Android VS Ipods

Josh -

Let me ask you this: Have you ever run Linux (or attempted to) as a primary platform for yourself, or is this just speculation based on "the word out there"?

I have been running Linux as my primary desktop, for both personal and business use for over 10 years (My first peek at linux was when it was a 0.x kernel, and came on about 30 floppies . . . now *that* wasn't terribly usable, but it grew up *fast*!). I have yet to find anything (well, other than Wyg) that I can't do faster/better/cheaper on Linux than anything else. (Note: I'm not a gamer - if I want games, I'll buy a game system . . . .).

I have:

Multichannel audio record/editing
Photo edit/manipulation equivalent to Photoshop
Video creation/edit/render . . .
Full compat with all MSoft Office products, save for Visio. (OpenOffice *IS* that good!)
DMX console capability if I want it.
The same e-mail and browsers that most use.
Full interface capability to pretty much any digital camera.
Full interface capability to pretty much any printer.
Full PC Board CAD design capability.
Skype (don't use it though, but it's there . . . ).
A full suite of satellite tracking packages.
HAM radio interfaces, and digital interface code.
Security the likes of which neither Apple or MSoft can come close
Stability the likes of which MSoft has never come close, although Apple is
approaching, once they flushed MacOS and went to OS/X
A far more supportable platform that I can generally resolve any issues on by
myself, with no need to bleed money . . . or wait forever . . . or be blown off . . .
A full-featured accounting system for the business.
A full featured finance manager for all my personal stuff, with full bank interface.
The ability to run a lot of Windows binaries within Linux, if needed (but frankly,
although the capability is there, I have never had the need . . . . Never had the
nerve to try it with Wyg yet, though . . . maybe one of these days . . . If I could
pull that off, the Win load would get wiped to give more disk space.)

And all with no need to bleed money to anyone! There are purchaseable packages for Linux that fill other needs, but I have yet to find any reason to spend anything. The open source stuff tends to be better, and having a phone number to call, pay money, and be blown off doesn't interest me . . .

So, while others may have other needs, I find, at least in my world (which I don't think of as that small or limited) that my experiences pretty clearly contradict your statements . . .

I don't want to get this into "platform wars", but I guess I do feel a bit of a need to be a bit of an evangelist for the Linux side, since most folks I have seen that have not tried it, are not doing so for reasons that are mostly myth (not to mention spew from the big commercial vendors Mktg. departments attempting to save their undeserved revenue!).

And I hope your weekend is going well, and thanks for a civil discussion!

- Tim

Josh -

Let me ask you this: Have you ever run Linux (or attempted to) as a primary platform for yourself, or is this just speculation based on "the word out there"?

I have been running Linux as my primary desktop, for both personal and business use for over 10 years (My first peek at linux was when it was a 0.x kernel, and came on about 30 floppies . . . now *that* wasn't terribly usable, but it grew up *fast*!). I have yet to find anything (well, other than Wyg) that I can't do faster/better/cheaper on Linux than anything else. (Note: I'm not a gamer - if I want games, I'll buy a game system . . . .).

I have:

Multichannel audio record/editing
Photo edit/manipulation equivalent to Photoshop
Video creation/edit/render . . .
Full compat with all MSoft Office products, save for Visio. (OpenOffice *IS* that good!)
DMX console capability if I want it.
The same e-mail and browsers that most use.
Full interface capability to pretty much any digital camera.
Full interface capability to pretty much any printer.
Full PC Board CAD design capability.
Skype (don't use it though, but it's there . . . ).
A full suite of satellite tracking packages.
HAM radio interfaces, and digital interface code.
Security the likes of which neither Apple or MSoft can come close
Stability the likes of which MSoft has never come close, although Apple is
approaching, once they flushed MacOS and went to OS/X
A far more supportable platform that I can generally resolve any issues on by
myself, with no need to bleed money . . . or wait forever . . . or be blown off . . .
A full-featured accounting system for the business.
A full featured finance manager for all my personal stuff, with full bank interface.
The ability to run a lot of Windows binaries within Linux, if needed (but frankly,
although the capability is there, I have never had the need . . . . Never had the
nerve to try it with Wyg yet, though . . . maybe one of these days . . . If I could
pull that off, the Win load would get wiped to give more disk space.)

And all with no need to bleed money to anyone! There are purchaseable packages for Linux that fill other needs, but I have yet to find any reason to spend anything. The open source stuff tends to be better, and having a phone number to call, pay money, and be blown off doesn't interest me . . .

So, while others may have other needs, I find, at least in my world (which I don't think of as that small or limited) that my experiences pretty clearly contradict your statements . . .

I don't want to get this into "platform wars", but I guess I do feel a bit of a need to be a bit of an evangelist for the Linux side, since most folks I have seen that have not tried it, are not doing so for reasons that are mostly myth (not to mention spew from the big commercial vendors Mktg. departments attempting to save their undeserved revenue!).

And I hope your weekend is going well, and thanks for a civil discussion!

- Tim