Comments on: Hooked On Linux

By: matt

matt — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:41:50 +0000

All true. Flash support on Linux is still… a bit shaky. Haven’t been able to get flash plugin to work on my 64-bit Ubuntu 9.04 at work.

Haven’t tried real hard, but still.

By: Mandrew

Mandrew — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:40:25 +0000

Hmmmm… good point about the add/remove/update programs thing. There are definitely benefits. It’s more of an annoyance for me, which I think boils down to three things:

– It’s different than the existing paradigm created by Windows (my fault yes, but still a hurdle for new-to-Linux people)
– I’ve had sporadic issues with programs breaking. For example, Wine stopped working, it showed up as “not installed” in Ubuntu, but couldn’t re-install. Running “apt-get autoremove wine” worked, then I was able to reinstall it.
– The whole “update” paradigm is confusing. When I use the update utility provided by Ubuntu, I see a ton of stuff that I’ve never heard of. Do I take the time to update those programs? Do I selectively update? Dunno…

Oh, and other compatibility examples:

– Couldn’t get pictures to upload to Shutterly or Kodak or something using their provided upload utility… this really pissed Cassie off.
– When you don’t “Safely remove” a storage device from a windows machine… you get that error when you try to use it. The command line solution is intimidating… and plugging it back into a Windows machine then safely removing it is annoying

Again, Ubuntu probably great for people that want to take the time to figure this stuff out/deal with the annoyances for the potential benefits… but I have to imagine that’s a (vocal) minority.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:09:26 +0000

No doubt it’s not perfect, but it’s been making leaps and bounds. There are occasionally issues, but again, digging in and solving little problems like that are part of what I enjoy about computing. I personally don’t think I’ve ever had a browser incompatibility problem, but I don’t stream live TV either.

I have to disagree with you, though, about the adding/removing/updating programs thing… Ubuntu has a built in directory of programs, all free, that is easily searchable and ranked by popularity/usage. Neither Windows nor OS X has that (by default, anyway). Installing a program is as simple as selecting it in a list and clicking a button. After that updates are handled transparently by the system… you never have to think about updating the software you’ve installed this way. Just do the semi-regular updates when it prompts you, and your whole system will be taken care of. If there’s a program that’s not in the list, there are other ways to get those, but Ubuntu’s list is fairly comprehensive for the average user.

All that being said, you’re totally correct. Ubuntu (and Linux in general) is not ready for those who need it to “just work.” But it’s getting better.

By: Mandrew

Mandrew — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:11:08 +0000

Totally agree about OS X… but not a fan of Ubuntu. Have had several serious issues (works for 20 straight boots, then unexpectedly crashes and requires hours of research/command line tweaks to get it to work again), and smaller issues (sound stops working, find online that I have to adjust via a mixer through the command line).

Compatibility still an issue, mainly with sites that “don’t support Linux”. Ever try to stream shows from abc.com? Or watch espn360? After hours of installing IE/FFox/Opera through Wine, trying a User agent switcher, etc. I gave up.

Love the UI for the most part, but add/removing/updating programs is clunky.

IMO it’s certainly not “mom-ready”, and it’s probably not ready for those that want it to “just work” either.