the Linux desktop is surely DEAD

[phubert28]

I can't get my HP Officejet 8500 Pro multifunction SCANNER to work - good old open source software has NO idea what it IS.

After upgrading to 10.10 from 10.04, I must update either through Synaptic or via terminal as Update Manager will not update.

Cleanup won't work either.

OpenOffice clearly is trash next to MS Office 2007

My dual-core Dell Optiplex 360 has become SLOW.

I seem to be looking at a meltdown even worse than under Windows.

Ugh.

I guess Apple must be my next stop.

[asmoore82]

What's your question, netizen?

Apple will surely welcome more elitist cattle with "open" arms.

[phubert28]

My PROBLEM is that when Windows WORKED it was SO much easier to DO quality work than it is under Linux.

My problem ALSO is that, since I upgraded to 10.10 from my 10.04 install, a number of things simply NO LONGER work (Update Manager, updates from Software Center, and Computer Janitor).

My problem ALSO is that apparently there is little to NO support for scanners on multifunction printers!

Finally, OO is truly awful compared to MS Office -I hate to say it, but unfortunately it's true.

Elitist? Now THAT is an elitist remark, friend!

I'd LOVE to get OFF the Microsoft bandwagon completely, but I NEED something that JUST WORKS and quite apparently Linux is NOT it!

Oh yes, and my Logitech MX Revolution mouse and Logitech Illuminated Keyboard are not supported fully BECAUSE full support requires LOGITECH software that does not run on Linux -NOR can it see my Logitech devices if I run WinXP in VirtualBox!

Skype runs poorly under Linux and Linux guru friends have begun to give up on the Linux desktop.

Hey, IF Canonical's goal at any time was to make the Linux desktop a REAL replacement for Windows, they've failed miserably.

Every 'just like' I've seen ISN'T 'just like'.

I'm more secure and need less 'tweaking software' but my box isn't any faster than my old XP install ON this box (which became unusable hence my move to Ubuntu).

My only experience with Apple was in the late 80's ... and THEN I commented that if you wanted to JUST DO WORK, Apple had Microsoft beat hands down. I don't know if the same remains true today, however!

By the way, I was a mainframe/mini Assembly language programmer and systems programmer at the time.

**

I've posted specific entries for each of these and received responses that eventually led nowhere.

Workarounds, but NO fix.

And the workarounds never fully satisfied the issue.

**

Oh yes, and my DYMO Labelwriter 400 Turbo is only FULLY functional WITH Dymo address book (and online address completion) software... which does not run under Linux!

Trying to 'do the same thing' under Linux requires 20x the work it does under Windows... but you AREN'T doing the SAME thing. You're using several different software packages and still not getting the address completion!

[phubert28]

I had been a vocal OSS advocate - especially in Government MOVING to OSS.

Perhaps IF that took place we'd finally see a fully usable Linux desktop, but we've got a chicken and egg thing where $$$ are intervening.

Clearly the profit motive trumps the best ideological solution every time.

[phubert28]

My practice under Windows ([/sarcasm]I had the absolute delight[/end_sarcasm] of supporting Windows servers for several years) was to install as follows:

c:\ system
d:\ applications
e:\ data

When I went to install 10.04, I was in panic mode and even had I NOT been, I wouldn't have known how to separate user space from system space, so I allowed the install to do its own partitioning.

It HAD been my understanding that, under Linux, I could install new versions of the OS without disrupting user space or user configurations ... now it appears this was, shall we say, SLIGHTLY misleading?

Correct me if that is a wrong impression.

[phubert28]

Give me software that WORKS or give me a PENCIL!

Free is of little value if it doesn't DO THE JOB.

I HATE monopolies, but I NEED to simply DO WORK and communicate seamlessly.

So I need an IPHONE????

[phubert28]

Since CANONICAL doesn't get involved in these things, I must conclude CANONICAL doesn't GIVE A FLIP.

H***, I'd PAY for annual support if that's what it took, but I doubt I'd see results even THEN!

[phubert28]

Golly, the LONGER I use Linux the LESS it works!

JUST LIKE WINDOWS!

NOW I know what everyone has meant all this time!!!

[mastablasta]

My problem ALSO is that apparently there is little to NO support for scanners on multifunction printers!

Not a Cannonical issue.

Finally, OO is truly awful compared to MS Office -I hate to say it, but unfortunately it's true.

Again Cannonical doens't make OOo, Oracle does (or at least it's behind it). It is en par with MS Office 2003 though....

Oh yes, and my Logitech MX Revolution mouse and Logitech Illuminated Keyboard are not supported fully BECAUSE full support requires LOGITECH software that does not run on Linux -NOR can it see my Logitech devices if I run WinXP in VirtualBox!

Again why not ask Logitech about their support. as i know there is a GUI programme available that will probably fix your issues.

Skype runs poorly under Linux and Linux guru friends have begun to give up on the Linux desktop.

And again, Skype is not made by Cannonical, but by Skype, so you can blame them. or ask them for support. though i dont' have any problems with skype under linux. video, voice it all just works.

Hey, IF Canonical's goal at any time was to make the Linux desktop a REAL replacement for Windows, they've failed miserably.

Hey - again for your issues IT IS NOT CANNONICAL's FAULT!. They make the OS, not drivers, programmes etc.

You should ask for support the one that makes this software. or use compatible hardware in which case it would all just work.

My practice under Windows ([/sarcasm]I had the absolute delight[/end_sarcasm] of supporting Windows servers for several years) was to install as follows:

c:\ system
d:\ applications
e:\ data

When I went to install 10.04, I was in panic mode and even had I NOT been, I wouldn't have known how to separate user space from system space, so I allowed the install to do its own partitioning.

It HAD been my understanding that, under Linux, I could install new versions of the OS without disrupting user space or user configurations ... now it appears this was, shall we say, SLIGHTLY misleading?

Correct me if that is a wrong impression.

to conclude... it appears to be that many things you do on your computer are based on your impressions. which is a bit surprising to me since you boast knowledge in advanced software engineering.

on the other hand the stupid me read the (freakin') manual first. it helped me a lot. to understand the system, find out basic commands, where the files go, how disk is managed etc. etc. i did the same thing for DOS when i got my first PC in the 80's, and the first win3.11 (the rest were more or less the same but i still consult the manual every now and then).

not everythting is in the manual. my sound issue was solved by a very helpful local team on IRC and a bit here on forums. for my video issue i picked up a "cheat" on Skype and a helpful IRC local community member helped me to make a script from it. i share my knowledge with the rest of people here.


i admit i am a bit dissapointed about desktop linux too. but you should have seen it in 1995,1996. and it advanced a lot since then. right now i have it cause it's free and good enough for the things i use it and in the other instance it saved an old laptop from windows slowdown. i still use XP on another computer but this is a different topic...

[Wtower]

or use compatible hardware

I would agree that after many such frustrations my patience rewarded me in that now I prefer to gradually throw away old incompatible hardware with messy windows drivers that who knows what impact they have on my os performance and stability against safe compatible hardware that just works, period.

i admit i am a bit dissapointed about desktop linux too. but you should have seen it in 1995,1996. and it advanced a lot since then

Excellent point. Besides, what are the options? I prefer to use a low budget like 300 eur pc with free software against a k euro pc with a k euro software just to do things fancier and possibly 10% better. And as for the os-performance issue, now try to boot up that old pc with fully updated xp and count the minutes. I pass.

My sense says, hey, what a fantastic try, and what a great progress, now I *have* to support that. In the end, for most things I had to do in the day, I found out that I just had to change 100% my working habits and not try to find workarounds to keep my old ones.

These are some of my personal preferences regarding the Ubuntu desktop against Win or Apple that give the scales towards Ubuntu. Of course let's not discuss what are the overwhelming benefits of using a Linux server in a business network against other possibilities, even if that very network is 99% windows.