5 ms·

>> yet those are the areas where it can be extremely difficult, or expensive, to get specialized Linux-friendly hardware ? what specialized hardware? Buy a PC

by jebblue 14y ago

>> yet those are the areas where it can be extremely difficult, or expensive, to get specialized Linux-friendly hardware ? what specialized hardware? Buy a PC or laptop and install Ubuntu. Unity is not configurable as old Gnome but it runs fine and actually is attractive .. I still miss right clicking on a panel and adding my own stuff but in general it works fine. Specialized hardware? I call BS. I just bought a new PC with the release of Steam on Linux. Guess what? Everything I connected works but the fancy new Gig Ethernet for which the driver has already been checked in and will be available in the kernel soon. My headphones for Google Voice, my USB drives, printer, the fancy new high speed video card from nVidia, it all works great. You decided to try Mac. Cool, enjoy, for me I enjoy computing on Ubuntu even with Unity. The builtin wireless works great too BTW, and web cam.

randomdrake 14y ago
I was referring to the multiple suggestions that my issue was simply not buying compatible hardware. I'm glad Ubuntu has worked for you! Really, I am. I don't dislike the project, or Open Source at all. The hardware available to me didn't work, unfortunately, so I experienced what I did.
BEEdwards 14y ago
I'm not even sure why there is this hatred of Unity, like its the only option. I don't like Unity I think it sucks, I just use KDE, but you could also use XFCE or Cinnomon or Awesome or any of billion other choices.
- noisy_boy 14y ago
  This is probably why Linux has been and is such a draw for me. I've moved between FVWM, Fluxbox, Gnome 2 and KDE before finally (& happily) settling for KDE 4.9. I don't believe Windows or OS X would have give me this choice. This is not a not a criticism on their desktop environments but that their desktop environments may not be suited to my needs. Linux gives me this choice. I would like to emphasize couple of points which have hit closer to home for me: - Everything is not related to hardware compatibility; same hardware works fine on some distros and doesn't on others. Trying various distros may be time consuming and frustating for some. - Its the "tinkerability" of Linux that draws people for whom degree of customization/control trumps most other factors. Ironically even when they have spent weeks getting the setup perfect, the exact same mentality leads them continuously trying new/latest things/"improving" et. all and that leads to breakage. Sometimes telling them to stick with what works and not tinker is a like asking a player to not play. Of course, this is not a generalization and there are users across the spectrum ranging from out-of-the-boxt to compulsive-tinkerer. When Unity didn't leave me with any other choice to move from Ubuntu (and the main reason I stuck around wasn't Gnome 2 as most would say; it was apt-get), I tried XFCE/LXDE etc. For me, none of these provided the right mix of customization, aesthetics, features and stability as much KDE did. Though its eats up a bunch of RAM, it leaves plenty room in my almost 7 year old Compaq nx6320 laptop with 3GB RAM. I use OpenSuse 12.2 and not withstanding Yast etc., they sure know how to integrate KDE in a distro to provide a smooth & seamless experience.

by jebblue 14y ago

randomdrake 14y ago

I was referring to the multiple suggestions that my issue was simply not buying compatible hardware. I'm glad Ubuntu has worked for you! Really, I am. I don't dislike the project, or Open Source at all. The hardware available to me didn't work, unfortunately, so I experienced what I did.

BEEdwards 14y ago

I'm not even sure why there is this hatred of Unity, like its the only option. I don't like Unity I think it sucks, I just use KDE, but you could also use XFCE or Cinnomon or Awesome or any of billion other choices.

noisy_boy 14y ago
This is probably why Linux has been and is such a draw for me. I've moved between FVWM, Fluxbox, Gnome 2 and KDE before finally (& happily) settling for KDE 4.9. I don't believe Windows or OS X would have give me this choice. This is not a not a criticism on their desktop environments but that their desktop environments may not be suited to my needs. Linux gives me this choice. I would like to emphasize couple of points which have hit closer to home for me: - Everything is not related to hardware compatibility; same hardware works fine on some distros and doesn't on others. Trying various distros may be time consuming and frustating for some. - Its the "tinkerability" of Linux that draws people for whom degree of customization/control trumps most other factors. Ironically even when they have spent weeks getting the setup perfect, the exact same mentality leads them continuously trying new/latest things/"improving" et. all and that leads to breakage. Sometimes telling them to stick with what works and not tinker is a like asking a player to not play. Of course, this is not a generalization and there are users across the spectrum ranging from out-of-the-boxt to compulsive-tinkerer. When Unity didn't leave me with any other choice to move from Ubuntu (and the main reason I stuck around wasn't Gnome 2 as most would say; it was apt-get), I tried XFCE/LXDE etc. For me, none of these provided the right mix of customization, aesthetics, features and stability as much KDE did. Though its eats up a bunch of RAM, it leaves plenty room in my almost 7 year old Compaq nx6320 laptop with 3GB RAM. I use OpenSuse 12.2 and not withstanding Yast etc., they sure know how to integrate KDE in a distro to provide a smooth & seamless experience.