3 ms·

> Linux just isn't good at the one job only an operating system can do, which is to make the hardware available in a reliable and efficient manner. It's not th

by vacri 11y ago

> Linux just isn't good at the one job only an operating system can do, which is to make the hardware available in a reliable and efficient manner. It's not the best desktop environment out there, but apart from desktop, linux is the most popular system at every step from small embedded systems to the most powerful supercomputers. That wouldn't be the case if it couldn't make hardware available in a reliable and efficient manner.

umanwizard 11y ago
It's not the most popular system on phones, unless you are using "Linux" in the correct sense to mean the kernel. But I believe GP was using it in the colloquial sense to mean GNU/Linux, since this thread isn't really about the Linux kernel, but the ""Linux"" userland. Android certainly doesn't have the userland that is typically (incorrectly) called Linux.
- vacri 11y ago
  The parent was specifically talking about making hardware available for use. That's kernel stuff, not GNU userland. But if you want to talk about userland, then you need to buy supported equipment. OSX doesn't work with a ton of equipment out there - as that equipment does not come with OSX drivers. Windows also works like shit when it doesn't have the drivers - anyone who has had to install XP regularly will quite happily attest to just how terrible it is at supporting network cards before you install drivers. Then, of course, there's the bonus of the AMD Catalyst driver installer program for windows: at least as recently as win7, if you didn't have drivers for video, it fell back to VGA graphics. The Catalyst driver installer was too large to be seen on VGA - you couldn't see the bottom of the installer window to see what was going on, and couldn't drag the window high enough without a hard-to-discover key chord. :) The argument to "buy stuff your operating system supports" sounds like a cop-out, but it really isn't. OSX, for example, is difficult to make run on things other than Apple-designed computers, but if you complained about it, people would write you off as an idiot.
fauigerzigerk 11y ago
I was speaking in the context of the question I was replying to, which was "why would you not just go with a Linux desktop for that?" More specifically, it's the state of Linux device drivers and integration testing for laptops and consumer peripherals I'm complaining about. That's not a result of any inherent deficiency of the Linux kernel or its design. It's ultimately an economics issue.

by vacri 11y ago

umanwizard 11y ago

It's not the most popular system on phones, unless you are using "Linux" in the correct sense to mean the kernel. But I believe GP was using it in the colloquial sense to mean GNU/Linux, since this thread isn't really about the Linux kernel, but the ""Linux"" userland. Android certainly doesn't have the userland that is typically (incorrectly) called Linux.

vacri 11y ago
The parent was specifically talking about making hardware available for use. That's kernel stuff, not GNU userland. But if you want to talk about userland, then you need to buy supported equipment. OSX doesn't work with a ton of equipment out there - as that equipment does not come with OSX drivers. Windows also works like shit when it doesn't have the drivers - anyone who has had to install XP regularly will quite happily attest to just how terrible it is at supporting network cards before you install drivers. Then, of course, there's the bonus of the AMD Catalyst driver installer program for windows: at least as recently as win7, if you didn't have drivers for video, it fell back to VGA graphics. The Catalyst driver installer was too large to be seen on VGA - you couldn't see the bottom of the installer window to see what was going on, and couldn't drag the window high enough without a hard-to-discover key chord. :) The argument to "buy stuff your operating system supports" sounds like a cop-out, but it really isn't. OSX, for example, is difficult to make run on things other than Apple-designed computers, but if you complained about it, people would write you off as an idiot.

fauigerzigerk 11y ago

I was speaking in the context of the question I was replying to, which was "why would you not just go with a Linux desktop for that?" More specifically, it's the state of Linux device drivers and integration testing for laptops and consumer peripherals I'm complaining about. That's not a result of any inherent deficiency of the Linux kernel or its design. It's ultimately an economics issue.