Quote: Original post by Ibaun
I guess this quote pretty much says it all:

<snip>

Yeah, what kind of lame-ass user-oriented operating system requires you to write scripts and rules just to plug in your iPod? [smile]

Viewing a critical flaw as a virtue because "it promotes greater understanding of the system" is deeply, sadly tragic.

Quote: Original post by Dauntless
Sort of an off topic question, but what exactly is the difference between *nix's shared objects and windows DLL's?

There's no conceptual difference. The Unix functions for loading routines for a shared object begin with dl, for dynamic library. "DLL" is an acronym for Dynamic Link Library. Same thing.

<somewhat irrelevant> Fedora Core 5 is due this monday! YAY!</somewhat irrelevant>

Quote: Original post by Ibaun
The thing about Gentoo is not only that you get to compile from source, but that you learn while compiling from source.

I guess this quote pretty much says it all:

Quote: Originally posted by CoffeeBuzz @ gentooforums
...and before he even finished his sentance Claire ssh’d into his computer, wrote a udev rule, added an fstab line and configured ivman to automount it.

I did the whole Gentoo thing, and I still have no idea what any of those words mean. Of course, my Gentoo build lasted all of a week before it stopped booting all together, so that may not say much.

CM

Quote:
The thing about Gentoo is not only that you get to compile from source, but that you learn while compiling from source.

I guess this quote pretty much says it all:

<snippet removed>

I aggree with that even though the actual compiling part is just time consuming.
I personally prefer to use a stage 3 install to save time.

The motivation for trying out linux is usually not to find yourself in a quasi windows environment anyway. The current linux distros still "require" you to have some knowledge of configuration, compiling and low level commandline utilities especially if you want to do program development and administration, not to mention connecting your iPod and have it work "out of the box"

As the removed snippet implies, this knowledge will serve you well if your staying with linux.

I can not see any reason why Bob wants to use linux at all.
IMO he should go back to MS Windows and stay there.

Im not supprised linux is not as windows-like as some want it to be. Or call it user-oriented as oluseyi said.
Linux itself was never ment to be "all that". However, some of the software running on it probably should be.

One thing all the linux distros have in common is the lack of polish. Linux definately needs a shoe-shine.

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
One thing all the linux distros have in common is the lack of polish. Linux definately needs a shoe-shine.

<pirate>Thar be trolls in these here waters!</pirate>

But seriously, as far as polish goes, keep an eye on Ubuntu over the next couple of years. I foresee great things, as far as user-orientedness goes.

May I advise you to check on Suse..
It is incredibly user friendly..
And great graphics..
Except on my machine it is a bit slow(but I have a dinosaur)

Polish is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer looking at my Linux over Windows and OSX any day.

Quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
One thing all the linux distros have in common is the lack of polish. Linux definately needs a shoe-shine.

Very true. Almost all distros, with the notable exception of Debian and Slackware feel the need to deliver the very latest versions of everything before their competitors do. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that the next ubuntu release will be delayed by an additional six week testing period.

Quote: Why are there so many linuxes?

Because it's possible. You, any day, could choose all the opensource packages you like and build up your very own JohnnyBravo Linux Distro. People that share your way of thinking will have the chance to have an installation that fits their immediate needs/taste.

And for the record: Compiling a program to exploit the architecture to it's best is useful. And companies (that follow this strategy) doit all the time.