5 ms·

Unfortunately, most of this is propaganda unbacked by facts; the correctness of these statements depends on the particular conditions (what machine is being use

by nathell 14y ago

Unfortunately, most of this is propaganda unbacked by facts; the correctness of these statements depends on the particular conditions (what machine is being used, under what conditions, etc.) Plus, it omits a whole slew of problems unique to Linux, such as the fragmentation caused by abundance of distributions.

laumars 14y ago
Any site with a URL like 'whylinuxisbetter.net' is clearly going to be biased, but let's be honest, it's not as if Microsoft never play the FUD game themselves. You're absolutely right that Linux does have it's own problems as well, but on the whole, I do think Linux is a better platform. However there is a big caveat there: it's the best platform for me. The problem with having arguments about which OS is better is that the term 'better' is used too broadly. And as everyone has different criteria and preferences, what's 'better' for one person isn't always 'better' for another.
pavanky 14y ago
How is fragmentation hindering your usage ? This page is more for casual users and they don't have to worry about fragmentation. My company sells software on all platforms. Our linux installer has never been a problem. Not only that Valve released their software just for one distribution. Within hours you had people working out how to get it to work on the distribution of their choice. So the fragmentation is not a problem, but more of a benefit where users do the work for you.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Fragmentation is a problem for casual users. Granted less than it used to be , since the casual user is probably on Ubuntu where there is likely a pre-packaged version of most stuff they might want to install. You still do run into problems with stuff that was packaged for only Ubuntu 10.10 and it doesn't install on 12.04 for example. In the days before there was one dominant distro it was a nightmare installing everything you wanted without browsing forums because you had Suse version X and the website only offered you a package for RedHat version Y.
  - pavanky 14y ago
    Again, that is a problem from ages ago. Not now.
    - jiggy2011 14y ago
      It's still an issue for anybody who wants to ship software for more than one distro. Not to mention WM fragmentation. It's also quite disingenuous to say "Use Linux you get a choice of Distros!" and then say "stick to Ubuntu if you want stuff to actually work".
      - zanny 14y ago
        > Our linux installer has never been a problem. Not only that Valve released their software just for one distribution. Within hours you had people working out how to get it to work on the distribution of their choice. So the fragmentation is not a problem, but more of a benefit where users do the work for you. Direct quote from the guy you are in the thread with. If you put it on one distro, the others will port it for you.
        jiggy2011 14y ago
        Unless it's you know not open source or something. Even with open source , you get version lag between distros.
        pavanky 14y ago
        Steam is not open source.
        jiggy2011 14y ago
        And they were lucky enough to have valve's blessing to redistribute it for Arch. If I release some small program for one distro I certainly cannot count on all of the other distros bending over backwards to repackage it for me.
donniezazen 14y ago
I see fragmentation on Linux as diversity and worldview. When you talk about major distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, OpenSuse, etc. they cater to completely different type of crowds. Ubuntu will never be able to satisfy Arch community and vice verse. Major problem would not be fragmentation but shoving Ubuntu on Arch or Fedora users. If you are a casual user then just stick with Ubuntu or Linux Mint and be happy.

by nathell 14y ago

laumars 14y ago

Any site with a URL like 'whylinuxisbetter.net' is clearly going to be biased, but let's be honest, it's not as if Microsoft never play the FUD game themselves. You're absolutely right that Linux does have it's own problems as well, but on the whole, I do think Linux is a better platform. However there is a big caveat there: it's the best platform for me. The problem with having arguments about which OS is better is that the term 'better' is used too broadly. And as everyone has different criteria and preferences, what's 'better' for one person isn't always 'better' for another.

pavanky 14y ago

How is fragmentation hindering your usage ? This page is more for casual users and they don't have to worry about fragmentation. My company sells software on all platforms. Our linux installer has never been a problem. Not only that Valve released their software just for one distribution. Within hours you had people working out how to get it to work on the distribution of their choice. So the fragmentation is not a problem, but more of a benefit where users do the work for you.

jiggy2011 14y ago
Fragmentation is a problem for casual users. Granted less than it used to be , since the casual user is probably on Ubuntu where there is likely a pre-packaged version of most stuff they might want to install. You still do run into problems with stuff that was packaged for only Ubuntu 10.10 and it doesn't install on 12.04 for example. In the days before there was one dominant distro it was a nightmare installing everything you wanted without browsing forums because you had Suse version X and the website only offered you a package for RedHat version Y.
- pavanky 14y ago
  Again, that is a problem from ages ago. Not now.
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    It's still an issue for anybody who wants to ship software for more than one distro. Not to mention WM fragmentation. It's also quite disingenuous to say "Use Linux you get a choice of Distros!" and then say "stick to Ubuntu if you want stuff to actually work".
    - zanny 14y ago
      > Our linux installer has never been a problem. Not only that Valve released their software just for one distribution. Within hours you had people working out how to get it to work on the distribution of their choice. So the fragmentation is not a problem, but more of a benefit where users do the work for you. Direct quote from the guy you are in the thread with. If you put it on one distro, the others will port it for you.
      - jiggy2011 14y ago
        Unless it's you know not open source or something. Even with open source , you get version lag between distros.
        pavanky 14y ago
        Steam is not open source.
        jiggy2011 14y ago
        And they were lucky enough to have valve's blessing to redistribute it for Arch. If I release some small program for one distro I certainly cannot count on all of the other distros bending over backwards to repackage it for me.

donniezazen 14y ago

I see fragmentation on Linux as diversity and worldview. When you talk about major distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, OpenSuse, etc. they cater to completely different type of crowds. Ubuntu will never be able to satisfy Arch community and vice verse. Major problem would not be fragmentation but shoving Ubuntu on Arch or Fedora users. If you are a casual user then just stick with Ubuntu or Linux Mint and be happy.