Is Linux ready for prime time?

[Anthony Martinez]

For all the Windows hate I used to harbor, Win7 is excellent. I don't miss OSX at all. OSX made me not miss Linux. My server still runs Debian, my router runs BSD, but my personal computers all run Win7 now. Even with ultra-common audio devices (with very mature ALSA modules) Linux still lives in the "sometimes" realm for functional audio. To some it's not a big deal to have the soundserver hang and fail to play certain sounds. To me it's a pretty serious problem. Sound isn't the only place where, despite an officially supported and declared method in the kernel, developers continue to just roll their own daemon or access the system through deprecated channels. Even in Ubuntu, where they've mounted probably the most cohesive means of package development you still end up with IO conflicts that just don't make sense.

So no, it isn't ready for the mainstream if the mainstream is meant to be the general PC market where normal consumers expect to be able to operate as they have before. Perhaps, as already mentioned, were everyone's previous computer knowledge to be wiped clean and Win7/OSX/@Linux_Distros to be presented as the choice people might be fine with the experience. I think that's a pretty big perhaps.

[zebulus]

Originally Posted by Flea77

Now Linux is a fine OS and all, but no OS can do everything, and no OS is perfect.

Allan

Now that is a very true Statement.

Right now im using Linux Mint 9, Mac OS 8, Mac OS X, and Windows 7 Pro.

I like them all, they all do something different. And as a SysAdmin, I like knowing the ins and outs of all these different OS's.

[Anthony Martinez]

Originally Posted by zebulus

Now that is a very true Statement.

Right now im using Linux Mint 9, Mac OS 8, Mac OS X, and Windows 7 Pro.

I like them all, they all do something different. And as a SysAdmin, I like knowing the ins and outs of all these different OS's.

That's a great point I must have glossed over when I read it the first time. I do have Ubuntu in a Virtual Machine for the few things I like to use linux commands for but don't feel like doing them over ssh on my server. VMWare 3 Player is pretty awesome.

[Brains]

Ubuntu has been using Pulse Audio for a while now. Just sayin'

[Anthony Martinez]

and gstreamer before that. Pulse is just a drop in for ESD, which never worked well to begin with. It all, eventually, uses (you hope) ALSA to actually control the sound device. Fortunately not many servers need to make sounds more complex than a PC-speaker beep and *nix is still largely focused on the development of stable server environments. They excel there.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by Flea77

Really? First Linux virus found in 1997.

Found 13 years ago and as yet to be found in the wild.. Even rootkits are rarely seen..

Since Linux does not use auto-start the only way to get the virus is to give root privileges.

Anti-virus software makers are constantly trying to get Mac and Linux users to buy and install their software by using scare tactics such as this old warning.

Originally Posted by Flea77

Also, I have yet to find a good way of running Microsoft Access connected to a SQL Server on Linux so I could do my development for companies who have already invested significant amounts into those projects.

The AS-400 as well as other Unix OS's can easily do this. It's Unix the same OS used in Linux distro's.

I suspect the needed software can be found. Maybe not in the repo's but from a reseller.

Originally Posted by Flea77

Oh yeah, then there are the apps I use to configure telephone systems that run in DOS and require direct access to a 16550N controller. Can't seem to get those to work in Linux either.

Wait, what about the plasma cutters that run in Windows and also require direct physical access to their controller cards?

See above.

Originally Posted by Flea77

Now Linux is a fine OS and all, but no OS can do everything, and no OS is perfect.

Allan

I agree there is no perfect OS.

My statement had to do with mainstream pc use.

[Flea77]

Originally Posted by Colyn

Found 13 years ago and as yet to be found in the wild.. Even rootkits are rarely seen..

I could have sworn that it WAS found in the wild, it came into someone's email.

Originally Posted by Colyn

The AS-400 as well as other Unix OS's can easily do this. It's Unix the same OS used in Linux distro's.

Interesting, because when I put the installation disc in for Office Developer Edition it won't install, same with SQL Server.

Originally Posted by Colyn

See above.

Nope, sorry, been there, tried that. The programming software for the phone systems will only run on certain OSs, and then only on systems that have a 16550AFN chip on the board, and then only when the OS allows direct control of the chip. Will not run in Linux, will not run on MacOS, and I have yet to get it to run well on Vista or 7, XP does fine. That is the reason I keep an old Inspiron 8100 around.

Originally Posted by Colyn

I agree there is no perfect OS.

My statement had to do with mainstream pc use.

That depends on how you define "mainstream". A large percentage of my customers will only use MS Office, Access, ODBC to SQL Servers (When I say SQL Server, I am not talking about "a" SQL server, I am talking about THE SQL Server) because the software they paid a truckload of money for only runs on Windows with MS Office and SQL Server as a backend, it will not under any circumstances function with Linux (or any Unix) as a frontend or backend, or OpenOffice, etc etc. That is "mainstream" for me.

Now of course YMMV, which is fine, but if I started talking to my clients about Linux I would get shut down so fast it isn't even funny.

Again, don't get me wrong. My company uses MySQL as a backend for the primary company database which runs 90% of the company (my design, my build) so I am quite familiar with the open source options, and I like many of them. I just don't think it is fair when someone says operating system X can do "anything" operating system Y can do. Heck, Windows 2k/XP/Vista/Win 7 can't do EVERYTHING 98 can, just ask one of my cable company customers!

Allan

[Brains]

Great news - Broadcom finally pulled their collective heads outta their butts!

BREAKING: BROADCOM OPEN SOURCES WIRELESS DRIVERS

Broadcom would like to announce the initial release of a fully-open Linux driver for it's latest generation of 11n chipsets. The driver, while still a work in progress, is released as full source and uses the native mac80211 stack. It supports multiple current chips (BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225) as well as providing a framework for supporting additional chips in the future, including mac80211-aware embedded chips.
The README and TODO files included with the sources provide more details about the current feature set, known issues, and plans for improving the driver.

This is simply awesome news, since most of the big name laptop vendors are using Broadcom WiFi hardware.

[brad]

This crossed my email inbox today...

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