To Hell with Linux!

Easy now, Linux fan boys. Read the article before you start flaming me.

We all know that people don’t like to conform. Everyone likes to be unique and individual. Everyone wants to be special. That’s all fine and good until you encroach either on my good time or common sense. Now I’m no Microsoft lover either. Windows Genuine Advantage, IE, Vista, etc. There’s a lot of crap flying onto the production line with the Microsoft logo on it. When it comes to Mac, I have never worked on it (Although I would love to try), so I don’t have much say in that category. I cannot say I’m a big fan of Linux.

This is what started this post. I read this article, and began writing a comment, which was getting too long, so I decided this would be easier. The article basically states that the author’s stepdaughter’s computer contracted a nasty, crippling virus. Even after re-installing XP, there were strange random reboots. He goes on to say that he installed Mandriva Spring 2008 on her PC, configured it to work with her Ipod, and allow her to browse the internet and use Instant Messaging. And they all lived happily ever after.

So that’s the basis of his argument? If you need an operating system to browse the internet and use IMs and to use it with your iPod, then by all means choose Linux. But if you seriously want to consider doing anything actually worthwhile (Read: Work;Anything else) Then stick with XP. But have I missed something? Of course, there’s still the issue with the virus. I’m going to say this, and it might sound a bit harsh, but  If you’re not competent enough to keep your computer clean using XP, then by all means choose Linux. All it takes is a decent firewall, a strong antivirus program (not AVG as the girl in the article did), and a general knowledge of what not to click on/download/do. I haven’t had a virus in years, and I happily run Windows XP.

My experience with Linux was short lived. Out of curiosity I installed Linux Ubuntu. I was under the impression that one of Linux’s gimmicks was it’s ease of use, especially for inexperienced user. I wouldn’t call myself an inexperienced user, and it was crazy even for me. All of a sudden I was installing from a command prompt, no Graphical User Interface? And what the heck is a kernel? LILO? Grub? Huh? So after a bit of frustration, I get it up and running. At this point I spent some time looking around. I could not really understand the directory structure (Where is my removable media?!) and most of the free programs provided were open-source and already available for windows. I opened up the media player, to test out if everything worked. Oh! There’s already a sample video for me to test.

Oh. The audio isn’t working. Well maybe if I fumble with the volume controls … No still nothing. A google later, I figured out that I had to take special steps to make Ubuntu work with my sound card. This involved the command prompt, again. Awesome interface design guys, or lack thereof. In some backwards directory, There were some backwards settings that had to be changed. The audio now worked. I worked with this for about a week, until I realized, what did I really GAIN? It certainly wasn’t ease of use. It wasn’t hardware compatibility. Not the catalogue of software that came with it. I knew that I could hande my own security, and I missed being able to use the wide array of programs available for Windows only. So XP came back and I’m much better. RedHat was a little better; it’s known for it’s security. In fact, it’s so secure, my stepfather forgot the administrator’s password and we were never able to use it again.

If you’re a novice user, or you don’t use a computer extensively, then by all means choose Linux. If you’re setting up a server, then by all means choose Linux. But if you can take care of your computer, choose Windows. If you use a computer extensively, choose Windows. If you’re a gamer, choose Windows.

If the tone is mean spirited, I apologize, I’m just trying to get my opinion across. I guess it’s not fair I use all my time flaming Linux. Expect another “constructive critique” soon. Vista, you’re next.