Linux Is A Time Killer

http://www.mostlymaths.net/2010/08/linux-is-time-killer.html

by nochiel • 16 years ago

4 16 16 years ago

mostlymaths.net

gte910h• 16 years ago

For desktop linux....

Servers and Embedded Devices it's one of the easier alternatives.

RBerenguel6• 16 years ago

Indeed. And desktop Linux is not bad... It is really a big piece of software. But it gets on my nerves when something does not work

mithaler• 16 years ago

"Linux is only free if your time has no value." --Jamie Zawinski

RBerenguel6• 16 years ago

I definitely love this quote!

stevoo• 16 years ago

although it is good ... it is really right.

Windows always gave me a lof of headaches for absolutely no reason.

Last night , only getting local connection .... why ? And explorer.exe just decided to crash up on me everytime i opened the panel.

Fresh install .... crap win

vetinari3• 16 years ago

No worry, I wasted equal share of time with Windows and OSX. If I had to pick one-eyed among blind, it would be difficult choice, becasue they are all blind like bats.

GiraffeNecktie• 16 years ago

I had the same problem as the author (SD cards in an Acer Aspire One). It took me about twenty minutes to mind the fix on the web and apply it to get both card readers working. I'm not sure why it would have taken him the whole day and only get one working.

I've also had lots of weird hardware configuration things with Windows, especially when upgrading from one major release of Windows to another, so I'm not sure that you can say it's a Linux thing.

RBerenguel6• 16 years ago

Hi, author here. With Ubuntu 10.04? The proposed solutions don't work in my version (I have the earlier with hard drive). I have also seen several other cases of LH works RH doesn't.

It wasn't meant to be a Linux thing. It happens with every operating system. But with Linux, you have so much freedom you can get trapped by it trying to solve it all.

sn• 16 years ago

Windows can waste plenty of your time too, if you have (or think you have) some kind of malware ...

teilo• 16 years ago

This title needs to be qualified: Linux on the desktop is a time killer. I sympathize (which is why I use a Mac), but it's a radically different story for servers.

I run quite a variety of headless servers. In almost every case, it is easier to setup and maintain an Linux box than a Windows box. Almost every software package I need is a command away. And if I were doing this on Windows, I would still have to mess around configuring the software I installed, so there is no gain there.

One command, and all security patches are installed and running - live, and without re-configuring a thing. The only exception is a kernel upgrade, which requires a reboot, but otherwise is trouble-free.

Plus, when things break, it is so much easier to get configs transferred and running on a new Linux box, than on Windows. Re-install the software. Restore DBs. Restore configs. You're good. To a degree this is possible on Windows, but it is a lot harder because there are so many black boxes, binary configs, registry keys, etc.

RBerenguel6• 16 years ago

You are completely right, it was my fault with the post title. I think I sounded too against-Linux, which is not what I meant. I love having Linux around, and having Linux installed. But there are times when I don't feel like editing X11 settings from the console again :)

vetinari3• 16 years ago

Sorry, but I didn't edit X11 settings for years. Speaking of xorg.conf, it is optional for years. The system works just fine without it.

Yaa101• 16 years ago

I somewhat disagree, it is a question of entitlement. On stable platforms, of which there are also Linux distributions besides OSX, stuff isn't cutting edge but somewhat older and working fine mostly. So you have to wonder why you demand cutting edge from Linux but not from OSX, this is because on a lot of Linux distributions the cutting edge is an option but often not on stable OS like OSX and even windows. When it comes to drivers the problem is with stubborn manufacturers that only want to provide specs to closed platforms.

Linux Is A Time Killer

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