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For different values of "works". I've recently started using a Linux desktop again, in a very well supported corporate environment. Even with very professional

by Nitramp 15y ago

For different values of "works". I've recently started using a Linux desktop again, in a very well supported corporate environment. Even with very professional people supporting my exact configuration (so hardware support is not much of an issue), it's still barely usable for me. Many major applications have significant usability problems, sound support is extremely spotty, window management on the desktop has absurd bugs (focus stealing apps not showing up in alt-tab order), and so on. It's not that it strictly doesn't work, it's just death by a thousand papercuts, and my general unwillingness to put up with that. I'm currently back to using a Mac laptop to run my desktop environment, ssh-ing into the Linux desktop to run essential programs (exported through X, which brings a nice flavor of ugly to my desktop...).

mbubb 15y ago
I've recently started using a Linux desktop again ... I'm currently back to using a Mac laptop So which is it? It sounds like you switched under some compulsion (corporate policy etc). I have seen this attitude. It is not so much that "things don't work" as "things have to be configured". It took me a solid week to get used to Unity (on Ubuntu 11.04) and the jury is still out on how I feel about it. One thing to consider when you are going over to the Linux desktop is that the end user has to be a lot more participatory in the overall setup. It takes a little time to get everything as you want it. A Mac laptop out of the box is a lot more ready. After a few weeks my hp laptop with Ubuntu is irreplaceable. (and I would imagine the same with Arch or Fedora, etc)
- Nitramp 15y ago
  I have used a Linux desktop in the past, without being forced, so I'm not totally opposing it for religious reasons. Quite the contrary: I couldn't stand working on Windows, without a proper shell and all its extremely annoying notifications. Some things have to be configured, but the things I find most enraging are all the usability issues in Gnome (on Ubuntu). Which kind of makes sense - there is no single authority ensuring quality and consistency, and most applications just got the 20% effort to fulfill their job, but not the 80% polish to be really good at it.

by Nitramp 15y ago

mbubb 15y ago

I've recently started using a Linux desktop again ... I'm currently back to using a Mac laptop So which is it? It sounds like you switched under some compulsion (corporate policy etc). I have seen this attitude. It is not so much that "things don't work" as "things have to be configured". It took me a solid week to get used to Unity (on Ubuntu 11.04) and the jury is still out on how I feel about it. One thing to consider when you are going over to the Linux desktop is that the end user has to be a lot more participatory in the overall setup. It takes a little time to get everything as you want it. A Mac laptop out of the box is a lot more ready. After a few weeks my hp laptop with Ubuntu is irreplaceable. (and I would imagine the same with Arch or Fedora, etc)

Nitramp 15y ago
I have used a Linux desktop in the past, without being forced, so I'm not totally opposing it for religious reasons. Quite the contrary: I couldn't stand working on Windows, without a proper shell and all its extremely annoying notifications. Some things have to be configured, but the things I find most enraging are all the usability issues in Gnome (on Ubuntu). Which kind of makes sense - there is no single authority ensuring quality and consistency, and most applications just got the 20% effort to fulfill their job, but not the 80% polish to be really good at it.