Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jgreen]

[ Edit by JimH -- Mr. Green started it.  This is split from the Sony rootkit thread just because it has high entertainment value. ]

Jgreen said:
For me the really grinding aspect to all this is that Sony ends up making Microsoft look like a hero, if only by comparison.

[GHammer]

For me the really grinding aspect to all this is that Sony ends up making Microsoft look like a hero, if only by comparison.

When has MS dropped that sort of junk on a system?

Anti-MS people. Irrational...

[JimH]

Anti-MS people. Irrational...

You must be a hardware person.

[jgreen]

"Irrational"?  Me?  Way to go for the jugular, G!

You're right, of course (I mean about the anti-MS).  In truth, windows is the best OS on the planet.  My gripe is that it could be much better much quicker, only the competing alternatives are so incredibly lame. 

Recently just for giggles I tried an install of SUSE 9.3.  It would have been laughable, if I hadn't spent a week just trying to get 5 clean CD downloads.  When I finally got the thing installed, I thought, "If this was 1995 this would be revolutionary".  Not only did SUSE misdiagnose my monitors, graphics card and audio, it didn't offer me any apparent way to submit user-provided dirvers (I know there must be a way somehow, but in windows it's obvious).  IMO, Linux isn't even the equal of IRIX, or the mac.  Talk about fanboy-domininated PR. 

So I'm not knocking windows.  I'm knocking what that toad has done with the company and the opportunity.  Most of his attention is consumed with destroying alternatives, rather than improving his own product.  Sad to say, I think windows is our best hope for the future, although one of the things keeping windows honest is linux, and open-source software.

My point is that every one of my gripes about MSFT pales in the face of what Sony has done.  And therefore this changes the playing field, and our expectations for our own machines.  No one is going to gripe that Word and Excel phone home, when your  Sony CD's threaten that kind of havoc.

So keep working on your Win Vista, Ham, although it isn't really meaningful to me until the WinFS arrives.  If anyone had anything better, WinFS would arrive tomorrow.

[glynor]

I know.  It's like saying "I tried driving a Hundai once for a few hours and it was terrible.  I'm never going to drive any car ever again because they are all bad."

Linux, like any piece of software, has pros and cons.  I, too, find Ubuntu wonderful to work with for common tasks and powerful enough to still handle more complex tasks.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is it better than Windows?  For some things, yes, and for some things, no.

The really funny thing is that the issues he was describing were all distribution-related and have nothing to do with "linux" (which is after all just the kernel).

[jgreen]

It's more like saying, "I tried a Hyundai and it was too small for me.  Next time I'm going to stick with larger cars."

Listen guys, I was ready to LOVE linux.  I am so frustrated with the slow pace of Windows dev and the bizarre way little-used win services open up gaping security holes for everyone.  But SUSE isn't ready for the desktop yet, except for preconfigured machines that aren't meant to do much.  And then you have to ask yourself what you're getting with linux that windows doesn't have.  I think the answer is $100 saved.

I would love to see linux work for the desktop.  But right out of the jar it has to run windows programs flawlessly, or only fanboys will use it.  I think you'll agree that that day is a long ways off.  Currently, even the installation doesn't measure up to windows.  There's just too many drivers required, and the linux guys have to write them themselves.  If all the different flavors of linux can get together and make one single version that equals windows, I'd love to switch.  But there's no use kidding ourselves in the meantime.

 

[glynor]

It's more like saying, "I tried a Hyundai and it was too small for me.  Next time I'm going to stick with larger cars."

I'm not going to take most of the bait, but...

My point is not that you've decided you like large cars, that's entirely reasonable.  My point is that based on trying out that 1 Hyundai, you've decided that you only like Buicks, even though many other manufacturers make large cars (and many of them nice ones).

[jgreen]

Oh, thank you for not taking the bait, Glynor. 

In the 1920's, there were over a thousand american car companies.  In the thirties, there ended up being three.  Three is too few, a thousand is too many, but when they went from a thousand companies to three companies the cars got dramatically better.  Over the following 50 years, without a viable fourth car company, car quality got only marginally better.

Linux needs to do something better than windows.  And linux dev is currently so factionalized, it's hard to see that happening in our lifetimes. 

IMO, an OS should be about drivers and sys operations.  MSFT was sued for bundling a media player, but nobody's suing SUSE for including two.  But with 2 players, a full office suite, etc, etc, they still couldn't get the drivers right.

Granted, that's SUSE and not ubuntu.  I picked suse beacuse it was so popular--I'd never heard of ubuntu.  Does ubuntu support native NTFS, or FAT 32? does it come preconfiged with WINE and no nonsense about getting an IEX alternative from a third source?  One day I might try it, but you're right, Glynor, I'm less likely now than before getting burned with SUSE.

[glynor]

 

[GHammer]

Reminds me of the micro brewery fad awhile back.
Suddenly every storefront had a 'brewery' in it. Nevermind that there aren't that many brew masters in the world.
People raved about 'Old Hornswoggle Autumn Bock', 'Sam Jefferson SnakeOyl Special Dark' and the like.
Everyone became an 'expert' on beer and people would force their opinion of a 'great' beer on innocent strangers.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Miller, Guinness, Bud, Qingdao just kept selling millions of barrels of beer.

I'll take XP and a nice MGD over linux and Sam Adams any day.

[Mr ChriZ]

*Pours a cold pint*