caps bent, and it's obvious. That's what you need. Someone
needs to bend your knee caps for you and bring you back to Earth.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:31:05 -0800 (PST),

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Why? if you'd rather use a Mac, use it!

Post by Steve
That is why I decided to review the reasons of why I got into GNU/
Linux 8 years ago. I wanted to see if they still hold and if there
are enough reasons for me to keep using Linux as my primary system at
home.
I still hate Microsoft as a business, I still do not like Windows, I
am still enthused about Richard Stallman's views, and I still enjoy
watching GNU/Linux evolve.
Those aren't enough reasons given today's options to use Linux at
home. Most of my time at home is spent in cross platform apps like
Fire Fox and Visual Slickedit.
I could install Ubuntu in a VM on a Mac, but I wouldn't end up using
it much as there wouldn't be any special software that I would need to
go there to use.
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:31:05 -0800 (PST),

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Why? if you'd rather use a Mac, use it!

Post by Steve
That is why I decided to review the reasons of why I got into GNU/
Linux 8 years ago. I wanted to see if they still hold and if there
are enough reasons for me to keep using Linux as my primary system at
home.
I still hate Microsoft as a business, I still do not like Windows, I
am still enthused about Richard Stallman's views, and I still enjoy
watching GNU/Linux evolve.
Those aren't enough reasons given today's options to use Linux at
home. Most of my time at home is spent in cross platform apps like
Fire Fox and Visual Slickedit.
I could install Ubuntu in a VM on a Mac, but I wouldn't end up using
it much as there wouldn't be any special software that I would need to
go there to use.
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:39:11 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:31:05 -0800 (PST),

Post by Steve

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

The reason is that a friend of mine who is Mac freak took to me a Mac
store the other week. I was so blown away by everything I saw that
I have been thinking about migrating to Mac, but I feel bad about
leaving Linux behind.

Why? if you'd rather use a Mac, use it!

Post by Steve
That is why I decided to review the reasons of why I got into GNU/
Linux 8 years ago. I wanted to see if they still hold and if there
are enough reasons for me to keep using Linux as my primary system at
home.
I still hate Microsoft as a business, I still do not like Windows, I
am still enthused about Richard Stallman's views, and I still enjoy
watching GNU/Linux evolve.
Those aren't enough reasons given today's options to use Linux at
home. Most of my time at home is spent in cross platform apps like
Fire Fox and Visual Slickedit.
I could install Ubuntu in a VM on a Mac, but I wouldn't end up using
it much as there wouldn't be any special software that I would need to
go there to use.
So, I feel like I would be leaving the "old neighborhood" and the
Linux community behind. It feels slightly unsettling after 8 years
and as dumb as it may sound I identified with being a "linux user".
So, I am thinking out loud and getting opinions

I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.




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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:47:59 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

Really? then I am pretty sure you either don't understand what the word
means, or are simply trolling. Either way, not a good example. Please
try to set a better one.


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

Really?

Yes.

...

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:51:21 -0700,

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

Really?

Yes.
...

and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:51:21 -0700,

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

Really?

Yes.
...

and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:50:05 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:51:21 -0700,

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
I use it because it works well for me. Why change? I don't see any
benefits from changing, and plenty of downsides. But those are my
reasons. You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Well, you did sorta freak out after you admitted your wife prefers OS X, at
least on one machine. That was weird.

it's interesting that you keep repeating that phrase. Tell me, what do you
mean when you say "freaked out" ? 'cause I'm not seeing it in context to
my posts.

Your freakish obsession on splitting hairs to try to defend your idiotic
claims of dishonesty is a pretty good example of someone freaking out.

Really?

Yes.
...

and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped? I already read it, I wrote it. You
snipped it. Like I said, even more dodging from Snit.


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:19 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

What did I snip in the post you replied to ?


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:19 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

What did I snip in the post you replied to ?

The answer to your question... of course. And, no, I am not going to waste
my time fishing for you.

The topic of COLA is not you and your lack of ability to follow a
conversation, nor your tendency to freak out. Frankly your side issues grow
boring.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:50:25 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:19 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

What did I snip in the post you replied to ?

The answer to your question... of course. And, no, I am not going to waste
my time fishing for you.

except I snipped nothing in the post to which you replied. So what are
you talking about? or are you making stuff up again?

Post by Snit
The topic of COLA is not you and your lack of ability to follow a
conversation, nor your tendency to freak out. Frankly your side issues grow
boring.

more gibberish. What did I snip? you should have no trouble pointing to
the post upthread in which you claim I snipped your answer.


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[Snit]

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:50:25 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:19 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

What did I snip in the post you replied to ?

The answer to your question... of course. And, no, I am not going to waste
my time fishing for you.

except I snipped nothing in the post to which you replied. So what are
you talking about? or are you making stuff up again?

Post by Snit
The topic of COLA is not you and your lack of ability to follow a
conversation, nor your tendency to freak out. Frankly your side issues grow
boring.

more gibberish. What did I snip? you should have no trouble pointing to
the post upthread in which you claim I snipped your answer.

The topic of "Jim Richardson and what he missed" is really not that
interesting of a topic. I would prefer to talk about Linux.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:39:55 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:50:25 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:00:19 -0700,

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by Snit

Post by Jim Richardson
and even more dodging from Snit. Is that what you mean by freaking out
Snit?

Read what you snipped.

you mean the bit you snipped?

No. What you snipped. Read it. If you can.

What did I snip in the post you replied to ?

The answer to your question... of course. And, no, I am not going to waste
my time fishing for you.

except I snipped nothing in the post to which you replied. So what are
you talking about? or are you making stuff up again?

Post by Snit
The topic of COLA is not you and your lack of ability to follow a
conversation, nor your tendency to freak out. Frankly your side issues grow
boring.

more gibberish. What did I snip? you should have no trouble pointing to
the post upthread in which you claim I snipped your answer.

The topic of "Jim Richardson and what he missed" is really not that
interesting of a topic. I would prefer to talk about Linux.

Evasion noted. Snit runs away again rather than produce evidence for his
claims.

At least come up with some original insults Snit! I mean, you *are*
capable of original thoughts! Right? Snit?

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[chrisv]

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:52:52 -0600,

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to chose
from, just ask Hadron.

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[William Poaster]

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to chose
from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux Approvers.

[Jim Richardson]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:14:20 +0000,

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to chose
from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux Approvers.

Oh Hadron wouldn't make the cut, the first revolutionaries are
usually done away with fairly early. See Lenin, Trotsky, etc.



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[[H]omer]

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to
chose from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux
Approvers.

[splorf]

(See sig)
--
K.
http://slated.org

.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.
`----

Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.23.8-63.fc8
09:58:08 up 48 days, 7:33, 4 users, load average: 0.08, 0.11, 0.09

[William Poaster]

Post by [H]omer

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to
chose from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux
Approvers.

[splorf]
(See sig)

"Comrade Hardon Quirk, communist party member".... LOL

How about: Chairman Quack-Meeow of the National Congress & Central Committee of
Linux Approvers.

[[H]omer]

Post by William Poaster
"Comrade Hardon Quirk, communist party member".... LOL
How about: Chairman Quack-Meeow of the National Congress & Central
Committee of Linux Approvers.

He ain't bright enough to make chairman, he's more of a bit player:

Councillor Quirk of the Greater Linux Council.
--
K.
http://slated.org

.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.
`----

Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.23.8-63.fc8
17:57:11 up 48 days, 15:33, 4 users, load average: 0.03, 0.13, 0.15

[Hadron]

Post by [H]omer

Post by William Poaster
"Comrade Hardon Quirk, communist party member".... LOL
How about: Chairman Quack-Meeow of the National Congress & Central
Committee of Linux Approvers.

Councillor Quirk of the Greater Linux Council.

You girls would have hours of fun with a cube and a slightly smaller
round hole.

[chrisv]

Post by [H]omer

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson
Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to
chose from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux
Approvers.

[splorf]
(See sig)
.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.

You will all pay for ridiculing The Committee and it's exalted leader
Hadron Quack!

We will bury you!

[Peter Köhlmann]

Post by chrisv

Post by [H]omer

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson
Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to
chose from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux
Approvers.

[splorf]
(See sig)
.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.

You will all pay for ridiculing The Committee and it's exalted leader
Hadron Quack!
We will bury you!

pounds desk with shoe...

[chrisv]

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to chose
from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux Approvers.

You guys should be thankful that people like Quack would gladly
volunteer their time to make important decisions for the benefit of us
all. He's just the kind of person that I would want making decisions
for me...

[Hadron]

Post by chrisv

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to chose
from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux Approvers.

You guys should be thankful that people like Quack would gladly
volunteer their time to make important decisions for the benefit of us
all. He's just the kind of person that I would want making decisions
for me...

Willy Boaster really does have a hard on for "Hardon". Is he still going
on about one word?

Wouldn't surprise me. He makes 7 look like Neils Bohr.

[Peter Köhlmann]

Post by Hadron

Post by chrisv

Post by William Poaster

Post by Jim Richardson

Post by chrisv

Post by Jim Richardson
You should use what works best for you. This isn't a crusade,
no matter what the trolls think.

Indeed. This is all about having options and choices - not being
limited to a single company and the products they deem to offer.

Well, with a benevolent dictator deciding what options you have to
chose from, just ask Hadron.

Ah, yes. "Uncle" Joe Hardon Stalin & the Presidium of Linux Approvers.

You guys should be thankful that people like Quack would gladly
volunteer their time to make important decisions for the benefit of us
all. He's just the kind of person that I would want making decisions
for me...

Willy Boaster really does have a hard on for "Hardon".

That from the guy who mangles another posters handle to "Homo"

You should be ashamed of yourself, Hadron Quark. You can freely give out
insults, but you can't take anything at all

[[H]omer]

Post by chrisv

Post by Steve
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

Why do you feel a need to be "enthused", "Steve" Is it not enough to
accomplish your computing goals in an efficient, cost-effective
manner?

Yes, this does seem like a strange question.

Enthusiasm should be derived from the /goal/, not the /tool/ used to
accomplish it. If the tool itself becomes a distraction, to the point
that it causes anything other than a passing glance, then IMHO it has
failed its purpose.

Certainly Windows would fail that prerequisite, being the bug infested,
insecure, nagging, bloated pile of junk that it is. OTOH If the charge
against GNU/Linux is that Steve thinks it's become boring, then I'd say
it's succeeded in aptly fulfilling its role as a tool that "just works".
In this context, boring is /good/.

In other contexts, such as development or politics, there is still
plenty to get excited about in the world of Free Software ... not always
in a good way though, especially when the opposing "team" keeps hurling
petrol bombs over the dividing wall.
--
K.
http://slated.org

.----
| "There would be in the license, a caveat which forbids publishing a
| distro until it has been approved by an OSS committee." ~ Comrade
| Hardon Quirk, communist party member.
`----

Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.23.8-63.fc8
05:02:49 up 47 days, 2:38, 4 users, load average: 0.05, 0.07, 0.08

[John Locke]

Post by Steve
I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.
I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.
I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.
What do all of you think of that thought?
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

Easy..

Very little susceptibility to mal ware and virus attacks.
No "activation" problems.
No screwy licensing restrictions.
Good stability.
Low cost.
No reboot..reboot..reboot crap..except for kernel updates.
Lots of choice.
Easy to use.
Minimum hardware requirements !!
Compiz is FUN !!
No crapware bundled with the distros.
Plenty of support from forums, newsgroups(even COLA at times), IRC
Easy installation.
Live CDs.
Can boot Linux from a flash drive.
Its NOT from MIcrosoft !

[The Ghost In The Machine]

In comp.os.linux.advocacy, John Locke
<***@comcast.net>
wrote
on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:31:15 -0800

Post by John Locke

Post by Steve
I'm currently using Ubuntu 7.10 on a fairly powerful ( I'm not a
gamer ) 5 year old machine.
I started using Linux back in 2000. I started with off with Red Hat
for a few years. From there I went to Suse for a few years. I tried
straight Debian and didn't like it. I fell in love with Knoppix when
it came out and stayed with that for a while. I tried Mephis for a
little while. Then I went Ubuntu several years ago.
I realized that in the 8 years I have been using Linux I have not
really learned that much. It seems like unless you are a network
person or are interested in networking or cobbling hardware together
you don't get that much impetus to learn more Linux.
What do all of you think of that thought?
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

Easy..
Very little susceptibility to mal ware and virus attacks.

Very true, though at this point I'm wondering how relevant
that is as an issue. NATs at home will block most of
the packet attacks, for example. Of course one still
has to worry about trojans and injections (yielding
various phishing and pharming attacks) on Windows.
Linux applications (mostly Mozilla Firefox) have a few
vulnerabilities, but darned few compared to that other
solution.

Post by John Locke
No "activation" problems.

Specific software might require licensing keys, and only for that
software. The one that comes to mind is VmWare, unless they've
changed it recently. Most of the rest is just ready to go.

Post by John Locke
No screwy licensing restrictions.

You'd be surprised. I have 877 entries in
/usr/portage/licenses, 812 of them of which are unique,
though I can't tell without more analysis as to what the
differences are. Presumably most of these are variants
of either "as-is", "GPL", or "LGPL". I doubt any of them
are as restrictive as the Microsoft EULA, nor is it clear
how many are still active, since I don't know whether they
get cleaned out of the tree if a package vanishes, or not,
during tree resync.

Post by John Locke
Good stability.

Very.

Post by John Locke
Low cost.

Various metrics here, but for the most part one can acquire
a Linux distro for the cost of a download. If one needs
a CD, one burns the distro and that increases the cost by
the cost of the media, which is pretty trivial -- maybe
10-20 cents.

Post by John Locke
No reboot..reboot..reboot crap..except for kernel updates.

I'm not even sure about the kernel updates. If one needs
a new module, just load the module. kexec() might obviate
the need for a reboot but I'd have to check. It's an
interesting system.

Post by John Locke
Lots of choice.

"Too much choice!!!" scream the Wintrools. (Their problem,
not mine; I chose Gentoo, faults and all. That's the
nature of choice.)

Post by John Locke
Easy to use.

Debatable, though for the most part I have no trouble
with Linux. Of course, I'm also an old Unixhead.
Gnome, however, does have a fair number of configuration
requesters; once set up, a Linux system should give the
novice user no problems, and nowadays the distros give a
good default setup. I can't speak for KDE as I've not
used it as much. Audio and CUPS have been my most annoying
setups.

Post by John Locke
Minimum hardware requirements !!

Ah, I miss installing Debian on a 4 MB 386. :-) I probably
still could, if I had a lot of time and a large enough swapfile.

Post by John Locke
Compiz is FUN !!

Not that familiar with it. Looks like this is what GLX morphed into.
http://compiz.org/

Post by John Locke
No crapware bundled with the distros.

Not sure what one means here by "crapware". Of course the
licensing restrictions are largely localized.

Post by John Locke
Plenty of support from forums, newsgroups(even COLA at times), IRC

Not that familiar with the current state of IRC, and the
forums are iffy (mostly because a Google search is more
likely to get 10 copies of "How do I do that?"), but then,
that's not specific to Linux at all.

Post by John Locke
Easy installation.

For a blank machine, maybe. Of course, that's hardly a
Linux-specific thing; most machines come preloaded with
You Know What, and it's all one one big, messy, slovenly
partition. Thanks a heap, OEMs. :-P

(I was able to get an OEM to install a machine with two
partitions once, back in the mid-90's. They're now out
of business. No, it's not because of me. :-) )

Post by John Locke
Live CDs.

A big big BIG plus.

Post by John Locke
Can boot Linux from a flash drive.

Or a live CD, or even in VmWare on Windows (though the reverse
is preferable for many reasons).

Post by John Locke
Its NOT from MIcrosoft !

Unless it's from Novell, in which case one has to wonder.

[Tim Smith]

In article

Post by Steve
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

It lets me have a server in an otherwise unused room at home, which
gathers all my email from several accounts, and serves it up to my other
machines vie IMAP over a secure connection, letting me have a unified
view of my mail, regardless of where I'm viewing from (home, work, on
the road), with centralized spam filtering and email sorting.

It networks to my Linux box at work, and working together, the home and
work Linux box provide a substrate that my office Mac, home Mac, and Mac
laptop rest upon, so that they are all bound together in one computing
environment, rather than three. I can almost effortlessly switch
between working at home, working at the office, and working on the road.

[Hadron]

Post by Tim Smith
In article

Post by Steve
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

It lets me have a server in an otherwise unused room at home, which
gathers all my email from several accounts, and serves it up to my other
machines vie IMAP over a secure connection, letting me have a unified
view of my mail, regardless of where I'm viewing from (home, work, on
the road), with centralized spam filtering and email sorting.
It networks to my Linux box at work, and working together, the home and
work Linux box provide a substrate that my office Mac, home Mac, and Mac
laptop rest upon, so that they are all bound together in one computing
environment, rather than three. I can almost effortlessly switch
between working at home, working at the office, and working on the road.

Precisely. A great set up.

[Phoon Hencman]

Post by Steve
How do all of you stay enthused with Linux?

It's not Windows. Simple really!

[RonB]

Post by Steve
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

What keeps me enthusiastic about Linux? Showing my family, friends and those
at work how well it works. A lot of them have bought into the FUD about the
Linux desktop being "crap" (to paraphrase Hadron), and they're blown away
by its ease of use (the Desktop that is, there's still a learning curve for
Linux itself). But, whether I'm enthusiastic about Linux or not is beside
the point for me. I decided I'm not going to Vista *EVER* and XP's constant
upgrading is too much of a pain. Macs are too expensive. Linux allows me to
get great performance from trailing edge technology (I'm cheap). The fact
that I can build a Linux box for next to nothing and give it away to
someone, without pirating an OS, is cool.

Linux just does a lot more with a lot less.

[The Ghost In The Machine]

In comp.os.linux.advocacy, RonB
<***@gmail.com>
wrote
on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:55:37 -0600

Post by RonB

Post by Steve
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

What keeps me enthusiastic about Linux? Showing my family, friends and those
at work how well it works.

But clearly, Linux doesn't work, and the trolls have to
continually remind us that it doesn't work. I mean, it's
probably one of those "we're so used to it doing things
we actually expect it to" situations (as opposed to, say,
randomly deciding that it needs to completely blank one's
desktop, cough up a bunch of distinctive white text on a
blue screen, or put up a random page that says in effect
"It's TIME TO UPGRADE, AND I DO MEAN NOW KIDS!") that we
forget that other people might have to be told that it
doesn't work and Windows is "intuitive", "easy-to-use", and
"user-friendly", so the trolls are performing a service...

...I think...

Post by RonB
A lot of them have bought into the FUD about the
Linux desktop being "crap" (to paraphrase Hadron), and they're blown away
by its ease of use (the Desktop that is, there's still a learning curve for
Linux itself).

Depending on what "Linux" means here, admittedly.
Of course, the learning curve is steep if one wants to
get into the int 0x80 layer (on x86 boxen), but that's
extremely esoteric (and probably inadvisable for most).
Of course with Linux it's at least possible. I'd hate
to think what hacks Windows has in that area.

As for the rest, well, there's Bash programming/script
development, Python, Perl, X (also a bit low-level
nowadays), Qt, Gtk, and a few other things. Lots of
flexibility on Linux-based distros.

There even Gambas, if one can stand that blue lobster,
and a LOGOS implementation running around. (On Gentoo
it's under dev-lang/ucblogo.)

Post by RonB
But, whether I'm enthusiastic about Linux or not is beside
the point for me. I decided I'm not going to Vista *EVER* and XP's constant
upgrading is too much of a pain. Macs are too expensive.

They're getting better, but I still think of Macs as
rather high-end equipment. I'll admit I don't know
how to properly compare a good Mac system with something
from Dell along the lines of the high-end 720 series.

The Mac Minis are cute but rather underpowered for my
personal needs.

Post by RonB
Linux allows me to
get great performance from trailing edge technology (I'm cheap). The fact
that I can build a Linux box for next to nothing and give it away to
someone, without pirating an OS, is cool.
Linux just does a lot more with a lot less.

[Snit]

Post by RonB

Post by Steve
What do people think?
Is there anything I am overlooking in regenerating my enthusiasm,
reasons for using GNU/Linux?

What keeps me enthusiastic about Linux? Showing my family, friends and those
at work how well it works. A lot of them have bought into the FUD about the
Linux desktop being "crap" (to paraphrase Hadron), and they're blown away
by its ease of use (the Desktop that is, there's still a learning curve for
Linux itself).

From a recent post:

I took a look at PCLOS... while it might be good for some it
is clearly not well done overall, at least from a GUI
perspective. Sure, the color selection is better than Ubuntu
and the options for KDE are better than many distros (less
bouncing silliness at least), but in just few minutes this is
what I found:

Poorly done dialogs:
<http://prescottcomputerguy.org/tmp/PCLOS.pdf>

Poorly done and Inconsistent dialogs:
<http://prescottcomputerguy.org/tmp/PCLOS2.pdf>

Mouse pointers that do not do as they say:
<http://prescottcomputerguy.org/tmp/PCLOS.mov>

And this distro is held up as the most popular and one of the
best? This distro claims to be "radically simple"? No -
Ubuntu lives up to that moniker much better (and as I have
shown it has a long way to go to be state of the art in ease
of use)! I have not played much with PCLOS but from what I
have seen it is simply not impressive.

What distro do you suggest for actual ease of use?

Post by RonB
But, whether I'm enthusiastic about Linux or not is beside
the point for me. I decided I'm not going to Vista *EVER* and XP's constant
upgrading is too much of a pain. Macs are too expensive. Linux allows me to
get great performance from trailing edge technology (I'm cheap). The fact
that I can build a Linux box for next to nothing and give it away to
someone, without pirating an OS, is cool.
Linux just does a lot more with a lot less.