Fwd: what's the killer app for GNU/Linux systems?
This fabulous has been mailed to me in private, and I'd like to share
it with all ya...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arlie Stephens <arlie@worldash.org>
Date: Nov 30, 2006 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: what's the killer app for GNU/Linux systems?
To: Tshepang Lekhonkhobe <tshepang@gmail.com>
On Nov 30 2006, Tshepang Lekhonkhobe wrote:
Hi,
A killer app is an application that compels one to use a certain
system.
Like many others, I don't have a specific "killer app." I've simply
been using *nix systems for many years, and can get a lot more
accomplished when I have that kind of shell based enviroment, not to
mention familiar tools.
Why pick linux, or debian specifically? Well, I'll pick whichever one
gives me fewer headaches, and more tools. Once I've picked one, I'll
stay with it until sufficient aggravations accumulate that the cost of
switching seems lower than the cost of staying.
Net result - I went SunOS to RedHat to Debian for my home systems,
and HP-UX to RedHat to Debian for work systems. (My employers also
kindly supply me with a Windoze box, which I use as little as
possible.)
If I had to say why Debian specifically - because it (a) has just
about everything I could possibly want in pre-built, conveniently
installable packages and (b) manages to install and upgrade new
packages without rendering my system unbootable, etc. Also (c)
At the point when RedHat had become DeadRat to me, I knew more people
using Debian than any of the other choices, and figured I'd be more
likely to be able to get help with it.
If comparing with e.g. Windoze, my killer apps are bash, grep, find,
gcc, and perl == the power to make my own tools, rather than either
using what's presupplied or paying for the privilege of trying to
create something. Next tier of killer apps would be apache, postfix
(any mail server), ecartis, etc. And of course the privilege of
reading email without worrying about it installing a virus ;-)
But these are common to all *nixes, or can be.
On Debian lists, someone mentioned that meld, a GUI diff
utility, was killer. I can't think of any I have because I moved to
GNU/Linux for its said overall magnificence, instead of a particular
application, and today there's isn't one utility I admire so much I'd
consider such... maybe gnome-terminal, lsof, grep, top,
epiphany-browser, or less. I'd mention admirance for Blender, GCC,
Python but they are cross-platform. I'd mention GNOME, but it's a 100
apps. So I give up and ask you, what's your killer app(s)?
--
Arlie
(Arlie Stephens arlie@worldash.org)
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