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Linux is Not Windows

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app103:
I came across this today and wondered why is this page not linked to, anywhere on this forum, that I could find.

It's a bit old (2005), but still a great essay about why Windows users have such a hard time making the switch to Linux, why things don't work how Windows users expect, why so many say that "Linux isn't ready for the desktop", etc.

I think if all Windows & Linux users read it, the "war" will be over, and both sides will have won.


http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

Gothi[c]:
I could have sworn i posted this before. Maybe I forgot. But I think I do remembers showing mouser :) Great post.

Deozaan:
Interesting Article.

zridling:
Skipping to the end of the article, Humphries writes:
Don't get Linux: It will fail miserably at being what you want it to be.... If you really want the security and performance of a Unix-based OS but with a customer-focussed attitude and an world-renowned interface: Buy an Apple Mac. OS X is great. But don't get Linux: It will not do what you want it to do.
--- End quote ---
Three years is a long time in Linux land. I should know because I've been monitoring and testing distros every month this decade, and it's come a long way in the past two years; even doing what I need it to do and want it to do. Trust me, if it didn't, I DO NOT have the time or patience to futz with it. I dare say that KDE 4.1 has eliminated most all of Humphries' complaints about using the keyboard and vi (text editor); e.g., the Kate text editor is incredible in many, many ways.

Not sure about a 'war,' but for me, I had used Microsoft OSes for over 20 years and figured I had earned the right to try something new. Could neither afford nor did I like Apple, so I kept trying Linux. Microsoft's increasing attempts to put barriers between me and my data pushed me to open source solutions like ODF. Vista wasn't the breaking point, but it was damn strange to have an 8Gb RAM Quad-core and it was not much faster than my old PIII.

The money I save on having a Microsoft-free computer allows me to upgrade my hardware more often and have more of it at any given time, running faster than I ever did with Windows. Moreover, it takes me less time to tweak a new Linux machine than it does a Windows machine, and like many of you, I'm an expert at installing Vista and XP and removing their minor annoyances.

app103:
I wasn't talking about you switching to Linux, Zaine. You did that of your own free will, you had your good reasons, it was right for you, and you are happy with it. That's great, wonderful, fantastic...I am happy for you. I would hate to think you were using an OS you didn't like, be that Windows, Linux, Mac, or anything else.

What I am about to say may or may not apply to you, all or in part. You will know if it does, or not. I can think of many Linux users that this doesn't apply to, but even more that it does...

The 'war' I was referring to is the harassment that Windows users get for not switching, where Linux users go out of their way to attack those that choose to use Windows and not switch their OS, as if somehow that would make someone stop liking Windows and switch to Linux. The abuse is even worse for Windows users that have tried Linux and gone back to Windows when it disappointed them and wasn't what they expected or wanted.

It's the battle of the desktop that gets a bit too personal, with Linux users thinking they have to crush Microsoft and convert all Windows users to their OS, no matter what it takes. They act like they are making a $1000 commission for each Windows user they convert. They have a "convert or kill" attitude when it comes to every Windows user they come across.

I like Windows, at least the last 2 versions I have tried, and I plan on sticking with them till I can't any more. And since I have a PC still running WinME, I am likely to be running XP longer than Microsoft would like, too. (and don't start with the security crap, my WinME is more secure than the average user's XP or Vista)

I hated 2003 Server when I couldn't figure out how to shut off desktop icons...and I hated the IE7 look of the Explorer windows in 2008 Server. (but I love RDP with both of them) Just because I like the versions I do, doesn't mean I love all versions, or that I love every single little thing about the versions that I do like.

Don't call me an ignorant Vista lover, because I haven't even tried Vista. Don't throw it's flaws in my face. Don't use its issues to insult me, as a person. They don't affect me in the least bit, at this point in time. They are irrelevant.

Issues with Office and proprietary document formats don't affect me either and Office is not and has never been part of Windows (Wordpad is, but not Office), nor is it installed on any of my PC's at this current point in time. Almost everything I do is either in plain text or HTML. The only additional format that makes a difference to me is PDF, and for that I read them, not make them, and I use Foxit Reader, not Adobe.

It would just be nice if those that are loving Linux so much would stop trying to shove it down the throats of those that they know that are loving Windows.

Linux is not for everyone. Know that, understand that, and leave us that don't want it, alone. Don't insult us just because we use what we like. You wouldn't like it if the abuse was returned in the same manner as you have dished it out.

What some Linux users do is as offensive as the Mac or PC ads, and it's been going on a lot longer than Apple's campaign. Windows users are not all stupid by nature and shouldn't be treated as if we all are, just because our tastes are different than yours. Some of us actually don't have issues with spyware, malware, viruses & trojans, and have systems that work well and are quite stable and do just what we want, almost all of the time.

I am tired of the whole thing that has devolved into a childish playground brawl with 'kids' (adults) insulting each other with "my OS is better than your OS" crap that looks a lot like "my dad drives a better car than your dad".

It's right up there with the harassment my daughter got in school when she was 5 years old, for bringing in a liverwurst sandwich for lunch. Because the other kids didn't like liverwurst, it didn't matter to them that my daughter happened to love it. They couldn't just let her enjoy it in peace. It was them that made her miserable, not the sandwich, and she didn't stop loving liverwurst just because of their abuse.

I would like to enjoy my Windows, in peace. Launching a personal attack on me because I like my OS, doesn't allow me to do that, and just makes me hate you, not Windows. What it can also do is make me think twice about ever trying Linux, because I don't want to ever be a part of some culture that abuses people in the way that you do. This is one of many reasons why I will never own a Mac.

If you have made the switch and are loving your Linux, it's ok to tell others, but be careful not to do it to an extent or in a way that it becomes childishly abusive. And don't fall into rating the value of a human life by the OS one runs (or the ISP they use)...one has NOTHING to do with the other.

Bottom line: Don't act like a jerk.

And for the Windows and Mac users: that message is for you, too.


Edit: converted Typonese to English  :-[

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