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Sell me Linux

Modified said:
This is why I implemented an FFM system for Java virtual desktops, used in an application that I develop and constantly use. I wasn't able to overcome click-to-raise, but at least you can type into and scroll a window without raising it.

The loss of FFM was a huge productivity killer in the days of small screens, but it is somewhat mitigated these days with a big screen or multiple screens.

There are some third party solutions for Windows, but I've never tried any of them.
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FFM (AKA Xmouse active window tracking) is a Windows option under Ease of Access, disabled by default. When enabled Auto-raise is default.

Apparently some registry tweaks will also allow active in background and adjusting the delay time for when the window becomes active.

Here's an article that might help.

The article also mentions a third party app. Winaero XMouse Tuner, that gives you a GUI instead of having to go into the registry to do the tweaking.

I'm gonna check that out.
 
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quadraginta said:
FFM (AKA Xmouse active window tracking) is a Windows option under Ease of Access, disabled by default. When enabled Auto-raise is default.

Apparently some registry tweaks will also allow active in background and adjusting the delay time for when the window becomes active.

Here's an article that might help.

The article also mentions a third party app. Winaero XMouse Tuner, that gives you a GUI instead of having to go into the registry to do the tweaking.

I'm gonna check that out.
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I think I tried that sort of thing long ago (probably in XP) and it was pretty flaky and caused some problems. Just FFM with auto-raise would probably hurt more than help. But like I said, with a big screen and FFM within a virtual desktop in my most-used application, it's not much of a concern for me now.
 
Modified said:
I think I tried that sort of thing long ago (probably in XP) and it was pretty flaky and caused some problems. Just FFM with auto-raise would probably hurt more than help. But like I said, with a big screen and FFM within a virtual desktop in my most-used application, it's not much of a concern for me now.
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I didn't know about it with 95 or XP, it wasn't a menu option (Available through TweakUI according to the article I cited, but I never knew about that.), and I skipped straight from XP to Win8, so I don't have any experience with how well past iterations worked. This one seems to work smoothly.

The Xmouse Tuner app I linked to seems to work just fine for enabling active background. Saves diddling with the registry yourself, anyhow. I always feel like I'm a keystroke away from screwing up the world whenever I do that.

I haven't yet, so maybe just an overabundance of caution. (Newest media buzz-phrase. :o)
 
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Squeegee Beckenheim said:
See, now, that sounds very useful. I don't often get errors, but when I do it's a nightmare trying to figure out what's actually going wrong and how to fix it.
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Since Linux is free software, most errors are written so that humans can understand them.
Since Windows is proprietary, most errors are written cryptically. They'll make sense (hopefully) to somebody who works at Microsoft and knows what the codes indicate, but the average user is SOL.

Donn said:
All the other pros are just words. Looking through source code for errors! Please. If you have a brain the size of a room and a way to stop time, go ahead. :)
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I don't need that, though. There are plenty of hackers out there with bigger brains and more time. That's one of the benefits of free software: anybody anywhere can download it and fix it, not just me.

jeremyp said:
Software repositories

This one makes me smile. Each distributor tends to have a software repository. You don't have to use them, but if you do, your life is easier, and if you are not an expert, you are effectively locked i to what the distributor thinks you should want. The same people who extol the virtues of software repos on Linux also often bemoan the alleged lock in from the Mac App store.
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The key here is choice. With Apple, you can only install apps from the app store. With Linux, you can use a repository...or you can install from an installer you downloaded from a website, or run a script, or even compile the source code and then run "make" and "install". Repositories aren't the only way to install software; they're just the easiest way.

Linux is free - as in speech.

Undeniably good - if you are a programmer. If you don't know how to write code and don't have the resources to pay somebody to write code, it's hard to see what tangible advantages Linux has over Windows and OS X.
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Again, if you're not a programmer, somebody else in your community is. In fact, if there's a feature you really, really want, you could find other users who want that same feature, pool your money, and hire a programmer to write it for you!

Powerful shell

I believe there is a free powerful shell for Windows too, if you need it. The most common option for a powerful shell for Linux (there are several, which is a Good Thing) turned out to have an itsy bits massive security hole.
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Which was fixed very quickly once it was discovered.

I really can't stress this enough. Windows acts like it's embarrassed that it has a command line. Not only is Linux's more powerful, but it has all kinds of dead sexy terminal apps to go with it. If I want to (and I do!) I can go all Hollywood-hacker with a green-on-black, semi-transparent terminal. I don't know how Power Shell stacks up to Linux, but it's still clunky, ugly, and not fun to use.

Linux's command line tools are regularly updated. When was the last time MS-DOS was updated? 14 years ago. I'm not even kidding.

Blue Mountain said:
Agreed! I still hate the latest Amarok (KDE's standard MP3 player) interface. I believe someone has forked the earlier source code and made it available for KDE 4, but I haven't looked for a while.
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Clementine. It's a beautiful thing.

Sadly true: Linux forums can take condescension to whole new levels. I've heard it suggested that you don't ask politely for assistance because all you get is "RTFM!" Instead you slag the product and threaten to dump it and move back to Windows; suddenly all the geeks come out of the woodwork to defend their baby and offer suggestions. :p
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I must be weird, because I've never had this problem. For one thing, the Ubuntu community has a reputation for being friendlier and more forgiving of noobs; for another thing, I tend to Google the hell out of everything before asking for help.
 
Axiom_Blade said:
Since Linux is free software, most errors are written so that humans can understand them.
Click to expand...

That's a non-sequitur logical fallacy


[...]
Axiom_Blade said:
When was the last time MS-DOS was updated? 14 years ago. I'm not even kidding.
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When was the last time Valdocs or the original MAC OS or GEM were updated?

MS-DOS is not a modern operating system. By your own link, development stopped in 2000, and was superceded by Windows.

For just one example, Robocopy was developed and initially introduced commercially in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. It only runs in a cmd shell. That's about 8 years after official development of MS-DOS ended.
 
Axiom_Blade said:
I must be weird, because I've never had this problem. For one thing, the Ubuntu community has a reputation for being friendlier and more forgiving of noobs; for another thing, I tend to Google the hell out of everything before asking for help.
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I have, although it's becoming increasingly uncommon. As much as I hate every Ubuntu release since 10.04 (Mint fo life, yo), the Ubuntu community has been amazing in terms of providing actual help in an actually helpful manner. Still, every so often when googling for a problem, I'll run across an old discussion or one regarding a niche distro, and it's almost shocking to see the amount of sheer hate these people can have for others' ignorance. And FSM help you if you top-post while asking for the assistance, you might as well just light yourself on fire and spare them the trouble.
 
John Jones said:
That's a non-sequitur logical fallacy
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How so? If I'm writing free software, I know that the end user has access to the code, so detailed error messages could actually help them. Windows end users can't access the code, so why bother with a detailed error message?

When was the last time Valdocs or the original MAC OS or GEM were updated?

MS-DOS is not a modern operating system. By your own link, development stopped in 2000, and was superceded by Windows.
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That's exactly my point. MS-DOS is not a modern operating system. This is because Microsoft apparently thinks that command lines are a scourge and the end user should be protected from them.

If I'm on Linux, I have the option to use a GUI or a robust and attractive command-line interface. There are some tasks that I prefer to use a command line for. For that, I can use Konsole or Terminator or yakuake or any of a number of other terminal emulators.

If I'm on Windows, my choice is cmd.exe, a clunky POS that hasn't been updated since 2000. I once had a C# class in college. The class PCs all used Visual Studio, which I thought was overkill for an entry-level programming class. Rather than muddle through the myriad of IDE options, I decided to use the command line. It was better than using Visual Studio, but still far from ideal, because, again, Microsoft has neglected it and left it the same clunky beast it was 14 years ago.
 
Staying off topic for part of this post, I'll add that the command line window in Windows XP and 7 can be made taller but not wider. This causes many lines to wrap, giving at least this user difficulty in reading some of the output of commands like <dir>.


Returning to Linux, in another thread, SteveS asked about whether two versions of Mint can access the same files. This led me to thinking about putting some flavor of Linux on a USB.

I would like to know whether in order to install it to a flash drive, I first need to download the .iso to my hard drive so that it can be installed on the flash drive via Universal USB installer.

And ... why would I want to do this, other than (a) to play with Linux and (b) reduce the risk of my laptop being infected?
 
Axiom_Blade said:
Since Linux is free software, most errors are written so that humans can understand them.
Since Windows is proprietary, most errors are written cryptically. They'll make sense (hopefully) to somebody who works at Microsoft and knows what the codes indicate, but the average user is SOL.



I don't need that, though. There are plenty of hackers out there with bigger brains and more time. That's one of the benefits of free software: anybody anywhere can download it and fix it, not just me.



The key here is choice. With Apple, you can only install apps from the app store. With Linux, you can use a repository...or you can install from an installer you downloaded from a website, or run a script, or even compile the source code and then run "make" and "install". Repositories aren't the only way to install software; they're just the easiest way.



Again, if you're not a programmer, somebody else in your community is. In fact, if there's a feature you really, really want, you could find other users who want that same feature, pool your money, and hire a programmer to write it for you!



Which was fixed very quickly once it was discovered.

I really can't stress this enough. Windows acts like it's embarrassed that it has a command line. Not only is Linux's more powerful, but it has all kinds of dead sexy terminal apps to go with it. If I want to (and I do!) I can go all Hollywood-hacker with a green-on-black, semi-transparent terminal. I don't know how Power Shell stacks up to Linux, but it's still clunky, ugly, and not fun to use.

Linux's command line tools are regularly updated. When was the last time MS-DOS was updated? 14 years ago. I'm not even kidding.



Clementine. It's a beautiful thing.



I must be weird, because I've never had this problem. For one thing, the Ubuntu community has a reputation for being friendlier and more forgiving of noobs; for another thing, I tend to Google the hell out of everything before asking for help.
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The highlighted part is patently untrue for Mac OS X. You could always and can still install software from anywhere on your Mac. The only thing that happens since a few updates back is a security check; if the developer of the software (which you downloaded from somewhere on the internet) is registered with Apple, the software just installs, as it ever did, be it on Win, Linux or Mac OS X. If the developer is not registered, the installation is halted out of the box. This security check can be turned off generally, or overridden for just this install.

The only requirement for all is the admin password (even required for installation while ON the admin account).

The override is not hard to figure out even for inexperienced users -- except that the user is NOT automatically directed to where the override could be applied.

(You may be thinking of the iOS app store -- iPhones and iPads -- but we're speaking desktop OSs here.)

ETA: The software you can install on a Mac includes Windows and Linux, and everything you can run on those OSs.
 
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Axiom_Blade said:
Since Linux is free software, most errors are written so that humans can understand them.
Since Windows is proprietary, most errors are written cryptically. They'll make sense (hopefully) to somebody who works at Microsoft and knows what the codes indicate, but the average user is SOL.
Click to expand...

http://www.opensource.apple.com/release/os-x-1095/

I know your rant was mostly anti-MS, but I think this is worth knowing.
 
elgarak said:
Apple has a different business strategy than Microsoft and Google.

They sell premium hardware with a 30% profit margin. They do not need or want to rip off their customers on the software or by selling their personal data.
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Oh, I agree. I just thought they should get their open-source credit as well. :)
 
xterra said:
Staying off topic for part of this post, I'll add that the command line window in Windows XP and 7 can be made taller but not wider. This causes many lines to wrap, giving at least this user difficulty in reading some of the output of commands like <dir>.
Click to expand...

Check the properties on the command line and see the "layout" tab. You can make it wider. The difference is that the width is treated as a max, unlike height which is just an initial value.
 
This thread rather confirms my previous conclusion: Linux works best for people who are willing to invest more time than I am in just making their computer work.
If you are one of those people, then have at it.
If not, stay on the dark side.
 
Luke...err...Soapy Sam, you cannot escape the Linux!

It is in most mobile phones, most embedded devices... it is everywhere!
picture.php

;)
 
Soapy Sam said:
This thread rather confirms my previous conclusion: Linux works best for people who are willing to invest more time than I am in just making their computer work.
If you are one of those people, then have at it.
If not, stay on the dark side.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, one day (probably 20 minutes after practical Cold Fusion is confirmed :p ) Linux will the go to OS for people who do not want to spend hours on their computer and for those who do.

I honestly think that Linux is getting more user-friendly and easier to use out-of-the-box and without any specialised knowledge. It's not perfect yet, but I think we are approaching "Peak Linux", where the effort to accomplish any random task on Windows will be no easier than accomplishing a similar task on Linux.
 
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