[Wylug-discuss] Trying to use Linux at home.

[Nick Moulsdale]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1200, with 120Gb Hd and 750Mb Memory. It got slow so I thought
lets try out a  Linux Live Distro.
 
So in the last week I have downloaded and installed (not just "live CD" but actual install)
the following Distros
 
Fedora 9
Ubuntu hardy Heron 8.04
Mandriva Linux one Spring 2008
SUSE Linux Free
 
My results were pretty awful.
 
Mandriva never really installed and worked, it kept locking up for 2 minutes at a time (no fancy graphics effects selected).
 
Ubuntu Hardy Heron installed well, but the system fonts were horrible, I could not upgrade the Firefox  3 beta to final, I could not get 
Flash to install, in fact program install was a nightmare. In fairness it was reasonably responsive, never recognised my Linksys
wireless card, but could run out of the box and connect to the internet.
 
Fedora 9 was OK to install, was fairly slow, never upgraded Firefox from the dowloads, never got flash to work
did not have a decent email program (I think Kmail is awful) and evolution would not install.
 
The best was SUSE Linux free, it had great fonts, was responsive, upgraded Firefox to 3 from beta. But again
flash would not work. Evolution came as standard and worked well, even detecting and installing gmail.
But never saw my wireless card and felt limited compared to Windows, For example I use Piclens
to look at pictures on Flickr, no version for Linux. No shockwave for Linux.
 
In the end I reinstalled Windows XP SP2, got the drivers off dell's site, loaded loads of programs legally 
and they all installed from the downloaded file in one or 2 clicks. All my favourites like Google Desktop Sidebar
work "out of the box". piclens works, shockwave self installs and works. Sadly the windows port of evolution is buggy
so its dig out an old copy of Office 2000. Open Office is OK - ish, but feels cludgy and does not integrate with anything else. 
Wireless adaptor was installed by going to hardware, selecting update driver, auto installed. Bad point I had to get NIC Network driver off Dell website, whereas all Linux distros had found and and installed a driver
 
In Evolution just setting up the reading pane was impossible as it lost settings on close down.
 
I'd love to have written that Linux Desktop has come of age. But it hasn't. 
 
Its too hard to install programs, it reveals its complex nature if anything goes wrong. Yes I could have joined umpteen user groups,
BUT I DID NOT NEED TO DO THAT TO INSTALL WINDOWS XP PRO SP2.
 
So, yes Linux is great for servers if you really know what you are doing, but otherwise, its not plug and play, its not even plug and pray.
 
Perhaps another year? If we cannot beat this albatross called Vista, we will never have such an opportunity again.
 
Disappointed? Yes, I am. I manage a network of over 50 PC's running XP and Vista, plus Linux servers and Windows 2003 servers.
I think I'm competent and can sort most stuff out. 
 
But "New" Linux has a way to go to get me dancing from the rooftops.
 
Best Wishes
 
Nick
 



	For and on behalf of	
	

Nick Moulsdale
Group Finance and IT Director 	EBI Manufacturing Co Ltd
Sandhill House
82 Meanwood Road
Leeds LS7 2RE 	
nick at ebi.co.uk 	
tel: 
fax: 
mobile: 	0113 243 2448 <http://www.plaxo.com/click_to_call?src=jj_signature&To=0113+243+2448&Email=nick@ebi.ndo.co.uk> 
0113 243 0504
07831-555545 <http://www.plaxo.com/click_to_call?src=jj_signature&To=07831-555545&Email=nick@ebi.ndo.co.uk>  	
	
 


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