Earlier, I wrote about why I love windows the most. Today, I am writing about why Linux hates me. You may think how can an OS hate you? In fact, hate is a strong word, instead, let’s say it doesn’t really love me very much!
It all started the day I became a fan of Open Source softwares. I just love open source alternatives so much so that you’ll find me suggesting OSS to anyone who cares to listen. I even made a presentation on it for the purpose of my college project. Gravitating towards Linux was very natural. One day I got my hands on Ubuntu 7 and Fedora 9.
Without wasting a breath, I inserted the live CD in the optical drive and my geek instincts sprung into action. Installation was the easy part. The nightmare began soon after. I have Dell Inspiron 1420 so there were driver issues. Wifi & sound cards did not work. I could live with the fact that my speakers were useless but tell me, what is the use of a laptop without wifi?
I tried and wasted 7 days but could not find wifi driver. Peace prevailed and I again reformatted my drive only to install a virtual copy of Linux using Sun VirtualBox on windows Vista. All seemed familiar. I sincerely hoped the feeling of Deja Vu will go away. Then came a bumper. The display resolution and mouse tracking were not proper in the virtual machine so I figured that installing VirtualBoxGuest Additions might relieve me of my sins.
It was a uphill task, unlike windows softwares, VB Guest Additions are not the easy to install, something Windows users are accustomed too. You need to open up Windows equivalent of command prompt – TERMINAL and get dirty with Sudo….. $Sudo apt….. Some geek stuff.
After some help of a YouTube video, finally Ubuntu was up and running. Then, I decided to install some software and then I got face to face with “Dependency Hell”. It turned out that in order to install one software I needed to install 5 dependency package. And no, I can’t just install them, I had to download them from the respective repositories (another fancy geeky stuff).
I almost gave up. Then as a last test of my patience, I downloaded Sun Studio One (now Java developers can smile wide), and I was given a rude shock as I couldn’t install it. I had to compile it from source code tar balls (another geeky word, woo!). Installing software isn’t a simple task as hitting “next” “next”… few times while installing Windows softwares. Its a whole compilation process as different distros of Linux have different libraries!
In the end, I formatted the silly penguin. Hopping I’ll be back being a Windows loyalist. My startup crashed as Mr. GRUB Loader couldn’t find the Linux as I had formatted my partition. Now Beat that!
If you are a Linux noob then kindly remain so. But in my opinion, you’ll remain much more happier being a Windows Expert than being a Linux novice user.
[Note: This article is a result of my own experiences with Linux. It doesnt mean, you’ll also face the same issues but who knows… you have been warned sufficiently!]
[Editor Note: This post is by guest blogger Vaibhav Kanwal. He blogs at Calling All Geeks about technology.
If you too like to write for Devils Workshop, please check this. Details about our revenue sharing programs are here.
This article is part of new section TDIS (Thank Devil Its Sunday!). Read more about this section.]
18 Comments
Ubuntu and Fedora has gone up to 8.10 and 10 respectively. So, I don’t think there would be driver issues anymore. I’ve insatlled Ubuntu 8.10. Hasn’t yet experienced Dependency hell(and hope I won’t in future! :-)).
And yes, I had the same problem as with you. My GRUB was chewed up once during Winodws installation. I had to install both Windows and Ubuntu again. The point here is, it requires some learning curve to become used to the penguin for we the Windows habituates.
I know how frustrating it is when you try to install linux and you can not work on it coz of driver issues.
At the same time you don’t even want to uninstall it and keep it…
Try using live Cd of different version..probably you might find the right match…
Lol…. =))
I fall off my chair laughing 😛 Really!
Please don’t mask your incompetence by slandering linux !
Linux is designed for people who want to know “what-they are-doing”!
Dear Kanwal,
I’ve been a dedicated and satisfied user of Linux Ubuntu Intrepid 4 almost a year now and its been most informative.B4 then i was ur typical window’s user.
Most won’t agree but windows actually took d fun out of computing,i’ve been using ubuntu since Hardy Heron 8.04 was released and now currently running Intrepid 8.10, waiting 4 and will install/upgrade 2 d stable release of Jaunty Jackalope coming up in a few months time.
@ 1st i thought just as u did,dat ubuntu was trash but then my patience finally did pay,u simply cannot judge or calculate d power of open source just by running Ubuntu 7 which lost hold a long time ago.
Ubuntu isn’t d only Linux distro available,check out Open Suse, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Debian n d rest of over 30 distros open FREE 2 d public.I’m ur average computer user and definetely no “Geek” but i found ur so dreaded Terminal Window quite comfortable 2 work wit.
I really could go on and on abt d freedom linux gives us but then dis isn’t my site. Besides d much informative Ubuntu forums, I’d be glad 2 help any1 who’s having any problems keeping his Ubuntu machine running.
Keep d faith up Maharshi, Ubuntu Rockz!!!!!
Your experience prove’s that Windows is better than Linux!
@ Ankit : Thats true though it copies Linux 😉
@Maharshi
I agree with you completely.
@Paranoid
I did try a couple of live CDs. They work just fine. The main problem remains of installing software. I am not blessed with a 2MBps connection rather its 25Kbps so it doesn’t help.
@Gautam
Glad somebody took this in the right spirit. This isn’t Linux bashing going on, Linux haters Blog is going pretty good on their own. I dont need to supplement those guys… LOL
@Ankit
Yup, I did mention the same line in my the last paragraph. Windows is simple and performance oriented till the time you know the “Rules” and eliminate “Problem exists between the Keyboard and the Chair”
Dear Linux & Ubuntu User
First of all let me congratulate you for your patience. You have set a remarkable example for us who dislike change.
My post is my experience with Linux which as I mentioned is my own. It doesn’t echo sentiments of fellow readers and Linux users. I’ll buy your point about how driver compatibility must have improved with versions 8.10.
Although, I’m very happy with my copy of windows and it’s a case of once bitten twice shy. The point is, the normal user who can’t even run windows properly, How can he adjust to the learning curve of Linux.
I’ve seen people who say their HDD crashed when actually their Startup did and they can pop in the Windows DVD and hit repair. They are so clueless to even guess. Linux is absolutely not suited for them.
This post doesn’t aim to hamper those who are encouraged enough to make the leap to linux but instead discourages those who are skeptical to make the big leap from Windows.
Dear friend,
Believe me I’ve been there. I’ve been a Linux user since ’03 starting with a Mandrake and moving into Slackware and finally Debian. I will have to say that everything in life is a trade off. The one here is: are you willing to leave the comfort of knowing how things work to learn a new way and *maybe* improve your everyday computing activities? That is a tough one. And of course it all relies on your personal preferences. For me, my desktop PC is a Windows one because i want my games and i don’t want them emulated plus i want all the programs the world gets without having to search around the net for a tweak. Now is this Linux’s fault? NO! All the software companies constantly ignore Linux users for years. I hope this changes. As for my servers? No doubt there are Linux and specifically Debian.
One last thing. I heard this motto a couple of years back and i totally agree “Break the monopoly of Windows. Teach your KIDS linux”. Unfortunately, we are all biased cause we all grew up with mr. Gates. So, let’s give our children another perspective…
Kick off that silly penguin and open your windows!
1. You mention apt and then you mention a ‘dependency hell’. Are you sure you were even using aptitude at all? aptitude (you might have used ‘sudo apt-get install appName’ or a similar form) resolves and installs dependencies automatically. Now if that is too difficult for you, linux is not for you. Please don’t even think of trying Slackware, which doesn’t automatically resolve dependencies.
2. If you have a problem downloading apps because of a slow internet connection, I’d recommend you buy a DVD set of OpenSuse or Debian. You’ll get all the softwares an average user might need to use, and then some, all on the DVDs.
3. If you formatted your MBR or HDD because GRUB showed an error after you formatted your linux partition, well, once again, you didn’t understand how GRUB worked, and didn’t bother finding out. The average linux installation has its GRUB files stored on the root partition, probably in /boot/grub or /grub etc. Therefore, when you erased the linux partition, you erased the bootloader. And you want to blame linux for it?
4. It is widely understood that it is far more difficult to learn linux if you are a Windows pro rather than a complete beginner. Windows makes you adjust yourself to a certain design paradigm, and linux has a different one. So yes, an average user who hasn’t even run windows properly can very well be very comfortable in linux.
Seriously, I have to wonder how there’s all the talk of ‘calling all geeks’ when you get scared by a Terminal window. Just for the record, I have been using Windows all the way from 3.1, and linux since 1994, starting with Slackware 2. So please don’t say I haven’t ‘experienced’ windows or something.
@Anonymous
I would have appreciated if you could have provided some credentials. Nevertheless, I liked your solutions to my noob problems.
I’m convinced with your view point and the fact that this post was definitely a result of my lack of knowledge in the Linux domain.
Did you also read my post “Why I love Windows the most”? I have mentioned with explicit reasons why I prefer Windows to any other OS and Linux is no special. Being an OSS fan I did try out Linux and the above post is an account of the same.
Seems you haven’t followed the discussion before you so I’ll repeat my words :
The point is, the normal user who can’t even run windows properly, How can he adjust to the learning curve of Linux?
I’ve seen people who say their HDD crashed when actually their Startup did and they can pop in the Windows DVD and hit repair. They are so clueless to even guess. Linux is absolutely not suited for them.
This post doesn’t aim to hamper those who are encouraged enough to make the leap to linux but instead discourages those who are skeptical to make the big leap from Windows.
Now, coming to “Calling ALL Geeks”, I consider myself a Geek and my domain doesnt include linux. I dont expect myself to be aware of all technology related things and ALL software which has been developed to this day. Though, what i do know I share it with my friends for their benefit and I’m pretty good with issues related to my forte.I discuss these things on my blog. So, I don’t understand why my fear of the TERMINAL is a problem for you.
Moreover, its nice to hear that you’ve been with linux since 1994. Its a real long time. You shifted from windows soon after windows 3.1 days. The present is Vista. Its issues have been resolved after SP1 and it can give any linux destro a hard time.
Trust me, probably you are a die hard programmer who loves his linux but for an average user who checks his email and surfs youtube videos and does some word processing adjusting to the linux learning curve is a daunting task.
And majority of those are readers of Devils Workshop for whom this post has been written not for some anonymous linux fanboys who can’t seem to agree on the basic flaws of UI in Linux.
So there!
History of so called linux geeks
1)Learn all the basics of computer through windows.
2)Knows that most gurus use linux
3)Tries Linux
3)Starts Cursing windows just to make everyone feel they are linux experts(like above comments)
Never ever say windows copies linux… Windows still follows the moral developing stuffs that reaches a novoice user to an expert.
yeah some time cause open source software doesn’t have any strong online support some time we have to deal with this.
I still remember those days when I was doing the same…..though ubuntu later came up with support for drivers…the sudo-apt thing, the terminal, the repositories, it was like hell using it.
The problems I encountered while installing Turbo c using Dosbox are still in my memory.
I tried connecting my Apple ipod to ubuntu coz’ I heard that it works, surely it worked, but for that time only, now if I connect it with windows or ubuntu, its not recognized by any OS now its a waste now.
And “” Mr. GRUB Loader”” took away all that, I had including Windows vista, I had to sanitize the complete disk and installed windows xp.
“They say they hate Windows, but I dont know why they hate windows”.