About a year ago I switched from gentoo to OpenBSD on the servers here at work (postfix/spamassassin/courier-imap etc, snort, openvpn, apache/mysql, vsftpd) and haven't looked back since.
I know this is considered/. heresy, but I really believe that windows is the best OS for the desktop. I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
I have a feeling that I'm not the minority here, either. I runx Xming on my desktop at work and use putty's X11 forwarding to view things like etherape (wish they would write a client for windwos..that is a really neat piece of software) when I need X, and use putty for everything else. As long as your head is firmly rammed up your ass you should be fine doing the same. Run firefox with noscript. Keep the install light and enjoy being able to install things like the latest version of flash the day that they come out. OpenBSD for [most] of the servers, gentoo for the rest, and windows on the desktop.
I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
I have a feeling that I'm not the minority here, either. I runx Xming on my desktop at work and use putty's X11 forwarding to view things like etherape (wish they would write a client for windwos..that is a really neat piece of software) when I need X, and use putty for everything else.
I won't get into the usability of Windows vs. Ubuntu or others; I find Ubuntu much more usable than Windows but I guess it comes down to personal preference (plus a lot of people falsely equate "usability" with "what I'm used to"). But it's kinda ironic that you then immediately bemoan the lack of one of a Windows version of one of your favorite open source tools.
One of the reasons I prefer Linux for the desktop is precisely that: Windows will never have the quantity and quality of open source software available for it that Linux does. Sure, there are some great open source tools for Windows (like TortoiseSVN) but writing FOSS for a proprietary platform just feels wrong to a lot of open source developers/contributors (myself included).
Oh, and you really should Pascal-case "EtherApe". When I first read that I figured etherape was some type of add-on to BackOrifice. Kinda like what happened to ExpertsExchange.com when people didn't capitalize it correctly (and thus later became experts-exchange.com)
I know this is considered/. heresy, but I really believe that windows is the best OS for the desktop. I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
Ubuntu is way better than the others I've tried as a desktop OS, but I agree it has a way to go till it matches Windows. In fact I'm not sure it ever can, there are just too many cats to herd. But, uh, why haven't you tried OS X? It makes every other OS I've tried look clumsy, annoying and intrusive. It's not perfect, but I've never had any other OS which let me spend a higher proportion of my time getting stuff done.
Maybe I'm part gypsy or something, but just about all of my desktops are the scrounged-parts-together variety. If apple would sell me a copy of OSX and let me run it on my own hardware, I would.
The more cordial the buyer's secretary, the greater the odds that the
competition already has the order.
Ultimate ubuntu kung fu move (Score:5, Funny)
Install a better distro!
Re: (Score:0)
Unfortunately Gentoo is not for mere mortals. Better stick with Ubuntu.
Re:Ultimate ubuntu kung fu move (Score:2, Interesting)
About a year ago I switched from gentoo to OpenBSD on the servers here at work (postfix/spamassassin/courier-imap etc, snort, openvpn, apache/mysql, vsftpd) and haven't looked back since.
I know this is considered /. heresy, but I really believe that windows is the best OS for the desktop. I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
I have a feeling that I'm not the minority here, either. I runx Xming on my desktop at work and use putty's X11 forwarding to view things like etherape (wish they would write a client for windwos..that is a really neat piece of software) when I need X, and use putty for everything else.
As long as your head is firmly rammed up your ass you should be fine doing the same. Run firefox with noscript. Keep the install light and enjoy being able to install things like the latest version of flash the day that they come out.
OpenBSD for [most] of the servers, gentoo for the rest, and windows on the desktop.
Re:Ultimate ubuntu kung fu move (Score:4, Insightful)
I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
I have a feeling that I'm not the minority here, either. I runx Xming on my desktop at work and use putty's X11 forwarding to view things like etherape (wish they would write a client for windwos..that is a really neat piece of software) when I need X, and use putty for everything else.
I won't get into the usability of Windows vs. Ubuntu or others; I find Ubuntu much more usable than Windows but I guess it comes down to personal preference (plus a lot of people falsely equate "usability" with "what I'm used to"). But it's kinda ironic that you then immediately bemoan the lack of one of a Windows version of one of your favorite open source tools.
One of the reasons I prefer Linux for the desktop is precisely that: Windows will never have the quantity and quality of open source software available for it that Linux does. Sure, there are some great open source tools for Windows (like TortoiseSVN) but writing FOSS for a proprietary platform just feels wrong to a lot of open source developers/contributors (myself included).
Oh, and you really should Pascal-case "EtherApe". When I first read that I figured etherape was some type of add-on to BackOrifice. Kinda like what happened to ExpertsExchange.com when people didn't capitalize it correctly (and thus later became experts-exchange.com)
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, and you really should Pascal-case "EtherApe". When I first read that I figured etherape was some type of add-on to BackOrifice.
www.TheRapistFinder.com
Re: (Score:1)
I know this is considered /. heresy, but I really believe that windows is the best OS for the desktop. I've run gentoo, suse, mandrake, redhat, centos, federoa, ubuntu, and I'm sure a few others over the years and none of them have even come CLOSE to the usability of windows.
Ubuntu is way better than the others I've tried as a desktop OS, but I agree it has a way to go till it matches Windows. In fact I'm not sure it ever can, there are just too many cats to herd. But, uh, why haven't you tried OS X? It makes every other OS I've tried look clumsy, annoying and intrusive. It's not perfect, but I've never had any other OS which let me spend a higher proportion of my time getting stuff done.
Re: (Score:2)
But, uh, why haven't you tried OS X?
Maybe I'm part gypsy or something, but just about all of my desktops are the scrounged-parts-together variety. If apple would sell me a copy of OSX and let me run it on my own hardware, I would.