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Linux is great for a desktop if you like to tinker. If you have time and inclination to tinker with your desktop OS. If you don't like to tinker with your wor

by rjurney 17y ago

Linux is great for a desktop if you like to tinker. If you have time and inclination to tinker with your desktop OS. If you don't like to tinker with your workstation, and you just want a good GUI and a bash prompt to get some fucking work done, using Ubuntu for a day will make you cry in frustration. You just waste so much time. I've spent way too much time the last two weeks trying to get a second monitor to work through a DP port - no such support. It sucks. I plugged it in, the monitors are not detected, install some different drivers, still not work. Tinker tinker tinker. I go out and buy a cable adaptor, see if BOTH monitors on DP will matter... I buy the wrong cable. Crap. Back to the store, they don't have DP->DVI cables. Crap. Order one online. Wait for a few days. Try every possible combination of settings and ports - max resolution 1280 * 800. All told I think I've spent about 16 hours tinkering with my Ubuntu desktop for various minor problems that bugged me. I could have been working that time if I had a Mac desktop. And don't even get me started on IntelliJ and Java in Gnome. Some people actually enjoy debugging these issues - but me, I'd rather be working productively. I love Linux for servers, it is totally easy to use there. For desktops... unless you have strange dependencies, there is no valid reason not to just use OS X. PCs are only cheaper if the value of your time is zero. I tend to value my time slightly higher than zero.

Tichy 17y ago
I am struggling with OS X a lot, too. I think it is also a matter of perception: if there is a problem on Linux, people say "ah, it is the tinker OS again", if there is a problem on OS X, people say "hm, I paid 1000$ for this, so it must be my fault, not the OS". One important thing is to make sure you buy the right hardware for Linux - OS X does the same, it only ships for a very limited selection of hardware. I have had Ubuntu on my notebook for years and hardly ever need to tinker. There are always things to tinker with, even on OS X - it is just important that you don't have to tinker with the stuff that enables you to work. Edit: just read this other HN submission about the Apple Magic Mouse, and lo: some tinkering required to get it to work - http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/11/you-win-some-you-lose-some-a-review-of-apples-magic-mouse.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/11/you-win-some-yo... And that is Apple's latest, shiny product.
enobrev 17y ago
Similar issues, although in my case 2 monitors work immediately (dual DV-I card), it's getting my 3rd monitor running simultaneously which has left me in xorg.conf hell for 2 days without much to show for it, besides a few more gray hairs. Admittedly, getting the 3rd monitor running on Windows 7 wasn't a picnic, but I got it within an hour or so - with the ability to switch to s-video to watch hulu on my old tv, and never had to manually edit a config file. The "problem" with manually editing a config file is that you've no idea what the options are, which means research - likely using a separate application. I use config files for my dev work all the time, but not for anything anyone actually has to change besides me (or another dev on the same project). While I appreciate that I CAN get behind the scenes to get something working, I don't really WANT to. Edit: As an aside, Ubuntu Karmic Remix on my EEE is an absolute delight. Installed perfectly, works perfectly.

by rjurney 17y ago

Tichy 17y ago

I am struggling with OS X a lot, too. I think it is also a matter of perception: if there is a problem on Linux, people say "ah, it is the tinker OS again", if there is a problem on OS X, people say "hm, I paid 1000$ for this, so it must be my fault, not the OS". One important thing is to make sure you buy the right hardware for Linux - OS X does the same, it only ships for a very limited selection of hardware. I have had Ubuntu on my notebook for years and hardly ever need to tinker. There are always things to tinker with, even on OS X - it is just important that you don't have to tinker with the stuff that enables you to work. Edit: just read this other HN submission about the Apple Magic Mouse, and lo: some tinkering required to get it to work - http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/11/you-win-some-you-lose-some-a-review-of-apples-magic-mouse.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/11/you-win-some-yo... And that is Apple's latest, shiny product.

enobrev 17y ago

Similar issues, although in my case 2 monitors work immediately (dual DV-I card), it's getting my 3rd monitor running simultaneously which has left me in xorg.conf hell for 2 days without much to show for it, besides a few more gray hairs. Admittedly, getting the 3rd monitor running on Windows 7 wasn't a picnic, but I got it within an hour or so - with the ability to switch to s-video to watch hulu on my old tv, and never had to manually edit a config file. The "problem" with manually editing a config file is that you've no idea what the options are, which means research - likely using a separate application. I use config files for my dev work all the time, but not for anything anyone actually has to change besides me (or another dev on the same project). While I appreciate that I CAN get behind the scenes to get something working, I don't really WANT to. Edit: As an aside, Ubuntu Karmic Remix on my EEE is an absolute delight. Installed perfectly, works perfectly.