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(Trying to generate a bit more traffic here)
Just wondering ... are there any planners that have tinkered with alternative operating systems, such as Linux, FreeBSD, or BeOS? What distro do you us? Does anyone use Linux for day-to-day surfing, e-mail and word processing on the desktop?
I've played around with Linux quite a bit, particularly the Red Hat distros. My opinion: stable, but not quite ready for the desktop.
* The directory hierarchy is intended to be convenient for programmers, not end users.
* Often, when you change hardware, the system refuses to boot. If it does, X (the GUI) won't operate. I can't just swap one video card and replace it with another without recompiling the kernel.
* GUI based program interfaces are very inconsistent; each seems to use a different set of widgets (buttons, scroll bars, etc).
* Program installation varies from distro to distro. Sometimes you use a package manager, sometimes you compile the program yourself ... there are few Windows or Mac-like installation programs.
I love BeOS, but unfortunately the company went bust before it reached critical mass.
Just wondering ... are there any planners that have tinkered with alternative operating systems, such as Linux, FreeBSD, or BeOS? What distro do you us? Does anyone use Linux for day-to-day surfing, e-mail and word processing on the desktop?
I've played around with Linux quite a bit, particularly the Red Hat distros. My opinion: stable, but not quite ready for the desktop.
* The directory hierarchy is intended to be convenient for programmers, not end users.
* Often, when you change hardware, the system refuses to boot. If it does, X (the GUI) won't operate. I can't just swap one video card and replace it with another without recompiling the kernel.
* GUI based program interfaces are very inconsistent; each seems to use a different set of widgets (buttons, scroll bars, etc).
* Program installation varies from distro to distro. Sometimes you use a package manager, sometimes you compile the program yourself ... there are few Windows or Mac-like installation programs.
I love BeOS, but unfortunately the company went bust before it reached critical mass.