Replies

It takes more machine than Win2K, runs pitifully slow, crashes and doesn't recognize WinXP network printers.

Answers: Wrong, Not configured correctly, XP doesn't share nicely.
I know someone who's getting ready to dump Win2k because it won't run his printer. So who's right. He's got a degree in CS and two masters (one in IS).
Windows has software problems, if for not other reason than YOU can't fix it.
Linux typically has hardware problems and the user doesn't know enough to fix it.

Use what works for you but don't spread FUD.

XP is complete crap... we've largely backed back to Win2K on all windows boxes because XP just doesn't work right across the board.

1. Perhaps my computers are more expensive with Windows XP, but I can't buy them cheaper without it so... it didn't cost me anything that I could have recovered.

2. Yes. It isn't configured correctly but... I can't figure out how to configure it correctly. I've been working with microcomputers since the first CP/M Altos.

3. I'm NOT running a server. I don't care how well it works on a server. That is completely and utterly irrelevant to me.

4. It IS slow and it DOES take more resources to run than WIN2K.

5. It DOES crash. Win2k didn't.

6. I don't know what the heck FUD is, but all I'm spreading is the facts as they happened to me.

7. I have a T1 line, but downloading 2 gigabytes is ridiculous even with that capability. Three different FTP sites have crashed while I was downloading. Perhaps Redhat's FTP sites are slower and less reliable than some, but the download would take most of a day at the speed they fed my lines.

Here's what I do know. I buy Windows machines and hook them up. They work. When I do a clean installation of XP, it works and it recognizes all of my hardware and it runs all of my software.

I decided to try Linux because there are so many people who cream their pants at the mention of its name. They claim it is free, runs flawlessly and never crashes. Many say it will run on older computers and run fast. It turns out that it is way too big to download so it isn't free. It didn't run worth a damn on my Win2k machine. It doesn't recognize my network printers and the documentation is so completely undecipherable that I can't figure out how to configure it properly.

Your friend may have two Master's degrees. I'm a college professor. I teach Business Computing. I've got plenty of degrees. They aren't helping with Linux. And no... I do not plan to try to rewrite the Linux code. I have enough of my own applications to deal with.

I haven't given up yet. I plan to try a few more versions of LINUX to see if there is one that will run as an acceptable desktop operating system. So far, my experience has been terrible.

Now I hear that Redhat and another major desktop Linux provider are both likely to drop Linux as a desktop environment. I've had several different people recommend several different versions of Linux from several different companies. I have no way to know if any of them are going to install easily and run. From what I have seen, I'll need a Linux expert to do the installation. I'm going to try a maximum of three more versions before I give up on Linux and stick with Windows and Unix.

As an experienced computer user who has been building PCs for 21 years and running them for 27 years I should be able to install a good operating system without a hundred hours of experimentation and manual reading. When I'm done, the operating system should run at least as fast as Windows on the same machine. If it doesn't, all the hype is just that, hype.