Sigurdhsson

I just read a news article about someone who got his laptop hacked and used to download child pornography, which is kind of tragic. The reason I need to rant is different – in the comments to this artice (as always it seems) a flameware soon erupted between sensible people and the ignorant trolls who constantly bash Microsoft. Now, I’m not on any specific OS’s side here, but I do think that these trolls really ruin the reputation of Linux users (because they’re always Linux users). There is no reason to make random post claiming that the world would be better if everyone ran Linux, that there is no reason not to run Linux and that Windows really, really fucking sucks. Half of that isn’t even true; the world won’t be better if everyone run Linux, and there are plenty of reasons not to run Linux.

Most of them relate to compatibility and education issues – people would need to learn a new system (even though it’s similar) and old programs and files would need to be updated, converted or replaced. This takes time and knowledge to acheive, but it is possible. The main reason not to run Linux however is the lack of good software. There really is no Linux/Open-Source equivalent to programs like Photoshop (don’t give me that Gimp crap, it’s nowhere near) etc., there might be alternatives but most of the time they’re simply not good enough.

Besides, I beleive that each of the three most popular operating systems have their specific user base, a user base that is fairly balanced at the moment and as such there probably won’t be any mass migrations from any OS (except for goverment and/or company open-source initiatives).

Windows, even though it may be insecure, unstable and slow is perfect for the average Joe and all gamers. The average Joe doesn’t really care, he wants a simple system that requires as little configuration as possible, and I have yet to see a Linux distribution with this (no, not Ubuntu). The gamers basically have no choice since nearly all games are released for Windows, but that market is slowly shifting towards consoles (and no, Wine does not work that good).

Macs are very popular with designers, artists, musicians and other creative people. This isn’t surprising when you look at the software available for macs; most of it is related to these fields.

Linux hasn’t got a clearly defined user base IMO, most Linux users have great knowledge when it comes to computers and as such they can configure their system more specifically, something you can’t do in most other operating systems. The largest “user” base for Linux still it, and will probably always be, as servers. Linux is the perfect system to set up as a server; it is highly customizable, stable and secure.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was don’t go around telling everyone how great Linux is and how much everything else sucks, especially not if you can’t back it up with proper sources. You’ll end up looking like a douche, dragging most of the Open-Source community with you.