Here I am, watching Ubuntu 8.04 Beta 1 install on a virtual machine on my desktop. I’ve just read for what must be the 700th time that this is it – this is the Linux to rule them all. As some of you may know, I don’t exactly accept Linux as any sort of real productivity platform. To me, Linux is either used for two things – serving up the internet, and as a tinker box for the underachiever or extreme nerd. I’ve read countless articles claiming that this was it – this is the Linux distro that’s finally usable for your 102-year-old grammy. This is the linux that will change the world; the linux that’ll have Windows users switching over in droves, only to be tried out by myself and disappointed every time.
So what makes Linux inheritably bad? What are the problems that plague every Linux? Some of these issues go kernel deep, and some are simply due to the nature of open-source software, but all of them are, I believe, the actual problems.
1) The file hierarcy sucks.
I mean really, it’s just bad. Look at the calendar – it’s now the year 2008. Take a look at Mac OS X Leopard, and to an extent Windows Vista. We’re now pushing away from the now ancient system of how we organize our files on the computer, folders. The concept of the folder was a logical one, but is quickly becoming more and more dated. With indexed searching via Spotlight and Windows Search, you have quick and easy access to your files, folders, and practically anything on your system. Spotlight is a powerful tool that gives you access to your system using more than just file names. You can search more than just file names – say you know that your e-mail conversation with your friend Joe involves toiletries (let’s assume you’re Martha Stewart here for a second). Just type in some keywords you know you used in this chat and type them in, and boom, Spotlight will nearly instantly look through your system for anything containing those words, including your e-mails, its system wide. Linux includes no such utility. I’ve been hearing a lot about something sort-of-kind-of similar included in Ubuntu, but as of the 8.0 beta I see nothing even close – just a simple filename search.
If, at this point, these new advance searches don’t wield what you’re looking for, you have the option of taking the “classic” route and viewing these folders directly. In Mac OS X, this file structure is very simple to navigate – Windows Vista almost as much. The root of this is as simple as a “Users” directory, a “System” directory, “Applications”, and a “Library” directory. This is very clearly marked and you know just by looking at them what will be found in there – let’s take a quick look at Ubuntu, as of version 8.04.
Have fun with that.
2) Lack of Device / OEM Support
Any way you slice it, if you’re looking for a replacement to a Windows machine, you’re going to be going one of two routes. You’re going to be buying a system with an alternative already on-it (Mac OS X integrates their software with their hardware perfectly in this way), or you’re going to be buying / downloading the replacement operating system and installing it on their current machines. This is huge. Since there are very little opportunities to buy a capable, new computer with Linux pre-installed (Yes, I realize Dell has an option for this – and it is a start, but you’re not going to find one of these systems unless you already know it’s there), 99% of Linux switchers are going to be downloading and installing it themselves. This is not going to be seamless. 9 times out of 10, this is going to be rough and painful. I’ve had so many computers that I’ve tried to install Linux on that just wouldn’t work (usually a problem with Linux accepting their SATA drivers) that it’s ridiculous. And, if you do manage to get Linux installed on your system, you’re bound to run into devices that just don’t have the proper drivers, whether it be un-accelerated graphics drivers, to missing audio or network drivers. You’re just not going to be out of the box ready, which will usually lead you to…
3) The Linux Community
I have a problem with the Linux crowd. When you inevitably have issues with getting something setup on Linux, or if you question it in any way, you get scolded by the Linux diehards, or simply told to make the driver yourself. Well I’m sorry, but my granny has some problems with writing and compiling such things – hell, so do I. Their just so… I want to say smug, which is usually the common complaint about Apple users. Since they can do it, you should be able to, too. And if you can’t, it’s almost as if you’re unwelcome here – since you can’t compile a version of the Linux kernel to run on your toaster, you have no place using Linux. A welcoming attitude would be helpful and encourage the switcher to continue.
4) Applications and the Terminal
Now, applications for Linux are problematic in various ways. One of my major issues with Linux is the way you have to go about installing them – via the terminal. Windows has easy installers where you just click next until the deed is done, and Mac OS X has drag-and-drop installers. Linux’s solution to this is usually an application pre-installed with the operating system that lists all these handy programs for you to try that may be what you’re looking for. But let’s say that this list doesn’t contain what you’re looking for, or maybe you have a special version that you need to download, or something of the sort. You’re ALWAYS going to be downloading the source from a SVN repository or a .GZ /TAR file, and inserting all sorts of crazy commands from the terminal. If you’re wondering whether Linux is ready or not for your grandma – wonder this. How many times has she opened the Command Line in Windows? Once the number of times she has equals the number of times you’ll need to open it in Linux, then you know Linux is ready for her.
5) The Desktop Managers and Distibutions
This problem lies in the Linux community itself – the “do it yourself” mindset may have led to this, but whatever it is, its’ bad. We need unity. Having hundreds of different distributions isn’t helping anybody, neither is having two fairly mainstream desktop managers KDE and GNOME. Some applications apparently don’t work on one, or is optimized for the other, severely breaking up the Linux user-base into even smaller segments. Let’s say Grandma’s finally figured out how to install her favorite program after a couple of ibuprofen tablets, only to find that it won’t work under Ubuntu’s Gnome environment. This is stupid. This isn’t helping the Linux community, it isn’t helping Linux thrive, it’s hurting it. I know you’re trying to make what you think is the best experience, but at this point it’s better to go mainstream at this point. You need to work together to make one single version of Linux with one single desktop manager, which will run every and all Linux application. Simple as that.
I know you’ll have a different opinion than me in many of these points. But this is how I see it – this is how much of the “outside” population sees it. Feel free to post any inaccuracies in the comments – I want to like Linux, I really do. But once again, I’m left disappointed.
March 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
The do it yourself attitude you speak of is the very core of Linux. It’s a do it yourself Operating System. That doesn’t mean you can’t find help though, they usually just expect you to do the needed research before reporting a problem. You’re looking at Linux as though it were a corporate entity that has a support team that gets paid to answer questions.
Linux is Free. People volunteer to do these things. You get what you pay for. In Windows and Macs, you pay cash for support. In Linux you sacrifice this support for Freedom and price.
Unity sounds good, but choice is better. I can use KDE, Gnome, XFCE, fluxbox… the list goes on and on. It’s my choice and I’m not limited to what they distributor thinks I should use.
At the end of the day, Linux is still for a niche audience. That’s not a bad thing either. For the users who want simplicity, you have Windows and Macs. For those who want Freedom, you have other choices.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
This HAS to be a troll, right?
1) The filesystem. Your files are stored in /home/(your user name). Inside that directory (by default in Ubuntu since 7.10) are:
Pictures
Documents
Video
Music
Templates
Desktop
That’s it. Nothing more. Damn confusing, isn’t it? When you open a file browser, you go to your user directory, NOT the one you showed. There are also very convenient links to these user diectories in the left sidebar. The normal user NEVER needs to go where you showed, nor would it be easy for them to go there. People don’t go wandering through the Windows system files, either, if they know what’s good for them.
The default applications store your files in the appropriate place … by default. They manage it for you. The photo manager tags everything. The music manager uses artist/album. Even the video player has search.
If you want to find a specific file, you use something like the deskbar applet, which will search for file names or by full-text. It also handles dictionary lookups, web searches, application lauching, and many other things. These indexed file searchers (now trackerd and Beagle before that) have been installed by default since 6.10. You need to look harder, like in Accessories under “Search tool” or in the notification area, where a little magnifying glass is waiting for you.
2) Drivers. I won’t argue with you about a lack of Linux drivers except to say that any modern desktop distribution has SATA support. Every one.
You have a third option when getting a computer. Ordering one built to your specifications with known working hardware. This is the route I take and I NEVER need to do any post-installation work on drivers. It takes more work, though, and I can understand your issues with drivers, especially for printers and scanners.
3) Problem with community. You’re in the wrong community. Some, like Slackware, are more aligned with hardcore geeks. The Ubuntu forums FORBID responses like the ones you refer to, though I do want to say that finding jerks on the Internet is not limited to the Linux camp, nor even computer OSes or technology. Anonymity brings out the worst in most people. Welcome to the Internet.
4) Compiling from source. This problem is no different than on OSX or Windows. If the program is packaged for you, you can install it easily. If it isn’t, you’re generally out of luck unless the source code is released, in which case you’ll have to compile it yourself. I recently read about how to compile wget for Mac OSX.
You can complain about the availability of proprietary programs on Linux, and I will agree with you, though OSX seems to suffer a lot of the same problems. If fact, I’d venture to say there are fewer choices for Mac than there are for Linux.
5) Incompatibilities. Granny will never find that her KDE app can’t tun in Gnome because it can. All the major desktop environments follow the specifications at freedesktop.org, meaning that they can communicate with each other. Before that, though, they STILL didn’t have the problem you describe, so I don’t even know where you are getting it from. Window managers will run whatever you give them and don’t care about what libraries the program uses. For example, Amarok (a KDE app) is one of the most popular post-installation add-ons for Ubuntu (a Gnome distributution). The two have a slightly different look and feel, and I don’t like to mix and match because I don’t want extra libraries. Both Cocoa and Carbon apps work(ed) in Mac OSX. This is no different.
Now I realize that you’re unhappy with Linux. That’s your deal. I’m not trying to change your mind or jump all over you. Before you start putting out a bunch of false facts, though, try doing just a little bit of checking on them.
As I said in my first line, these assertions are so wrong on so many levels that I don’t even think you tried.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:03 am
3. Google “ubuntu support forums”; best fecking support team on the internet.
4. Google Synapic Package Manager. And discover a method of installing software far easier then either windows or mac.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
You have got to be kidding me.
What linux distribution have you installed and used that gave you these impressions? Sureley, it couldn’t have been Ubuntu 8.04. It couldn’t have been any Ubuntu version, because none of them suffer from the kinds of problems you describe. Hell, it couldn’t have been any linux distribution made in the 21st century.
Daeng Bo already did a great job reviewing your dissapointments on his post above, but I’ll try to quickly and politely contribute to that:
1) The file hierarchy sucks - True for Linux? So too for Windows or Mac. Ever tried wandering in “C:\Windows” and the many, many subfolders in there? Computer programs are organized as files and folders, and there has to be order in the way they are organized. I don’t see how the concept of a folder is becoming dated. Maybe, what you’re trying to point out is that the user should be “shielded” from that. True, but I don’t see how much Windows or Mac do differenty in this respect.
2) Lack of Device, OEM support - Win XP is great with hardware compatibility (it should! it’s been on the market for more than 7 years!). But generally, linux distributions do great with recognizing hardware. And Ubuntu, particularly (which I use) does a good job here too. I don’t see how it could have problems in 9 out of 10 hardware configurations. Minor things like the X window server coming up on the wrong resolution can happen, but are relatively easy to fix. The biggest problem linux has is with wireless ethernet hardware, but those too get better. Blame the wireless card makers. Try installing Vista on 10 computers, without having to hunt down drivers on the internet. I guarantee you’ll have much more problems.
3) Linux community - yes some people can be unpolite, but most linux communities these days try really hard to be nice. They’re trying to attract a crowd.
4) Compiling from source - NO, you DON’T have to compile from source for 99,999999999% of the time. Especially with Ubuntu, since it’s Debian based and, therefore, comes with over 20.000 (twenty thousand) packages available to install. Mostly, installing is just a matter of opening the “Add/Remove Software” program, searching, ticking a check box and applying the install. You don’t even have to click “next” -> “next” -> “next”. Compiling? NO, really. only if you are a system admin and need to install something with different install options, or if you are really, really using some excentric software. For regular users, it should be plain simple.
5) Desktop Managers and Distributions - OK, having many Desktop environments could be bad, but so it could be good too. Depends on your perspective. It is - I concede you this - harder to grasp since you have more information to handle. But if you pick one desktop environment and stick to it, It gets pretty easy from there. And NO, you won’t have problems installing software across desktop environments. Install Amarok (KDE app) in GNOME all the time. And K3B, and KolorPaint, and …
I’m sorry if I sound a bit arrogant, but this blog posting got me really disturbed. People shoudn’t have the problems you are describing.
Peace.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
[...] (yeah, you read that right), and Ubuntu 8.04. Many of you are probably well aware of my stance with Linux, which I still believe is largely justified. I’m not quite sure why I’ve given it [...]