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March 3rd, 2008
  jimbojones
 | 02:11 am - here's a nickel, kid, go get a real computer.
 pantsnotneeded is a Mac user. We've been back-and-forth on that one, largely pretty good-naturedly, for quite some time now. Before he was a Mac user, he was a Linux user... but that was many moons ago, and he really didn't realize that I wasn't just bullshitting him when I said Linux now is verrrry different and more usable as a desktop OS than Linux four or five years ago was.
In fact, I think in damn near every way possible, Ubuntu linux in particular is considerably easier to use than either of the Big Two commercial OSes. The kicker, of course, is that if you have to use any of a bajillion different niche applications for business - Quickbooks, AutoCAD, blah, blah blah - you're still tied to Windows, even if it sucks. Nobody really needs Windows, but an awful lot of people need applications - which Microsoft didn't write - that were only developed for Windows.
Anyway, I threw a fresh copy of Ubuntu on my laptop the other day, largely for the purpose of showing him, yes, I am not kidding, Linux not only works well now but it's pretty. And fast. This had the intended effect of starting to make Chris get Linux envy... but it also gave ME linux envy. So I also threw a copy on a spare box I had lying around, and really started seriously investigating it again, and goddamn if I didn't end up deciding I was - finally - ready to make the switch myself. To tell Microsoft, you know what? I used to be a fan, but fuck you.
... and I'm lovin' it.
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Big Daddy Kane - Ain't No Half-Steppin'
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Comments:
| |  |  |  |  | ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2695574/599516) | From: syn4pse
Date: March 30th, 2008 - 06:16 am | |
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it's about time!
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What a painful process it has been to watch your metamorphoses from die-hard Bill Gates fan to FreeBSD (which still rocks) and now you are at Linux. Welcome to the club. I gave you invites in the past and you scoffed, then you flew the BSD flag and burned the MS flag, and now you have added a penguin flag to the pole. I agree, Ubuntu is a strong OS. I like Debian as a server, but it can be a pain in the ass with proprietary drivers. Debian is still good for installing bare-bones systems with the NetInst daily builds, but for speed of install and ease of use without sacrificing stability, Ubuntu kicks ass. I run MythTV on a Fedora 8 box and I still have a weakness for that system, but it is a touchy machine. Remote upgrades must be completed with care or the DVR won't record all those Bonanza reruns. I run an embedded Linux distro called Voyage Linux on my Soekris box. I love the hardware but I don't use 90% of it at the moment. I have used it as a wireless router. It is nice to have absolute quiet at 12 watts, and when necessity calls for connecting to the box with a null-modem serial cable, a smile comes to my face. If you are interested in this, check out Gumstix. They have very small embedded machines to play with. |
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