Re: Hardware hassles: Linux vs. Windows
On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:56:06 -0500
Christian Convey <conveycj@npt.nuwc.navy.mil> wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> Recently I've spent a lot of time digging through udev / hotplug
> issues, getting to know modprobe, modules.conf, alsaconf, XF86Config-4
> etc. This was all to get a digicam and a flashdrive to be useful, or
> to make sound/video work.
>
> As much as I like Linux and its ideals, I thought to myself, "I've
> never had to deal with issues like these in Windows. I buy a product,
> plug it in, and almost always, it just works."
>
> I'd really like to advocate Linux more to friends and family, but I
> just don't feel like I can recommend the OS to non-techies until
> dealing with hardware gets easier.
>
> Do you guys have any reflections on why, for technical / social /
> market / whatever reasons, this difference exists between the two OS's
> exists? And are those differences necessary or accidental?
It's probably not the anwer you want, but for the sake of discussion
I'll say it anyway. It's because Windows focuses on bells and whistles
and fancy features that let users with zero knowledge do neat things.
Linux focuses on actually making things work and worries about the
automatic detection stuff later. (Believe it or not, it's made huge
improvements from when I first started using it.)
The Windows approach is fine, if you have the patience to deal with a
lot of crashes, blue screens and problems without a seeming reason,
cause or solution. This is great for non-mission critical stuff. The
Linux approach is fine if you have geeks for friends or enough money to
pay for things to be setup for you. This tends to be easier in a
business and mission critical environment.
And don't forget - very few Windows users have to install the OS
themselves. I remember the hassles I had to go through with Win98 to
get irq conflicts worked out, drivers installed and everything playing
happy. There was no logical method. It seemed more like continually
throwing the deck of cards in the air until the right ones landed face
up. And at least half the "solutions" seemed like they involved
throwing more money at the problem. (I switched to Linux after Win98 and
haven't tried messing with the internals of anything newer from M$.)
As for me, I like dealing with my problems up front, instead of having a
time bomb that blows at the worst possible moment. But that's why
everybody has a choice as to which OS they want to use.
Just my $0.02.
Jacob
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