[Discuss] Why NOT use Linux?

[markw at mohawksoft.com]

> Ted Roche wrote:
>> And if you're presenting a Pro/Con argument for Linux, clearly we've
>> provided you with material for that, too. Why NOT use Linux?
>
> My top three:
>
> The state of desktops on Linux is terrible. Of the three leaders we have
> KDE which is a disaster, Unity which is a tablet UI desperately looking
> for hardware to run on, and Gnome which is trying to be the prettiest
> desktop around with just a single button that doesn't do anything. If
> you're looking for a desktop operating system then Linux is the last
> place to look. What's most unfortunate about this is that the *BSDs
> suffer just as much in this regard.

This is a subjective comment. People at work have Macs, my wife has
Windows and an iPad, and a friend has only an iPad. Seriously, I think the
Linux GUI is easier to use. Sure, the Mac looks cleaner and Windows is
more colorful (8 is a disaster), but I'm using Debian with Gnome and I
really really like how easy it is to use. It lacks a bit of eye candy,
sure, but it is clean and functional, and yes, not ugly.

>
> The state of file system backups is even worse. Linux has lacked native
> backup tools for its file systems since around 2002 leaving things like
> extended attributes and ALCs in the lurch. rsync has been hacked to be
> able to replicate extended attributes but that only works when going
> from like to like; you can't use it for tapes and optical storage.

Its funny, backup seems easiest on Linux. The trick is not to use tape or
traditional backups. You snapshot the LVM volume, and dedup the device to
a backup. Its better than Apple's time machine and really fast.

>
> Dynamic device enumeration. Ever have a node refuse to boot because the
> kernel randomly changes which disk is sda with every boot? Ever have a
> node stop responding after a reboot because the kernel swapped the first
> and second Ethernet interfaces? I have, more times than I care to
> remember. Dynamic enumeration is a stupid, stupid way to do things.

This has, in fact, not been an issue for almost 10 years. Both disk
devices and ethernet devices are persistently configured based on unique
criteria. Disk volumes use labels or UUID values and ethernet adapters are
configured by MAC address.

It the time it was a problem in Linux, it was also an issue on Windows,
Mac, and some BSD variants. All these platforms fixed this issue.

>
> --
> Rich P.
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