3 ms·

Below are the issues I face with Linux: - Windows has better accessibility support. (Windows 10 has messed some of it up.) - When there are issues, it is e

by alok-g 11y ago

Below are the issues I face with Linux: - Windows has better accessibility support. (Windows 10 has messed some of it up.) - When there are issues, it is easy to find help with Windows than for Linux. Unless it is about a BSOD which are rare now. - While there are many claims that Linux does not need a firewall, I do not agree. Setting up a firewall on Linux is a lot more challenging (newbie here) than on Windows. For example, on Windows, I can easily control which application can access the Internet using some paid firewall product. - Finding replacement for Windows applications on Linux is a troublesome, especially given that most of them would have minor unadvertized issues like accessibility or some counter-intuitive thing with zero documentation.

SwellJoe 11y ago
Accessibility is an excellent reason to choose Windows, probably sufficient even on its own, if you need an accessible system. Accessibility is hard, and requires a ton of resources to do well...Microsoft has been willing and able to expend those resources. I do know users who require assistive technologies to work who use Linux, but it's rare and they're extremely technically savvy themselves (usually software developers). As for finding help, I usually find it's the opposite, or at least the kind of help I find for Windows is often very cargo cultish. e.g. "I did these fifteen mysterious steps, and my problem when away. I think that's what fixed it." I feel much more in command of the system with Linux. This is, admittedly, at least as much my own depth of knowledge. I've been building products for Linux for two decades, including kernel development, patching system libraries and services, etc. I actually understand Linux systems on a pretty deep level; I don't understand Windows systems, beyond the GUI. Firewall? Meh. The default firewall on a Fedora system is fine. There are tons of free tools for managing the iptables firewall (and firewalld simplifies management at the expense of flexibility). I never use a UI, though, as it's pretty easy to use once you understand the basic concepts. But, a firewall isn't really the most important part of securing a system. Application replacements could definitely be an issue, with regard to accessibility. I am more comfortable with Linux options because of familiarity. I'm less productive with the "leading" applications than I am with their Open Source competition in almost every instance. Inkscape is easier for me than Illustrator, Gimp easier than Photoshop, but again it is due to extreme familiarity. Over a decade of use vs. occasional forays into the Adobe products because a designer I'd hired wanted to go back and forth on designs and was using Adobe products. Sometimes ease of use is just another way of saying "What I'm used to". I'm just much more used to Linux. I used Windows full time for a little under a year after switching from Amiga in 1995, then switched to Linux, and have been using Linux almost exclusively ever since...I have a Windows partition for games and audio recording. Of course, I've been using it almost exclusively all that time because I strongly prefer it and always have, even when it was really rough around the edges and patching and compiling kernels was just a normal part of being a Linux user. I don't miss those days, but the strength of UNIX/Linux over Windows (to me) stood out even then and even with all of the warts.
- dingaling 11y ago
  > The default firewall on a Fedora system is fine It really isn't. Try blocking one particular program from accessing the Internet. You'll end-up messing around with assigning programs to group ownership and then adding ip tables rules. Linux-Android goes all the way and sandboxes programs which makes firewalling easier. But desktop Linux is far behind.
  - flavor8 11y ago
    You mean like this? https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gufw https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gufw
xcasex 11y ago
I vehemetly disagree wrg. to firewalls and a11y. Gnome-Shell (default on fedora et al.) has since the GNOME projects 2.x release had _stellar_ accessability support. Firewall? you fail to mention what you'd block. there are ease of use projects shipping per default such as UFW. But since it's uncommon in the post-inetd era to have services running and exposed publicly, i fail to see the usecase. bsods? uncommon? i have four baytrail tablets that spew forth a bluescreen once a day.
DanBC 11y ago
> While there are many claims that Linux does not need a firewall, I do not agree. Aren't the claims more like "you shouldn't run the firewall on the same machine that you want to be firewalled"? I know that programs like Windows Firewall or Little Snitch (OSX) are good enough for most stuff, but when they're not good enough you're going to regret not having a seperate firewall.
- restalis 11y ago
  A local firewall can be set up along with an external firewall. Having a firewall only somewhere on a separate machine doesn't address the use-case alok-g described - he (and many others including myself) may want to "easily control which application can access the Internet".

by alok-g 11y ago

SwellJoe 11y ago

Accessibility is an excellent reason to choose Windows, probably sufficient even on its own, if you need an accessible system. Accessibility is hard, and requires a ton of resources to do well...Microsoft has been willing and able to expend those resources. I do know users who require assistive technologies to work who use Linux, but it's rare and they're extremely technically savvy themselves (usually software developers). As for finding help, I usually find it's the opposite, or at least the kind of help I find for Windows is often very cargo cultish. e.g. "I did these fifteen mysterious steps, and my problem when away. I think that's what fixed it." I feel much more in command of the system with Linux. This is, admittedly, at least as much my own depth of knowledge. I've been building products for Linux for two decades, including kernel development, patching system libraries and services, etc. I actually understand Linux systems on a pretty deep level; I don't understand Windows systems, beyond the GUI. Firewall? Meh. The default firewall on a Fedora system is fine. There are tons of free tools for managing the iptables firewall (and firewalld simplifies management at the expense of flexibility). I never use a UI, though, as it's pretty easy to use once you understand the basic concepts. But, a firewall isn't really the most important part of securing a system. Application replacements could definitely be an issue, with regard to accessibility. I am more comfortable with Linux options because of familiarity. I'm less productive with the "leading" applications than I am with their Open Source competition in almost every instance. Inkscape is easier for me than Illustrator, Gimp easier than Photoshop, but again it is due to extreme familiarity. Over a decade of use vs. occasional forays into the Adobe products because a designer I'd hired wanted to go back and forth on designs and was using Adobe products. Sometimes ease of use is just another way of saying "What I'm used to". I'm just much more used to Linux. I used Windows full time for a little under a year after switching from Amiga in 1995, then switched to Linux, and have been using Linux almost exclusively ever since...I have a Windows partition for games and audio recording. Of course, I've been using it almost exclusively all that time because I strongly prefer it and always have, even when it was really rough around the edges and patching and compiling kernels was just a normal part of being a Linux user. I don't miss those days, but the strength of UNIX/Linux over Windows (to me) stood out even then and even with all of the warts.

dingaling 11y ago
> The default firewall on a Fedora system is fine It really isn't. Try blocking one particular program from accessing the Internet. You'll end-up messing around with assigning programs to group ownership and then adding ip tables rules. Linux-Android goes all the way and sandboxes programs which makes firewalling easier. But desktop Linux is far behind.
- flavor8 11y ago
  You mean like this? https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gufw https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gufw

xcasex 11y ago

I vehemetly disagree wrg. to firewalls and a11y. Gnome-Shell (default on fedora et al.) has since the GNOME projects 2.x release had _stellar_ accessability support. Firewall? you fail to mention what you'd block. there are ease of use projects shipping per default such as UFW. But since it's uncommon in the post-inetd era to have services running and exposed publicly, i fail to see the usecase. bsods? uncommon? i have four baytrail tablets that spew forth a bluescreen once a day.

DanBC 11y ago

> While there are many claims that Linux does not need a firewall, I do not agree. Aren't the claims more like "you shouldn't run the firewall on the same machine that you want to be firewalled"? I know that programs like Windows Firewall or Little Snitch (OSX) are good enough for most stuff, but when they're not good enough you're going to regret not having a seperate firewall.

restalis 11y ago
A local firewall can be set up along with an external firewall. Having a firewall only somewhere on a separate machine doesn't address the use-case alok-g described - he (and many others including myself) may want to "easily control which application can access the Internet".