The Contest Continues
Sep 17th, 2007 by Don Ray
This is a Linux post, so if you have no interest in the pseudo technical side of this blog, you have been warned and my skip to another post.
Today, I came upon an article of the progress that is being made in the KDE desktop side of Linux. There has always been a long running battle about which of the two Linux desktops (KDE and Gnome) was the best and there are zealots on both sides that think their platform is the best.
When I moved to Linux, I went with the UBUNTU distribution, which uses the Gnome desktop. My primary reason was that Evolution came with Gnome and I thought it would be a close replacement to Microsoft Outlook.
I should back up a little. I started playing around with Linux around the year 2000. Linux at that point was pretty rough around the edges. I continued playing with various distributions from RedHat, Mandrake and SuSE, but none were complete enough and flexible enough to ween me off a Microsoft distribution.
It is hard for me to believe the progress that the Linux community has made in the last seven years. The 7.04 distribution from UBUNTU is really a very nice distribution. I appreciate it even more, now that I have been playing with Apple’s OSX. Many things are similar to the Apple environment. Both require an adjustment period after living with the Dark Side (Microsoft) for so many years.
Now that I have UBUNTU configured to my needs, it just works. While I have had some problems in the past, most were because of my being so new to using the system. I have yet to find anything that I need to do that can’t be done on my Linux system. If I have any disappointment with my current environment, it is the fact that I am running it on hardware that is five years old.
I will probably upgrade my hardware environment next year. In the meantime, I have three computing environments that I maintain and keep operational.
I have Windows XP running on one system that is currently being used by a couple of individuals learning English. Some software programs still require the Dark Side. I have Apple OSX running on an Apple Mac Mini that I am playing with. The last system is my primary system running UBUNTO 7.04.
There is a new release of UBUNTU coming out in October and the new KDE desktop is scheduled for December. Based on several things happening on the KDE side, I may take another look at it when the new KDE supported UBUNTU release comes out. One good thing about the Linux systems is that you can try any flavor out and use whichever is most comfortable to you. You don’t have to pay several hundreds of dollars and put in large investments in new hardware to get new functions in the operating system.
Since installing the current version of UBUNTO, I have been able to use Open Office a large amount and have received from and provided documents to Microsoft Office. Neither have had a problems with the other’s documents. I have old Excel files that are working fine in Open Office. I am using PowerPoint documents with no problem. For my needs, my $0 product is working very effectively and has eliminated my need for a multi hundred dollar office suite by Microsoft.
Microsoft and Apple probably have no fear of being replaced by Linux. However, with the rapid improvement of the Linux, the continued monopolistic tactics of Microsoft and the high price of Apple hardware, neither company should ever say never.
Don,
I 100% agree with your article. Being in your age group and having been force fed MS, I was wary of using Linux. But having lived in Venezuela for the past 10 years and using some legal and some not so legal version of Windows and fighting the battles to keep Windows working lead me to try Linux and Ubuntu was the obvious choice.
I now run Ubuntu 7.04 on my mail box and dual boot with XP (I do not allow XP to have internet access) on my laptop (to be able to run the few programs that Linux does not support).
What amazes me is the support that is available for Ubuntu on the internet, free, fast and satisfying. If you know how to use Google search you can find you solution.
For me I will not be going back to using MS or Mac
Saludos
Jim
Hi Jim. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I am extremely happy with Linux. You are right about the amazing amount of support on the Internet for Linux.
When I was in Austin, not long ago, I put UBUNTU 7.04 on my grandkids PC. They were complaining about MS being so slow and I think it was as a result of all the spyware that had found its way to their PCs.
Not long ago, I wrote and asked one of my granddaughters how Linux was working and how she liked it. She said, “It is amazing!”
Did you install a scanner, if so which one works on Ubuntu?
I have three scanners and none work.
Robert
I use a Canon LIDE 20. Getting a scanner to work will require a little work on your part. I installed scanbuttond and that solved my problems. I found this by researching the Internet and I posted this in the past here.
Anytime I want to use thescanner I have to execute scanbuttond first. From what I have read, this solves the problem of many scanners not working.
Maybe in the next release they will have fixed the problem that disabled the scanners.
Don Ray,
You can run evolution under KDE. I suggest you install the full KDE. You may even find it entertaining to try ICEWM and WindowMaker (icewm and wmaker in Synaptic or “sudo apt-get install or ). You can then select “Switch User” and open another session with a different window manager. If your computer is a bit low on resources, you may find ICEWM or Window Maker speeds things up a bit, but only if you log into them instead of, not in addition to, Gnome or KDE.
I have a Canon lide 25 and also had to do some prestidigation to make it work in 7.04. It worked out of the box in 6.1 and earlier. I really wish these folks would stop breaking stuff that used to work.
Robert, what brand and model scanners do you have?
Henry
Hi Henry. I have thought about adding all of KDE, but haven’t wanted to do that yet. I guess it would be a way to try both desktops.
Hi Don,
First time caller, long time lurker. First, let me get this off my chest. After visiting Costa Rica a few times (and falling in love, getting married and having a horrible time with immigration, getting divorced) and Panama, I am so jealous. Sure Panama (and CR) doesn’t have all the amenities of the US, but there is something about the weather there that warms my heart and briings about a strange calm feeling I’ve felt nowhere else. I’m at least 12 years away from retirement so panama will have to wait.
Ubuntu seems to be the Linux desktop choice of late and for good reason. It recognizes hardware well and has most of the features average users seek. I use Backtrack but for completely different reasons (internet security). I would recommend Ubuntu for all those people wanting to release themselves from the stranglehold of Micrsoft.
Hi Robert. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. We will try to keep Panama pure till you get here.
I am enjoying UBUNTU. So far, they are doing a good job.