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Free Talk Live => The Show => Topic started by: BobRobertson on May 15, 2009, 04:52:13 PM

Title: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 15, 2009, 04:52:13 PM
The issue of Linux came up last night, and I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions.

1) Viruses, spyware, malware.

The caller was absolutely correct, it is simply not an issue, because of the way the Linux system functions. There have been Linux viruses, but only in labs as tests. I know of no Linux viruses "in the wild" in the entire time I've used it, 14 years.

The "UNIX" design from its very core inception is a "multi-user" system, with complete separation between every user and that includes the system itself. Every program the user runs runs as that user. So the most effective vector for a virus is stopped cold: you can't "accidentally" run a program that gets into any other user's stuff, or the system itself. Whoever came up with the Windows Registry idea should be tarred and feathered and run out of Redmond on a rail.

The original "virus", the Internet Worm of 1989, did effect UNIX systems, but it attacked through a flaw in a single program, "sendmail". Sendmail was fixed within hours, the fix was in place everywhere in a few days, and the process has only gotten faster since then.

Compare this to the opaque nature of "security" in proprietary software: First, the company doesn't want people to think their products are flawed, so they have a disincentive to report any problems in the first place. They are the only people who have the source code and can make changes, so even if a problem is found by a competent programmer that programmer cannot help them fix it. That was the original impetus for Richard Stallman to propose Free Software in the first place: a broken printer driver he wasn't allowed to fix.

The Linux distributions each test, pre-package and certify thousands if not tens of thousands of applications and put them in dedicated repositories, signed with encryption keys for authentication. That's kind of the definition of "distribution". So there is far less opportunity for malware to be installed on your system. If someone tells you to "try this program!", just install it from your distributions repository, or get it from the people who wrote the program. This is the greatest benefit of non-proprietary software, you can be a perfectly "legal" user of every application you want to try without putting yourself in the poor house. No Warez, no black-market or grey-market for malware to pollute.

No software piracy, or pirates, because there's no prohibition on copying the software. The same principles and effects that apply in the prohibition of alcohol, drugs, prostitution, whatever, also apply to software. Human nature.

If you want virus scanning, ClamAV runs on Windows and Linux, and http://Housecall.TrendMicro.com/ works with Linux too.

2) "Have you tried it recently?"

When you have a commercial product to sell to people, it has to be "finished". People aren't going to spend money on something that isn't done cooking. It is a product.

Free/OpenSourceSoftware {F/OSS} are projects. So when someone says, "Have you tried it recently?", they are not being glib. F/OSS projects evolve at rates impossible for proprietary software.

Here's a talk about the rate of change in just one of those projects, the Linux kernel itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2SED6sewRw

And before you worry about software and data becoming obsolete, it was Microsoft that made their own Office software incapable of opening "old" Word documents in an effort to force people to pay for upgrades. There is no such motivation in F/OSS, and backward compatibility is simply not an issue.

The "Linux" system is built of tens of thousands of different F/OSS projects. Open, published standards are critical to having all those different projects work together. Whether it's networking RFCs or the OpenDocumentFormat, everyone knows exactly how to work with everyone else.

Compare that to Microsoft periodically changing their network protocols and file formats to try to defeat reverse-engineering, which is why Ian's DOC files didn't render perfectly in OpenOffice when he tried it a few years ago.

3) Security and "bug" fixes.

Tens of thousands of individual projects, hundreds of "distributions", millions of users and developers. When a problem is found, communication is instantaneous, fixes are made and tested, and the new software made available to anyone who wants it.

The above "rate of change" video is talking about one single project, the Linux kernel. Imagine that every program and project, from a command-line MP3 player to the command interpreter itself, benefits from exactly the same environment of instant feedback and active reporting of problems and user's wishlists.

A bug fix to that mp3 player, to a graphical window manager, to a CD writer, whatever, can be made and released without any concerns about other projects. So a fix can be made as quickly as a fix CAN be made! No waiting for the next version of Windows to see if they fixed it yet or broke something else, as those who dealt with the nightmare of WinXP SP-2 will fully understand.

4) Learning curve.

Changing versions of Windows has a learning curve. So does swapping between Windows and Mac. Yet people tend to ignore these and just dive in and try things out. I think it's because they've been told there is a learning curve in this one case: Linux.

Mark was saying that he liked Win98. I liked Win95, and used it until it completely crapped out on me (my fault, really) in the summer of 2000. I changed to Linux at that point, because I'd seen WinME. That same circa 1998 laptop, 128M 350MHz, ran the latest Linux and F/OSS applications just fine until last summer when I finally scrapped it. See Hardware below.

There are many different GUI styles that run on Linux. GNOME (the default in Ubuntu) tries to make things as easy as possible. KDE (the default in PCLinuxOS and Mandriva) tries to make things as configurable as possible. Others try to stay out of your way so that the maximum system resources are available to your applications. Debian still maintains the same window manager I used when I first learned UNIX on SunOS in 1992, OpenLookWindowManager.

The fact is that if you like what Win98 looked like, you can make your machine look like that today. I'm sure it's been done by someone, that's what Google is good for.

Linux has one thing Windows cannot match: the Live CD. Boot Linux from the CD, never touch your HD unless you want to try accessing your files to see if they can be read correctly. Surf the 'Net, edit files, tweak the "look and feel", watch YouTube, whatever. When you're done, eject the CD, reboot, and there is Windows just the way you left it.

Knoppix, PCLinuxOS, Debian, Ubuntu, SuSE and many other distributions create LiveCDs of their current packages so you can "try before you buy". Oh, but since Linux is both free as in freedom and free as in free beer, it's really "try before you install".

5) Hardware.

Yes indeed, there will always be some hardware for which Linux does not have a driver. Just like Windows. Macs don't have that problem, because they are a sole-source company. But as Mises pointed out, they also charge "monopoly prices" for their monopoly (Linux runs really well on Macs, BTW). I note that Dale mentioned that his hardware was far better supported in Linux than in VISTA, an experience I have heard of many times.

I have a friend who in 2003 bought a Sony VAIO, but he wanted Win2K. No drivers for Win2K, since what came on it was XP. He had to use a KNOPPIX Linux LiveCD, which worked perfectly, to detect what the hardware was in order to hunt down drivers from the manufacturers. Win2K and WinXP could not give him the information he needed to identify the hardware well enough, and he's no rookie.

However, in the opposite direction, the device story is very different. For example, the SoundBlaster sound-card-mounted CD-ROM drive that I bought in 1991 is still fully supported in Linux. I don't think there's been a Windows driver for it since Win95.

If you think your hardware is "obsolete", has gotten just too slow to be happy using, put Linux on it. It will feel like a whole new machine. Don't throw it away! Make it work better and give it to a friend who needs one.

6) But I have to run XXX on Windows!

So do I. In Windows, I can print borderless 4x6 photo-quality pictures on my HP PSC2210. On Linux, no such luck. While HP has sponsored software for Linux, it doesn't do borderless prints. So I, too, have a "need" for Windows.

There are four answers to this "problem":


I'm not trying to "sell" Linux. It's easy to follow the group, to stay with what came on the machine, to just "use what works". And I am perfectly fine with that. Some of my best friends are Windows users.

But I cannot leave alone the misconceptions that I heard in last night's show.

I hope I've been some help to the discussion.

Bob-
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 15, 2009, 05:24:14 PM
From http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/28796/

"With Windows, the BSA chooses YOU!"
 
 ------------
 
 I thought the "Peace, Love, Linux" meme was really good. Running with that, we get John Lennon singing "Imagine there's no copyright...", "Please Copy That Floppy!", "Where do you want to go ... tomorrow?"
 
 ------------
 
 A raid at a Starbucks full of laptop-using yuppies (obfuscated of course, to not infringe copyright, maybe "goddess coffees"), the black-tactical-clad officers with BSA in big yellow letters (or again some obfuscation) on their backs block the exits. Some lawyer-looking types follow as the stormtroopers start checking everyone's computers.
 
 "Sir! The Scan shows that this laptop has a pirated OS.", "Sir! The Scan shows this laptop has illegal copies of word processing and video creation software.", etc.
 
 After a while, the boss sees one of his stormtroopers looking dumbly at his scanner next to a laptop with TUX on it somewhere. "Robertson! You haven't fulfilled your quota! What did The Scan find?"
 
 "Sir, I... I... this computer has no pirated software on it at all."
 
 The room goes still. Everyone, especially the laptop owners in handcuffs, looks over and listens carefully.
 
 "But, how can that be? YOU! Answer the question!"
 
 "I run Linux."
 
 As the Linux user closes his laptop and walks out free, the camera cuts to Robertson, sitting in the vacated Linux user's chair and starting to cry, as his boss leans over and says, "You're fired!"
 
 Linux: Free, as in Freedom.
 
 -------------
 
 How about a commercial with an entire office of screaming white-collar types, screen after screen showing some awful virus, and one lone cubicle at peace, maybe saving a spreadsheet, and when the application closes has a TUX picture as its desktop graphic with LINUX in big letters: "Use your computer, when everyone around you is losing theirs."
 
 --------------
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 15, 2009, 05:53:33 PM
Never fear!  The Microsoft-certified troll is here!   :lol:

[...]  Viruses, spyware, malware  [...]









[...]  "Have you tried it recently?"  [...]




[...] OpenOffice, Firefox, the GIMP, Kino, Cinellera, XINE, Audacity [...]




Virtual Machine  [...]  Dual Boot




I'm a big fan of Linux on the server, but it still sucks for every-day desktop use.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: blackie on May 15, 2009, 06:04:19 PM
Who cares?
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Jetfire on May 15, 2009, 06:08:51 PM
*raises hand*

Everyone will have there preference regardless.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: blackie on May 15, 2009, 06:10:34 PM
Everyone will have there preference regardless.
I am pretty much OS agnostic.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 15, 2009, 08:29:27 PM
Never fear!  The Microsoft-certified troll is here!   :lol:

Ok, let's see.

Quote
  • Windows is disproportionally targeted because it has a much, much higher market share, with around 90% of the desktop market, with Macs being about 8%, and the rest split between various often incompatible flavors of UNIX.

The vast majority of web servers run Linux, including all of Google. The Apache web server, which is F/OSS, runs on a substantial number of the Windows servers, too.

If those aren't "targets of opportunity", I can't imagine what you think is.

Quote
  • Windows is easier to use, thus more n00bs use it, and they screw up by downloading viruses.  Linux requires an even greater level of user know-how to keep from screwing up.  People who know what they're doing don't have this problem on Windows.

"Easier" is a red herring. If Windows weren't pre-installed, it wouldn't even be a herring. It would be red mulch.

Quote
  • Linux is a Johnny-come-lately to the desktop scene.

So the fact that Linux was running on desktops and servers before Win95 means Windows is an even more recent system?

Or are you counting DOS and Win1,2,3? If so, then it's perfectly reasonable to count UNIX and 1969 in the Linux column.

Unless, of course, you're saying that Microsoft is still using the same software stack as DOS, which I do not consider to be a very good argument in its favor.

Quote
  • In the meantime, Microsoft isn't standing still.  Have you tried Windows 7, Office 2010, Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight 3, etc...

I'm not Bill Gates, I cannot afford all that. That you can, and still choose Windows, says a lot.

Quote
  • All of those run on Windows as well, in some cases even faster (i.e. Firefox)..

Faster? Hahahaha. But yes, you have reinforced a point I was making about the so-called "learning curve". There is no need to learn new applications if you're already using F/OSS.

Quote
  • There is a far longer list of great software that only runs on Windows..

That's funny. We have very different meanings of the word "great".

Your point about market penetration is applicable, however, with games. Most new games are produced with Windows variants, an excellent reason to use Windows. However, just as I can't afford $200 for a spreadsheet program, I can't afford $50 for a new game every few months.

Quote
  • Doesn't it make more sense to run the OS that supports your hardware better and runs more programs natively (i.e. Windows) as the host, and Linux as a guest?.

Since hardware support is better under Linux and I run more Linux native programs, then no.

I run Windows as a band-aid for the one application I haven't found better in F/OSS. But no worries, I won't be buying an HP again because of it.

Quote
I'm a big fan of Linux on the server, but it still sucks for every-day desktop use.

Then I'm left to wonder how I'm writing this note on my every-day desktop. But, as I said, please do not run Linux if you don't want to.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 15, 2009, 08:59:01 PM
Your "can't afford" (non) (http://thepiratebay.org/top/301)argument reminded me of another fact:

Microsoft skills bring a higher salary boost, we're talking $5-15K on average.  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 16, 2009, 06:23:28 PM
Your "can't afford" (non) (http://thepiratebay.org/top/301)argument

So your great answer to the price of proprietary software is copyright violation?

Some answer.

But seriously, what makes you think I don't have "microsoft" skills? Is it so impossible, in your mind, that I might find the reasons for using F/OSS compelling in of themselves?
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: orion on May 16, 2009, 06:31:29 PM
Linux sucks, Mac sucks more, Windows sucks the most.

FreeBSD for the win.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: rabidfurby on May 16, 2009, 06:52:42 PM
Step 1 - use whatever the hell you want.
Step 2 - realize that no one but you cares what you use.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Elitist Bitch on May 16, 2009, 11:16:44 PM
Step 1 - use whatever the hell you want.
Step 2 - realize that no one but you cares what you use.

Emphatically this.  Except now that people mostly see my computer running Linux, no one really wants to borrow or use it. Windows users all.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: JWI on May 16, 2009, 11:19:55 PM
I like computers that just plain work.  I don't care what they're running or if other nerds approve.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 17, 2009, 12:41:38 AM
So your great answer to the price of proprietary software is copyright violation?

Like many other Anarcho-Capitalists, I don't believe in implicit "intellectual property rights", which are a government construct and are backed by its violence, but I believe companies like Microsoft could still make a profit by providing software as a service, and by putting people in a position where they would benefit from an explicit contract with Microsoft that would create the obligation to pay for licenses.


But seriously, what makes you think I don't have "microsoft" skills? Is it so impossible, in your mind, that I might find the reasons for using F/OSS compelling in of themselves?

It's not just a matter of having those skills, it's being willing to keep them current and work with them on regular basis.  I'm in the same position of sharing my skill-set between the Microsoft and UNIX paradigms.  (And some may call Java to be a third paradigm.)  The difference is that I recognize the value of all those skills, and don't choose one over the other for ideological reasons that border on anti-capitalism.


FreeBSD for the win.

I largely agree.  BSD has been more stable on servers for a long time, and the BSD license is much preferable to (L)GPL (http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=28400.0).  But desktop / laptop hardware support is inferior, and, well...  Peer pressure.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 17, 2009, 02:13:58 PM
Step 2 - realize that no one but you cares what you use.

My point remains to counter the misconceptions, not convert people. There was a lot of misinformation in the show, several "I don't think so" where it was actually true, and such things like that there. Dale was right on top of most of it.

Regardless of one's choice (Buick or Honda? Who cares!), the truth is important all by itself regardless of what it is.

Linux sucks, Mac sucks more, Windows sucks the most.

It certainly will be interesting to see what comes next. I'm looking forward to it. Whatever it will be, it has one heck of a paradigm to overcome.

Quote
FreeBSD for the win.

Could very well be. Competition is wonderful, everyone benefits.

Edit:

Just finished listening to the 2009-05-16 show.

One factual error: Windows programs that run under WINE run just as fast, if not faster, than they do on Windows. It varies, just like everything else.

The error was because WINE isn't "running a copy of Windows" at all. The application makes a library or hardware call, and that call utilizes the WINE libraries just as it would have utilized the native Windows libraries.

Here are some test results: http://wine-reviews.net/archive.html#catid54

Disk-intensive applications can run faster if for no other reason than Linux's disk access is generally more efficient than Windows. And even I know that someone whose decision matrix consists of serious Windows games is better off simply running Windows.

Please don't get me wrong here. I'm not trying to convert anyone. I am just trying to keep the facts straight.

If someone popped up with the usual statist propaganda like "without taxes no one will build roads" or " firing the government police will just lead to people eating their neighbors!", you wouldn't be surprised if Ian or Mark or anyone else jumped in to correct them.

Same here.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 17, 2009, 04:39:21 PM
for ideological reasons that border on anti-capitalism.

Very interesting. Really, I find that response fascinating.

Accusing me of "anti-capitalism" when your answer to the high cost of proprietary software was to just grab a copy from The Pirate Bay.

I shout "thief!, you shout "commie!", and everybody else just tunes us out. Not my idea of a good time.

I, also, don't agree with the artificial monopoly grants that are copyright and patent.

If someone doesn't want me to be their customer at a price I prefer, and a satisfactory alternative exists that I can get legally for no cost, I would rather be valued as a user than condemned as a thief.

At least as a user I can contribute bug reports and wishlists legitimately.

Shall we get past the "Linux users are communists" and "Libertarians are just Republicans who want to do drugs" please.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 17, 2009, 06:17:28 PM
Hey now...  The only people I've called communists on this thread are ...

[...]  If Microsoft had made it as easy to install free software on Windows as it is on Linux, the Anti-Trust (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_law) communists would have a field day  [...]

I use Linux myself quite a bit, especially on the server side, but I'm critical of it on the desktop.

And the Anarcho-Capitalist position against "intellectual property rights" has been covered at great length elsewhere on this forum.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Kevin Freeheart on May 19, 2009, 03:36:02 PM
Linux sucks.

I say that as a somewhat Linux fanboy.

Windows also sucks.

Windows is installed on most people's computer. From a purely pragmatic point, it's more efficient to do nothing and attain "suck" than to do something and attain "suck".

That said, Windows 7 is nice, free and entirely devoid of the "pirate vs disobedient" arguement since Microsoft offers the download and serials on their site.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 21, 2009, 06:26:39 PM
If you're just a regular home user and you download from a trustworthy source and follow directions, the chances of you being busted for piracy are next to nil.  And if you're a student, you can get most things for free anyways.  And I've had multiple clients who've had lots of multi-user subscriptions and would have been willing to put me on their list.  And then, as Kevin Dean has said, there are free betas, etc.

Even if you do have to bight the bullet - a full stack of Microsoft productivity / developer software costs you just a couple bucks a day at the most.  If you're an employed developer, that's probably an overhead cost of less than 1% of what you make.  The productivity gain over competing technologies (J2EE, OO.o, etc) is most definitely worth it.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 22, 2009, 05:05:51 PM
That said, Windows 7 is nice, free and entirely devoid of the "pirate vs disobedient" arguement since Microsoft offers the download and serials on their site.

That is, until about 2 months before their grace period runs out, when Windows7 will shut down your machine after every two hours of running with a warning to "buy it now".
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 22, 2009, 05:10:26 PM
The productivity gain over competing technologies (J2EE, OO.o, etc) is most definitely worth it.

In your opinion, for your purposes, for you, sure.

Not everyone.

Some people just want their machine to work.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Jetfire on May 22, 2009, 05:25:27 PM
That said, Windows 7 is nice, free and entirely devoid of the "pirate vs disobedient" arguement since Microsoft offers the download and serials on their site.

That is, until about 2 months before their grace period runs out, when Windows7 will shut down your machine after every two hours of running with a warning to "buy it now".

Hackz! and ur good to go
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 23, 2009, 12:33:15 AM
In your opinion, for your purposes, for you, sure.

No, Java sucks for everybody.

Some people just refuse to admit it.

It's a "the king is naked" sorta situation.  ;)


Hackz! and ur good to go

Bingo.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Jetfire on May 23, 2009, 12:57:49 AM
honestly I loved linux at first and all the nifty features but i kept getting corrupted files from what I downloaded and things kept getting issues especially burning. The dvds would burn but always burned wrong. Not at first but after. I tried Debian, ubuntu, red hat, puppy linux, and linux mint. I kept having the same issues. Does windows have more problems with viruses? yea of course. Is it too difficult to deal with? not for me. Plus its been alort more stable especially in playing media and burning it as well.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Alex Libman 14 on May 23, 2009, 01:40:03 AM
From Slashdot -- Is Linux's "Overall Market Share" Statistic Meaningful? (http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/23/019240) --

Quote
Linux recently achieved 1% market share (http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/01/1443237&tid=163) of the overall operating system market. But, does that statistic really mean anything useful? This article makes the case that it doesn't. It states, 'Framed in the "overall market share" terminology, the information (or how it was gathered and calculated) isn't necessarily questionable, it's more that it's meaningless. It's nebulous, even when one looks at several months worth of data. [How] Linux is used in various business settings answers an actual question -- and the answer can be used to ask further questions, form opinions -- and maybe one day even explain to some degree what 1% of the market share really means (http://ostatic.com/blog/statistics-market-share-logic-and-why-there-probably-cant-be-only-one). ... Operating systems aren't immortal beings, and by rights, there can't be (there shouldn't be) only one. ... No one system can be everything to everyone, and no one system (however powerful, or stable) can do everything perfectly that just one person might require of it in the course of a day. While observing trends and measuring market share are important, the results (good or bad) shouldn't be any platform's measure of self-worth or validation (http://www.bmighty.com/blog/main/archives/2009/05/linux_marketsha.html). It's a data point to build on (we're weak in this area, strong in this area, our platform is being used a lot more this quarter, where did all of our users go?) in order to improve and stay relevant.'

Wow, I haven't seen spin this pathetic since a Frenchman last tried to explain why his nation is the greatest.  :lol:

Seriously, all that Microsoft-bashing does reek of anti-capitalist sentiment.  "Oh noes, stupid free market chose an operating system designed to appeal to a broad audience, people must be re-educated to use a socialist OS instead!"  :roll:
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: lifehertz on May 24, 2009, 06:48:22 AM
Macs IMO. All the good parts of running a BSD, all the "good" parts of running Windows.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 24, 2009, 12:53:56 PM
i kept getting corrupted files from what I downloaded and things kept getting issues especially burning.

And I've had the exact opposite experience, as have those I've helped.

I see Libman has gone off on some tangent all his own, that also is just life.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: Jetfire on May 25, 2009, 02:02:29 AM
i kept getting corrupted files from what I downloaded and things kept getting issues especially burning.

And I've had the exact opposite experience, as have those I've helped.

I see Libman has gone off on some tangent all his own, that also is just life.

It wasnt all the time but it happened enough to piss me off. maybe you've had better luck. Then again maybe linux failed on the right drivers for MY custom built computer.
Title: Re: Linux in the 2009-05-14 show
Post by: BobRobertson on May 25, 2009, 11:58:36 AM
It wasnt all the time but it happened enough to piss me off. maybe you've had better luck. Then again maybe linux failed on the right drivers for MY custom built computer.

Certainly a possibility. Even a likelyhood, since newer hardware hasn't had time to be reverse-engineered. Some hardware vendors like Intel, Nvidia, AMD and Cisco have been releasing software drivers for Linux, but not everyone.

The "preinstallation" that Microsoft negotiated with their OEMs has made it so that hardware incompatibilities get blamed on the OEM, rather than Microsoft. Pure marketing genius!