GNU/Linux is user-friendly - and logical too

Sam Varghese
Friday, 07 November 2008 03:55

Opinion and Analysis

3. Linux forces users to be programmers

I don't know what distribution Davey looked at before concluding that one has to recompile a kernel any time one gets a new bit of hardware - it certainly can't be Debian.

On my AMD64 single-processor PC, I have added two SATA drives (Seagate and Western Digital), one SATA DVD-burner (LG), one printer (Samsung) and a TV card (Leadtek) that handles both analogue and digital broadcasts. I have not recompiled a thing; the system recognises the hardware and loads the necessary modules on start-up.

4. Linux doesn't understand the true meaning of help files

I guess the question here is what is one really looking for - help or spoon-feeding? Do you want genuine help which means that if the same problem recurs, you can handle it yourself? Or are you looking to be led by the hand every time a problem recurs?

And further would you like a system where a problem takes some time to fix but goes away altogether thereafter? Or do you want one where it is simple to fix a problem, only to have it recur every three days?

I would much rather not run an operating system that encourages me to ask the same questions again and again. I think that's demeaning to me as a person with a brain. But then, that's me.

5. Linux doesn't communicate

Once again, I don't know what distribution refused to communicate with Davey. Every time I put in an USB key in my AMD64 box, a little dialgoue box pops up asking me what I would like to do and giving me three or four choices. When I pop in a DVD, VLC comes up and plays it. Let me be honest, I would much rather do this manually but that's the control freak in me speaking.

There is an impression that Windows comes configured out of the box to do many things. As someone who is called on to build grey boxes twice or thrice a year and install and configure Windows for friends, let me assure you that this is far from the truth.

And I'm happy to demonstrate any and all of what I've said to anyone who cares to call at my humble abode.