Re: Why Linux on a Laptop?
On Fri, 30 Nov 2001, Alec wrote:
> I'm wondering what everyone's motivation is for using Linux on a
> laptop instead of Cygwin + Windows.
I am curious also: why are you asking? Are you wondering what the major
point you missed was, or just idly curious?
> The way I see it, a laptop is basically a giant PDA.
That's one way of looking at them.
> People usually use them for typing down stuff during classes,
> seminars, conferences, in the library,
That's all true...
> for presenting (powerpoint) material,
Y'all could have dropped the work PowerPoint. It makes this look more
like a troll than a serious question. ;)
> or for keeping all their mail and personal archives in one place, etc.
...and you *wouldn't* have that as a primary reason for using the Laptop
rather than a separate desktop if you were regularly in two places?
> Laptops don't get used much as servers or development workstations,
> are they?
Yes. Probably not as often as servers, because the majority of them have
no facility to automatically power on after they lose power from mains
and battery. This makes them ... unreliable.
As development workstations and day-to-day workstations, yes. This is
true of the *majority* of laptops, at least in my experience, regardless
of what operating system they happen to run.
The fact that a laptop is, while more expensive, as powerful as your
average desktop helps here.
As to why Linux rather than your suggested Windows and Cygwin -- I like
an environment that's not prone to exploding randomly. I do a lot of
work with text, in the form of email, source code and written documents.
Windows and Cygwin have *never* equaled, let alone beaten, my Linux
system for stability. It's not that hard to make a Linux system as
unstable as a Windows one, but the reverse is hardly true, in my
experience.
That said, I would not recommend Linux on a laptop for everyone. The
reason is the same as the reason I wouldn't recommend Linux on a desktop
or server for everyone:
You just can't do everything you want to in Linux, if "everything"
includes a number of common business requirements. This doesn't make
Linux bad, just inappropriate.
If you, personally, find Windows and Cygnus more useful, use it. I don't
care. You gain some flexibility -- you still have Windows, for example,
so you can run MS Office and friends. You pay for it in reliability but,
hell, most people don't give a damn about that beyond the next half hour
anyway...
Daniel
--
Meticulous planning will enable everything a man does to appear spontaneous.
-- Mark Caine
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