(I'm bored, apologies in advance.)

Quote: Original post by SiliconMunky
It sounds to me like you are satisfied with Windows, but curious about Linux. I suggest you simply try installing Linux and getting a few programs running on it to get the feeling for it.

Try a LiveCD even. Without a (relative) ton of RAM they're a bit slow, but they otherwise can give you a glimpse of what a Linux desktop (or, in some cases, recovery session) can be like. Check the FAQ for a couple recommendations.

Quote: Original post by The Darkening
If you want to play with linux (and it is definately worth playing with) then i strongly suggest creating a duel boot system or buy a cheapo system for like $100 to run it.

Just don't blame Linux (or your distro) for the limitations inherent in said $100 system ;).

Quote: Original post by PaulCesar
GNU's (or should I say Richard Stallman's) belief is the one stating that _ALL_ software should be free.

The Free Software Foundation's...

Quote: Original post by PaulCesar
This system is wholeheartedly communistic, and hence, going against capitalism... While the GPL/Commercial licensing does do good for licensing of libraries, outside of middleware the GPL is a direct competition to people trying to earn their livings.

To make a obtuse analogy, the keeping of gardens would then be "communistic" as it goes directly against the potential of an oxygen production industry. Maybe open source (which free software is a part of, but not the whole) isn't a economic/political movement so much as a side effect of human cooperation. No need to relate volunteerism with the downfall of capitilism, it's just raising the base upon which it all functions :). Just because one can pay someone for something doesn't need a (legal, moral) solution with said payment is inherently worse.

Continuing my tradition of picking on the misphrased statements of others:

Quote: Original post by The Darkening
Well that and its lack of a registry.

There's a couple registry alikes. They're not "universal", but they make up for that somewhat by not being misimplemented disasters such as Windows' :P.

Quote: Original post by ukdeveloper
... WINE isn't free to use either.

WINE is "free" and "Free". Cedega (formerly known as WineX) isn't (kind-of). Transgaming is a very confused company :P.

Quote: Original post by ukdeveloper
One thing that really gets me, and you will miss when you switch from Windows... no Task Manager!

There's lot of task managers :P. Seeing as top has been mentioned already: in GNOME, Applications -> System Tools -> System Monitor.

Quote: Original post by ukdeveloper
That REALLY irritates me, seeing as Linux Desktop environments take more CPU time than Windows, which could lead to crashes and you have no easy, obvious way of stopping rogue programs.

I'm not sure what generalization or assumption to correct there :).

Quote: Original post by TheDarkening
Now as a software developer i like to be able to feed myself and pay my rent. To me that is a good reason you should be paying to use my software. Why do you think there is no 'open construction' movements in building homes?

Mostly because the cost of copying a construction is much higher than that of copying bits and bytes. :-)

I agree that we should get money for what we do though. This isn't incompatible with free software (insert long argument here).


PaulCesar: by your definition, groups of people helping each other are communist. Like say, GDNet... That you're using for free, instead of paying. Are you a communist?


Hope this helps.

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster

PaulCesar: by your definition, groups of people helping each other are communist. Like say, GDNet... That you're using for free, instead of paying. Are you a communist?

Incorrect.

GDNet runs advertising.

Advertising is used to persuade consumers to buy specific goods, purchase specific services, raise brand awareness, etc.

Consumers do indeed pay for those adverts, but it is an indirect payment: the cost of advertising, marketing and Public Relations is included in the cost price of the company's goods and/or services.

Therefore, yes, we _are_ paying to use GDNet. We're just paying indirectly.


--
Sean Timarco Baggaley

I could have sworn that Linux had a Task Manager or something like it.. like df or something (i can't recall the command, its been like 5 months since i've last touched linux).

I took a college course in Unix (really a modified Red Hat Linux editted to act like Unix) and played with CD Bootable Gentoo, and i can say that Linux is really powerful. But, it's only powerful if you know how to use it.

Don't get Linux to support the Open Source movement, but use it because it would benefit you. Supporting Open Source by contributing to projects and helping support their communities would probably be much better at showing your belief rather than just moving to Linux.

Quote: Original post by stimarco

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster

PaulCesar: by your definition, groups of people helping each other are communist. Like say, GDNet... That you're using for free, instead of paying. Are you a communist?

Incorrect.

GDNet runs advertising.

Advertising is used to persuade consumers to buy specific goods, purchase specific services, raise brand awareness, etc.

Consumers do indeed pay for those adverts, but it is an indirect payment: the cost of advertising, marketing and Public Relations is included in the cost price of the company's goods and/or services.

Therefore, yes, we _are_ paying to use GDNet. We're just paying indirectly.


--
Sean Timarco Baggaley

If I stick code in GCC and Emacs to write "buy a GNU CD now" when invoked, do the free software people get to be called capitalists?

Sorry to be annoying like that, but the "free software = commies" FUD is really getting old. Just like McCarthism.


Hope this helps.

a developer could make his programs open-source but still earn money for them. i think this kind of open-source phylosophy could work and the developer would be able to earn what he needs to survive (being a developer is a job, after all), as the sofware is open-source, there would be the positive aspects of it anyway.

Don't want to pay for Cedega? Don't buy games that don't run on Linux. It is as easy as that.
Linux isn't easy to use. If you want to learn and understand Linux, I recommend you to install Gentoo Linux. You install Gentoo manually, no stupid graphical installer. Of course there is a very good handbook to guide you. This will help you to learn the basics. Gentoo is my favorite Linux distribution, and is very good for everyday usage. Because it is a source distribution, you compile everything yourself, meaning compiling Xorg + Gnome or KDE can take half a day on state of art machine. I think you should try Linux for a week, see if it suits you and only than throw Windows out of the window.
I think you will find that no Linux IDE is near to be as good as VC++ 2002/2003/2005. This is at least my impression. After getting used to VC++, moving to Linux tools is painful. In the summer I got a job and had to work in Linux only. I enjoyed the experience, but I was just as happy to return to VC++..

Quote: Original post by SumDude
I could have sworn that Linux had a Task Manager or something like it.. like df or something (i can't recall the command, its been like 5 months since i've last touched linux).

top

Quote: Original post by vNistelrooy

Quote: Original post by SumDude
I could have sworn that Linux had a Task Manager or something like it.. like df or something (i can't recall the command, its been like 5 months since i've last touched linux).

top

ps -A

But KDE has a task/process manager. Just press CTRL_ALT_DEL!

Quote: Original post by Ilici
But KDE has a task/process manager. Just press CTRL_ALT_DEL!

On mine, that just fades the screen and brings up the "End session for... [Cancel] [Logoff]" dialogue box. And that's on KDE.

[Edited by - ukdeveloper on June 1, 2005 5:13:55 PM]