[gameprogrammer] Re: OTP: Linux

I'm not a total newbie to Linux - I studied it in college, had a command 
line version on my laptop for about 6 months, and have brushed up 
against it from time to time.  Also, I'm a programmer so have more 
tolerance and knowledge about the computer than most.  After my last 
attempt at Mandrake linux I came away with the impression that it's 
quite good compared to before but is still not usable for the masses 
because of a lack of support for hardware and software.

Installing hardware support for your 3D or sound card, based on my 
experience, is a long, difficult, complex process that I eventually gave 
up on.  If I, at this point, decided to use Linux long term I would only 
buy a pre-configured system (something I never do for Windows) and never 
upgrade anything that took significant drivers, such as sound or video.

Linux has a few good apps such as the web browser or open office.  Aside 
from that, most programs suck compared to what is available for Windows. 
  You have a product made for free by programmers mainly for themselves 
vs. a product made for profit by a company for the masses.  The 
difference in quality, usability, and polish is often quite large.


Adilson Oliveira wrote:
> Dave Slutzkin wrote:
> 
> 
>>Correct me if I'm wrong, but the overwhelming majority of consumers
>>don't want to have to install and uninstall 5 different GUIs before they
>>find the one they really like.  Give them something which just _works_
>>out of the box, and they'll be happy.
> 
> 
> No, you are right. That's why companies like Mandrake, Lindows, 
> Conectiva, etc are focusing in user friendly distros. They do work out 
> of the box.


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