Apple, Microsoft, or Linux?

Apple

13 (20.6%)

Microsoft

29 (46%)

Linux

21 (33.3%)

Total Members Voted: 21

[rollins100]

http://www.youtube.com/v/t-L-0s-7-Z0

Bummer, can't embed flash here - suppose someone abused that early on.  Link still works.  Just for fun

   That is good.

[error]

They all seem to lack the same features.  DVD playing and burning.  Strangely the first distro that I tried, Suse, seems to have the most support for Multimedia; and I considered it seriously flawed in that it left out playability for most DVD's available in the US. 

Yes, I know I can build (and do build) players that will handle protected DVD's, I just want the damn system to handle them out of the box, which is something Windows doesn't do either, BTW.

-RAnthony

This is because of the MPAA, not because of Linux.

Most Linux distros would LOVE to ship this capability out of the box, and indeed, they could, were it not for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prevents you from playing DVDs you legally purchased.

When this came up in front of the courts, unfortunately, the MPAA won and we lost.

[RAnthony]

This is because of the MPAA, not because of Linux.
Most Linux distros would LOVE to ship this capability out of the box, and indeed, they could, were it not for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prevents you from playing DVDs you legally purchased.
When this came up in front of the courts, unfortunately, the MPAA won and we lost.

Software produced in other countries, like a good many distros are, can freely thumb thier noses at DMCA and the MPAA.  They aren't bound by US law.  There is no real basis for claims concerning decss anymore, even within the US.  But, of course, corporations as creatures of law, kowtow to any law in existence. 

So Linux is crippled from the outset because the average user couldn't compile their way out of a paper bag, and MicroShaft or Apple win the software battle because they are proprietary code?  As if that makes a difference.

-RAnthony

[ladyattis]

./configure, rpm, pacman, emerge, port, and etc are your friends.

-- Bridget

[RAnthony]

./configure, rpm, pacman, emerge, port, and etc are your friends.

The command line scares the hell out of the average user.  That's why they abandoned DOS in the first place.  Me, I still have a system with FreeDOS installed on it. (...and the 1.0 version is out.  Too cool)

Now, the average user is going to agree 100% with these guys' insights:
http://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/ossuckscable.html~content

-RAnthony

[ladyattis]

The average person a century ago was scared of learning how to read and write for common accessibility to resources [jobs, housing, and etc], but here we are, all pretty much reading and writing [maybe not very well, but still...].

The same goes for computers, people have to change to ensure their survival. Live or die, you decide.

-- Bridget

[RAnthony]

The same goes for computers, people have to change to ensure their survival. Live or die, you decide.

I have decided.  Open source or nothing. 

And on one hand I doubt that the average luser will follow suit, which means Linux and open source remain marginal. On the other hand, I'm betting MicroShaft and it's corporate software buddies will start playing hardball (i.e. getting open source outlawed, or void the GPL) when they start seriously loosing marketshare; so I'm doubting that I'll be left with much choice in the long run...

-RAnthony

[AlexLibman]

I strongly prefer Linux, but it's wrong to let your preferences get in the way of profit.  So I have to mix in some Microsoft / Oracle as well.

[Brian Wolf]

The same goes for computers, people have to change to ensure their survival. Live or die, you decide.

I have decided.  Open source or nothing. 

And on one hand I doubt that the average luser will follow suit, which means Linux and open source remain marginal. On the other hand, I'm betting MicroShaft and it's corporate software buddies will start playing hardball (i.e. getting open source outlawed, or void the GPL) when they start seriously loosing marketshare; so I'm doubting that I'll be left with much choice in the long run...

-RAnthony

Micro$oft is already claiming that Linux uses some of their IP. They wont say which IP(s) exactly, but that is part of what their deal wit Novell was all about. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;839593139;fp;16;fpid;1

I think that its possible that the average user may follow suit. Ubuntu is pretty n00b friendly. You could probably never touch the command line if you didn't want to. And it looks pretty good.
I am sure that people 'switching' from Apple or M$ would have a few growing pains, but nothing really radical.
If you were just learning  how to use computers, then it would be no different than learning Windoze or OSX.

I think that the 'average user' is simply unaware that there is a free alternative. We need to get the word out to people.

[bignasty022]

I'll think about getting a mac once they get 2 buttons on their mouse

[RAnthony]

I'll think about getting a mac once they get 2 buttons on their mouse

That's an easy fix.  only the out-of-the-box mice have one button.

-RAnthony

[Ecolitan]

I'll think about getting a mac once they get 2 buttons on their mouse

I said that a couple years ago but now that they use a unix OS with Intel Processors what do they have on a PC other than perhaps the percieved prestige of being willing to pay twice as much?

[rollins100]

I'll think about getting a mac once they get 2 buttons on their mouse

I said that a couple years ago but now that they use a unix OS with Intel Processors what do they have on a PC other than perhaps the percieved prestige of being willing to pay twice as much?

Security?

[error]

Micro$oft is already claiming that Linux uses some of their IP. They wont say which IP(s) exactly, but that is part of what their deal wit Novell was all about. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;839593139;fp;16;fpid;1

SCO tried that. It pretty much killed the company.

[Ecolitan]

I'll think about getting a mac once they get 2 buttons on their mouse

I said that a couple years ago but now that they use a unix OS with Intel Processors what do they have on a PC other than perhaps the percieved prestige of being willing to pay twice as much?

Security?

How so?  It's a unix based OS.  What makes it more secure when run on a mac?  I'll tell you right now...  nothing.  Mac used to have a couple of trivial advantages.  They lost that when they lost the hardware wars.