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« Life in Biosphere 2 | Main | What I had for breakfast: Belief = Blame »
So, you think Linux is "ugly"?
Posted on: July 3, 2009 9:52 PM, by Greg Laden
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Comments
Heh heh...
Been there, done that, wore out the t-shirt!
Not only that, but I've got it all on a bootable thumb-drive.
It's snazzy enough to impress my Mac-using in-laws! (Nothing against Macs; we run Mac/Linux wireless network in our household.)
Quick tip: www.pendrivelinux.com can help you impress your friends!
Posted by: caerbannog | July 4, 2009 1:31 AM
I'm a nerd. Love me!
Posted by: The Science Pundit | July 4, 2009 1:31 AM
Hmm, so, now we've got shiny down.
Great, now get me compatibility and I'll actually consider switching.
Posted by: Alcaru | July 4, 2009 2:32 PM
Compatibility? What do you want to be "compatible" with? Windows programs? For some windows programs that I really want to use (Like Google Sketchup - come on Google, let's get a Linux version up!), I either use Wine or a virtual machine. For most tasks, I'm happy with the Linux applications that I use.
Posted by: Dan J | July 4, 2009 4:55 PM
Alcaru: compatibility with what exactly? About 80% of what's out there is directly compatible via WINE, unless you're looking for the newest video games, in which case you'd be best off paying for Crossover Office or Cedega as a compatibility layer.
And, I mean, I was able to get World of Warcraft working better under Linux than it had been running on the same box under XP, so it's not like you're not able to do it, it just takes a wee bit of effort. Until such time that adoption is high enough that development companies start providing ways to install on Linux (like iD Software did with Doom 3), these companies probably will continue to ignore that Linux users exist and are growing in numbers. The onus of responsibility for "compatibility" should be on the software companies themselves, but that won't change until adoption's high enough to hurt their bottom line.
If you're just looking to run a Windows environment within Linux, there's always VirtualBox, which lets you install a full copy of Windows within a virtualized environment.
Posted by: Jason Thibeault | July 4, 2009 4:59 PM
As with the above, what do you mean by compatibility?
On the note about it being ugly, I really find most of the snazzy new visual features of various OS to be rather ugly and distracting. I like a simple, clean look.
Posted by: Travis | July 4, 2009 8:53 PM
I know about WINE, and I really would love to use it, but I have to work a lot with autocad, solidworks and similar lesser known and painfully expensive software.
I've tried it before and it didn't work then. WineHQ tells me it hasn't gotten much better. So, I'd love to be able to use a linux, but I don't feel much for having a dual boot system.
Now, don't get me wrong, if I only used my machine as a "family PC" I wouldn't have to think twice, but untill companies like Dassault (solidworks) and autodesk (autocad) start support other OSs, or my boss decides to move to other software, I'm stuck with windows.
Posted by: Alcaru | July 5, 2009 1:02 PM
Hi Alcaru,
It seems that SolidWorks doesn't run well under Wine, but will run in a Virtual Machine.
Pro/ENGINEER from PTC is available for Linux, but is definitely not a free/open-source alternative. PTC recognizes the value of supporting the Linux platform, where AutoDesk seems not to. Oddly enough, Dassault supported Unix platforms with its CATIA V5, but dropped support for anything but Windows with its CATIA V6 release in 2008. That's a step backward in my opinion, but an economical one.
I think it all comes down to what you need your system to do. If you want to do high-end CAD work (what types of components are you working with? VLSI? Structural engineering?), you're definitely limited. If my employer required my use of specific software (outside of the workplace environment), I'd be sure they supplied said software and the required operating system (if not the hardware). If that OS was Windows, I'd be running it in a virtual machine. I do this for some web design work so that I can browse sites with various versions of Internet Explorer from within an actual Windows environment.
Posted by: Dan J | July 5, 2009 3:03 PM