The things you wish you could do on Linux but can't.
-
"Once patents on media presentation layers start to expire" If the TransPacificPartnership is implemented in all its evil, patent expiration may never occur. difficult for me to name anything that I do in windows but cannot do in Linux
-
It feels like Windows was built solely for consuming. Consuming is all well and good, but somebody has to be a maker for us the masses to have the consumables. A Mac feels a little more like a maker's platform, but not software development, as it has a very unpalatable sense of control-freak and restrictions on explorations.
Windows and OS X are out of the box useless for almost anything, but that is by design.
Both platforms are primarily built for installing third party applications and make that very easy. It's the opposite of what GNU tries to archive: restricting yourself to "free software" and make deviating from that very hard.
The software tools you install on a computer define the purpose of the machine. That is why we call the PC a "general purpose computer". The user decides, what he wants to do with it. He buys the required software from a source he trusts with a license he can agree with. So the user ends up with a very customized environment specific to his work. That could mean software you may never see in your life and you may never have access to.
If you just install a pristine Windows copy for loading games or use an iMac for surfing the web, you will never get a grasp on that.
GNU/Linux is built for freely making, less so for consuming.
Most stuff in the world isn't made using Linux. Regardless if it is computer aided design of anything (like buildings, cars and planes) or production of digital content (like books, music, movies and video games). The required specialized software usually isn't available on Linux.
On the opposite, Linux runs Google, YouTube, smartphones, settop boxes, WiFi routers and so on. The content is created elsewhere and Linux' main purpose is storing and delivering it for consumption. That's reality.
Once patents on media presentation layers start to expire, GNU/Linux might make a consumer appliance someday.
Most TVs and Bluray players already run Linux inside them. Not GNU, but that doesn't interest anyone, who just wants to watch movies. And the vendors are glad, that there are volunteers providing them with free code, so they save costs for programmers.
-
Some websites have applications you can use and they run inside the browser. The broker, Charles Schwab has StreetSmartEdge, a neat platform for traders. There are also some music lesson programs that run in the browser. None of these will run if the op sys is Linux, Personally, I don't believe it. The browser code is independent of the op system and the programmers are simply locking you out to get paid extra for putting it in.
You can't download kindle books or mp3 from Amazon because they will not work under Linux. -
I can't tell how many times I've started with a oneliner.Its more for stuff like php, but you can easily use the regex it generates to do.How do I install Linux but keep Windows?
-
GNU/Linux is built for freely making, less so for consuming.
Most stuff in the world isn't made using Linux. Regardless if it is computer aided design of anything (like buildings, cars and planes) or production of digital content (like books, music, movies and video games). The required specialized software usually isn't available on Linux.
CAD? I know at least 30 open source, 20 freeware and 15 commercial CAD programs for Linux, some of them are heavily used in the Industry, you might even drive a car that was designed with one of them and the chances are almost 100% that the plane in which you fly for vacation was designed with UNIX/Linux based software (at least if you fly with a e.g. Boeing or Airbus plane).
Books (1), music and video can be as easy created under Linux as under Windows, there is a ton of stuff available, as cheap as you want and as powerful (and pricey) as you need. I occasionally fire up Linux just because sometimes there is no software for Windows that does the job for me without bailing out a ton of money (aka buying something from Adobe), but even if you want to pay for Linux software you may do so, not everything for Linux comes without a price tag attached, there is some really expensive and powerful stuff available.
Of course you can not use pure GNU based software, because some things are not available under a GNU license, but there is no need to do so, not even with Linux.
(1) I work for a company that sells (gasp!) a commercial (double gasp!) CMS for press and book publishers, not only web but print too. The 3 of the biggest publishers in our country use it and they print their books with it too. The main system works with Linux, the web based and the dedicated clients run on almost any OS (often Macs because the "creative" people think that Mac make them more creative - not recognizing that, while the look and may be the position of some icons is changed, the client software behaves exactly the same as under under Windows or Linux
) -
The big (I mean big!!) problem with windows is spying. Windows has hidden, built in code that can copy all of your files, compress them and send them to the internet somewhere for anyone with enough money to pay for it. They can copy your emails from you or from the ISP, and of course logging all of your cellular calls as well. They can know everything you aspire to do or have done. As you carry your cell phone they also know where you are going and where you have been. So, that is why I am a Linux user because I don't observe Linux to be copying my hard drive out anywhere. But windows and Macs do. For what its worth to you, regards,
-
The big (I mean big!!) problem with windows is spying. Windows has hidden, built in code that can copy all of your files, compress them and send them to the internet somewhere for anyone with enough money to pay for it.
That is a very bold and broad claim that borders to distributing FUD. Is there any proof like router logs or packet inspection logs that show any computer running a Windows system doing it, provided the computer was not infected or set up by a complete moron, who opened up all services to the public?
They can copy your emails (…) from the ISP (...)
They can copy the mails of Linux or any other system users too, because the ISPs have to grant them access.
(…) and of course logging all of your cellular calls as well.
That is way easier to do at the nodes of the service providers because there everything comes together and is well structured. The providers log it anyway because they have to bill you for your phone calls.
BTW: All phones use the same protocols for data transmission or else they couldn't make any calls to another phone - as does any computer that connects to the Internet. Data sent by a Linux computer does not miraculously jump through hyperspace, thus avoiding routers, hubs, proxies etc. in between, to reach its destination. TCI/IP anyone?
So, that is why I am a Linux user because I don't observe Linux to be copying my hard drive out anywhere. But windows and Macs do. For what its worth to you, regards,
I am primarily a Windows user and I know that my HDD files are not copied to anyone anywhere. That would show up in my router logs and the router hardware was not built by any suspicions entity but by myself and is running on a system I have compiled and set up by myself. That system is too stupid to do anything else than routing, blocking and logging.
-
You are not correct on at least 2 points.
1. If you had a GSM phone you could talk to anyone else using a CDMA phone.
2. As far as copying your data out, windows has infinite permissions so it can find you files, disect them and compress them (during bootup lets say) and they are no longer discoverable by you or anything else. The logging is also done by windows (if its a windows server) and it can elect to do it arbitralily when its spy software is invoked. I'm sorry about that.When the world comes to know it, they will switch to Linux.
-
A few weeks back I wanted to get my taxes done.
Canadian Tax software for Linux? I may as well have been a Martian asking directions to Alpha Centauri.
My Canon MFP seems to work just fine but XSane gives me a headache!
Multimedia codecs… every Linux distro has different install and views on what you should have. No consistency. You are left with a cryptic error message to go looking for an answer, download again then download the new dependencies. Very frustrating. My Unix is over 20 years old, so I do know to get around but for anyone starting without some background I can imagine how tough it would be.
My real big beef is the software to program my radio scanner. Proprietary and Windows Only. I have been able to install it with WINE and get the software to run, but to actually communicate with the device and read/write to the memory card is a different story. (Linux can see the card and I can 'touch' a file there but using the software to write to the card corrupts it.)
Otherwise I can do all my photography with Linux, databases also. Research and writing, no problem.
Someone mentioned CAD above. I remember when I was doing CAD 20 years ago and we would get the latest software version. It came for Unix, DOS, Windows, OS2, Mac, Linux and probably more. It ran on Intel, Alpha, RISC, PowerPC... Today, only Windows with Intel version is available.
-
Gee, I sure wish I had to manage random clock changes with GNU/Linux. You know, because server logs need those great huge Windows holes and no one would ever have a personal computer networked to a system that spans time zones or different localized rules for DST. Better to just change the clock without warning. No? Even those clocks set to UTC. Just change it willy nilly, because business likes it that way.
-
Those function names are a big secret. Only law enforcement and a smaller set of corporate Personnel dept. executives can access it and only if they paid for big time for it. Its a closely guarded secret.
-
Frankly I never had any major problem doing all what I wanted on Linux, with practically no drivers or other major problems.
The only thing that bothers me of Linux is the attitude to evolve continuously, constantly breaking past things.
That's both a Linux strength and weakness
-
Yes I have to agree with that point.
-
Every once in a while I try to take some time to learn to become comfortable using Linux.
I've used Windows a long time. It's not so much that I can't do a lot of things. But certain things require different programs to find and get used to.
But I am finding a lot of replacements for the major things. I imagine some of the things that I do rarely might take a bit more digging.
I guess the one thing I haven't been able to do is playback a Blu-ray.
-
Most agree that more games need to be available on Linux. I'm not talking about Wine, or just "convertion", but games that take advantage of Linux specific functions. Also more work on graphic drivers ( yes you nvidia! )
-
One thing that might be a step in the right direction:
-
cherrytree looks interesting; I hadn't heard of it. I use Zim, myself.
-
Ppafflick moved this topic from GNU/Linux on
