There’s just one bad thing about Linux… February 10, 2008
Posted by novaaesa in Computers, Linux.Tags: ethernet, evil, firewall, propaganda, ubuntu, vista, Windows, XP
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…When you have used Linux for a while without doing anything in Windows (for me it’s been 6 months) when a situation arises where you are forced to use Windows again it becomes really hard. When I say ‘becomes really hard’ I mean this in two different ways.
1) I feel compelled to stay away from Windows because I feel like I have been taught by everyone on Ubuntu Forums that they are ‘evil.’ Sure, before I started going on that forum I did think they were evil, but I didn’t really dislike Microsoft because of this. It almost seems ‘propaganda-ish’ the amount of Windows bashing that goes on. Now, when I am put in a situation where I am forced to use Windows, I sort of raise my eyebrows a bit and think to myself “OMG I’m gunna die from using this!!” Maybe it’s just me, but I almost feel as though Linux has turned Windows from something that I just put up with, to something that is now ‘evil’.
2) The other thing that I have noticed about using Linux for 6 months is the fact that I now expect soooo much more from Windows when I come to use it. I started a new Vista install on my desktop the other day for gaming and wanted to set up Firefox. It bugged me that I had to use IE to go to the Firefox site, download the .exe file, and then install it. I wanted the simplicity of apt-get! Another thing I have noticed is that I am no longer a power user for Windows XP. Only half an hour ago, my brother wanted to download some files onto his computer so he brought it into my room. He doesn’t have a wireless card and the router is in my room so he had to bring it close enough so the Ethernet cable would reach. He is a bit of a non-tech kinda guy so I had to set it up for him. I got slightly frustrated when it didn’t just work when I plugged in the Ethernet cable. There were 3 separate firewalls that I had to disable first. I have no idea why there were firewalls on his computer if it isn’t normally connected to the net. It still wasn’t working. 4 restarts later, I realised that it wasn’t set to having an IP address dynamically assigned. I truly felt like a Windows n00b again. I have a feeling Linux has erased a lot of my prior Windows knowledge. I really don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
/rant
NovaAesa's Weblog 
After 3 years of using just Linux, I’m extremely intolerant of Microsoft products. There’s a small non-profit agency I visit from time to time to help them out. They use XP on a small network (what else). The first thing, besides the thought of using Windows, is the limitation of only one desktop. My work effort begins to slow to a crawl. Honestly, I have no idea how office workers get anything done on Microsoft computers. Then it’s the inconsistencies in Office 2003. Excel and Word almost look and feel as though they were coded by different companies. And then there is always something on the system that needs attending to. One time recently XP was periodically unresponsive. It turned out there were files in a queue waiting to be written out to a nonexistent CD. I often hear people describe their work environment as having both Windows and Linux. I couldn’t possibly imagine doing that. No matter how shiny Microsoft makes their products, the effluvium of their corporate arrogance permeates the experience.
I guess what I’m trying to tell you is, it only gets worse. It’s really a matter of getting vision. Using Microsoft products, at least their operating systems and office products, is like wearing blinders. And the longer you wear them, the more ensconced you become in Microsoft’s world.
The problem I have is that, whilst I use linux machines all the time, the fact that I am a PC gamer absolutely precludes me from switching over to Linux properly. As you know, if you have one or two linux boxes but even one (or more) Windows boxes, it is almost defeating the object of switching as you never can let go of the Windows environment.
That said, there are a lot of things that are great in Windows, both XP and Vista and it never ceases to amaze me how much wanton Windows (and Linux from the other camp) bashing occurs from primarily ill educated users. There is a great expression, Windows for the Office, Mac for the Home and Linux for the Server. This has a lot of merits but I completely disagree. Each OS has its clear and distinct advantages, but each also comes with its own baggage. I just wish (like many others) I could run games like STALKER, Crysis etc on Linux but I can’t. The only option for people like me is to buy a PS3 which I dont think much of at present.
Sorry, adding my own personal rant here – great post 😀
@whyamistilltyping, I’m a PC gamer as well. Because of this, I don’t think I can ever ‘fully’ switch from Windows. I know there are a few commercial games for Linux, but they are pretty rare. And the open source games for Linux I have found are generally pretty crappy. They seem to be the kind of games that will keep you immersed for maybe 2 days and then you are over it.
Yes, STALKER OMG it’s awesome xD
@Richard, yes I was definitely one that was ensconced (that’s my new word for the day) in Microsoft’s world. I think I would have been a user about almost 10 years, since the days of 98.
Let’s just hope when I finish uni (I’m doing a Batchelor of Software Engineering) I can find a job with a company that is Linux friendly.
@Novaaesa STALKER is awesome 🙂 I ended up just using one computer with XP but instead of running the normal explorer interface, I use EmergeDesktop (http://emergedesktop.org/) which essentially gives you a XFCE like environment for windows. Its nice and clean. The rest of my systems either use stripped down / modded XP installs or Linux but I really wish I could switch properly. There are also small annoyances with linux like inconsistent flash support, patchy driver support (i.e. to get everything working will likely take ~10 hours of tweaking first time round etc) but on the flip side, Linux is so …. rewarding to use 🙂
Ooooh I like the looks of EmergeDesktop. I’ll give it a go when I get some spare time 🙂
Here is another gamer that cannot fully switch to linux!
But there is a salvation. Some games can run under Wine, well at least we can play Steam Source-based games with perfection. If you arent against proprietary software in Linux, Cedega is a even better alternative. They offer a customized Wine with many otimizations, like better directx support and tweaks.
I used to run games in Wine before I got my laptop, but no I don’t really bother with it. My laptop only has an Intel X3100 graphics chipset in it, so no gaming there. But now I have pure Linux on my laptop, I have no need for Linux on my PC, so I’ve got Windows on there for gaming purposes.
I was actually wondering what your /rant directory has in it 😉
I know how you feel. I’ve forgotten a lot of my Windows knowledge. Now when I use Windows I feel a bit lost and frustrated. I miss the conveniences of Ubuntu. In Windows I can’t apt-get my software 😦 and I certainly can’t let the package manager keep all my software up to date. And it seems like every time I use Windows it gives me stupid errors.
I know exactly how you feel, especially with drivers. Why can’t they just put drivers in the kernel, why do you have to download them?