linux is too expensive

[Derick Centeno]

Salutations Everyone:

Eric, you brought out nearly all the points I would have. 

Norberto, has responded rather passionately,although in the recent past 
he has portrayed himself as a lurker or mere visitor.  He usually is 
very quietly cooperative most of the time.

Mr. Banther's comments, reflect my own experience as I likewise held a 
similar position supporting and doing programming for both a small 
college and Ivy League class medical college, their library and their 
hospital's computer lab systems (dedicated to processing algorithms 
critical to testing patients and preparing reports for physicians which 
they used as a basis for conducting surgeries and other procedures).

Kansaibear, be sure that there is recognition amongst this diverse 
community that there are vast numbers of persons like yourself.  
Unfortunately, what Norberto pointed out though stinging, remains true. 

The points you raised as well are true as well. 

The heart of the difficulty is transferring useful information, when 
needed, at the right point in time.  Addressing such a match between 
need and execution in a timely manner, is something which few systems of 
government, business or education address well.  This probably has been 
a challenge since persons started to think.

Although I'm unsure whether something so ancient can be resolved, I do 
believe lessening the overall research time is conducive to addressing 
this challenge.
Towards that end, I recommend the following resources:

* The Linux Documentation Project: http://tldp.org/

* The Complete Fast Training Linux Course: http://www.ftlinuxcourse.com/

* Barnes & Noble Professional, Tech & Bus Store: 
http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/home.asp?z=y&btob=Y

* Howto forge: http://www.howtoforge.com/taxonomy_menu/1?from=10
   Comment: They cover various Linux distributions and discuss various 
strategies and procedures within those distributions.

One point that Norberto missed is that sometimes what is available 
locally isn't a Williams and Sonoma, but rather a Walgreens or Walmart 
-- sometimes not even that.  Sometimes the local food store is run by 
the same fellow who also runs the barber shop and is the part-time sheriff.

Again the challenge is where to acquire information where one can learn 
and then apply that learning constructively.  The references and 
resources provided here can be useful, if one dedicates time to them.  
The nice thing about this period of our lives is that this information 
is available now, almost planet-wide via the net.
Acquiring the tools, and skills to utilize them well however, will take 
time -- we remain human and time weighs heavily on us all.

Even so, with sufficient determination and study your project can be done.

However, in moving forward in any endeavor, each thinker needs to 
consider how one's hardware is useful or not, as the world marches 
forward in technology.  If one insists on holding onto older technology 
whether it be software or hardware, then one also needs to be ready to 
accept those additional challenges. 

Linux moves forward in the march as well, and libraries of programs and 
dependencies will become antiquated and this will force the determined 
few to support these themselves, long after the original authors have 
moved on to supporting current hardware/software algorithms which work 
more efficiently.  The problem of exposures to security risks, such as 
becoming increasingly vulnerable to hackers and other very real 
malcontents of human society that exist within cyberspace, also is 
another difficulty.  There should be no doubt that they use Linux also.

In the interest of maintaining whatever innocent, broadminded or 
well-intended service one may have in mind, eventually one must consider 
the interest of whom all this is for.  The essence of Linux, and I 
certainly believe this of YDL, is providing a service -- for others to 
benefit from and use.  The question I raise may not be the ultimate or 
best, but it certainly is central or important.

What is the quality and nature of one's service or contribution if it is 
so antiquated that it is vulnerable to attack and/or regular failure, 
such that the users one planned to serve cannot in fact use the service 
without inconveniencing themselves?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric Dunbar wrote:
> On 26/09/06, kansaibear at mac.com <kansaibear at mac.com> wrote:
>   
>> I read several times on these boards how the gui on osx was only marginally better...
>> I have to ask, is drug use rampant in the linux world?
>> There is no comparison. Even 10.2.8 is as far ahead of either ydl 3. and ubuntu 5. as osx 10.2 is ahead of windows 3...
>>     
>
> Chuckle. I have to (dis)agree with you there (can you tell I'm
> procrastinating). OS X (even 10.2.8) is far ahead of Linux in many
> ways (particularly robustness and quality of GUI) but it's not that
> much ahead of Linux than it is Windows.
>
> Modern Linux (e.g. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, YDL 4) is a fantastic desktop
> solution that dwarfs Windows 3.x. It is so much more stable than
> Windows and the software for 95% of user needs is equal to what was
> available on Windows 3.1 (especially given that Abiword has now
> migrated to F/L-OSS (my all-time favourite Windows word processor)).
>
>   
>> Most any open sourse linux product can be compiled for darwin and X11. Might be a little time consuming but...worse than I have already suffered? Most of what I would need is included anyway.
>>     
>
> They _can_ be compiled but Darwin's X11 is nowhere near as smooth as
> X11 in a modern Linux. I played with fink for a while and eventually
> eviscerated it from my system because the apps simply worked that much
> more smoothly in native Linux. X11 has a place on my system still, but
> that's only because I have a Linux server on my network which I can
> use as an alternate 'desktop' using the server to run client software
> and display it on the X11 host under Mac OS X (I think I've got the
> client-host terminology right?).
>
>   
>> At least the base system works perfectly out of the box on the hardware. Language, Settings(come on, set the trackpad by editing configx file and comand ine), cds, video, audio....
>>     
>
> Agreed. OS X does 'out of the box' very well and maintains 'out of the
> box' functionality quite well (it's easy to change settings... of
> course, once you _really_ learn Linux it's even easier to change
> settings there but how many people are at that stage ;-).
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