| Unfortunately, the Linux desktop doesn't always work |
Jan. 12, 2007
Opinion -- Can I be honest with you? The Linux desktop isn't always the right desktop. It is the right one for me 99 percent of the time, but even for me, there are times when I turn to another desktop.
Still, for me, Linux is head and shoulders above any variety of Windows, and still a head above Mac OS X. For others, though, it's a different story. One such story is told by a gentleman named Andy in our articles section.
Andy tried to get Ubuntu to work for him. For him, the Linux desktop just didn't work.
I'm not sure why it didn't. I know where some of his problems came from. His "Dell Latitude laptop with a 650 Celeron chip and 256 megs of memory" wasn't ideal for Ubuntu 6.06. A lighter weight distribution, say MEPISLite, would have been better for his hardware.
OpenOffice also worked unacceptably slowly for him. I'm not sure what the issue was, there.
On even my slowest system -- a Compaq Presario 4665 with a 300 MHz Intel Pentium MMX processor and 64 MB of RAM -- OpenOffice runs faster than what he was seeing. Mind you, on the Compaq that's in no way, shape, or form, "fast," but still it was better than what he was describing. That said, the bottom line was that, for him, on his hardware, OpenOffice ran like a man with mud in his boots.
He also found that he couldn't run Windows media on his system. That's because those files are encoded in Microsoft proprietary formats. There are ways and means to get around that, but except for Freespire, no Linux distribution makes it easy.
Andy also found that Ubuntu wouldn't work with his USB network connection. Mea culpa. When it comes to network equipment, especially WiFI, the hardware vendors have been tight with their secrets -- with the result that many WiFi devices won't work with Linux. Of course, many other WiFi devices do work with Linux, but unless you're lucky enough to have one already installed that works, or you know what you're doing, WiFi connectivity can still be a major pain in Linux.
The fact that it's not Linux's fault doesn't really matter to most users, though. They simply want their system to work. Period.
And, who can blame them? Most Linux users know that the reason Windows works so well with everything is that Microsoft has ruled the hardware vendors with an iron fist for over a decade, now. Most users, and I'm sure Andy is one of them, could care less about Microsoft's long history of bossing PC builders around. Again, they simply want their PCs to work.
Now, it so happens that in just a few days, that impression -- of Windows PCs simply working -- is going to change radically. Vista will come out, and hundreds of thousands of users are going to try to upgrade their new Christmas PCs from XP Home and XP Media Center to Vista. It is going to be ugly beyond words.
Those users are going to find that some of their hardware doesn't work, that their favorite software now has fits. In short, they're going to feel a lot like Andy.
Now, that's not necessarily a reason for Linux desktop fans to smile. Yes, it will bring more Windows users to Linux. But, the community of Linux users and developers, needs to continue to work to make the Linux desktop as strong, reliable, and easy as possible. If it doesn't, Apple, not the Linux desktop vendors and groups, will get those disgruntled Windows users.
Besides, don't we really want the best possible desktop for all users, and not just the ones who are fed up with Windows? I know I do.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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