Open Source Challenge Results
August 8, 2005Well I did it. One week. Fully Open source programs…
Almost. I do admit that I used Wine (a windows emulator) to run MSN Messenger 7 because I just had to play the GF in solitaire showdown. I don’t think it detriments the achievement that much thought because Wine is open source and also took me about 9 hours in total to get working (no joke).
if anybody actually is having trouble getting Wine or many other i386 programs working on a x86_64 install of linux- remember you have to install the i386 dependencies! Yes it does mean doubling up on heaps of files but unfortunately you have to.
Im writing this about a week after I actually finished the challenge and its strange that I haven’t even thought about going back to linux for more than a few seconds. It really comes down to two things.
1. Compatability. Yes, for sure- almost every program has its linux equivalent however when it comes down to files and programs that you have grown loyal to over the many years of using computers there are just tiny things that you get accustomed to. Im sure if you were brought up using linux you would be the exact opposite. The other compatibility problem is the hard drive partitioning. You can’t have your linux partitions writeable by windows and you cant have your windows NTFS partitions writeable on linux. If they solved this problem the world would be a much easier place but unfortunately it remains the biggest hurdle in the windows -> linux conversion. Don’t even get me started about trying to play a game with SF3 protection. Don’t even think about it. The whole time I also failed to get my PDA working too. Another brick in the wall I spose.
2. Familiarity. Windows seems simple after you have used it for ever. You know where all the program files and everything are. “Program Files”, “Windows\System” etc.. Linux though, you have to learn it all over again. There are these \bin\ directories and \etc\ things that have some special purpose. If you stuck with it you would probably work it out. Other things include the little commands and things that are windows specific. If you were converting from another _nix like a macos system it would be easier but there are so many little things that take time to learn.
That’s not the end of it though. There were so many things that I absolutely loved. It is an incredibly efficient operating system and having true x64_86 support made things absolutely fly. I loved the way that x64_86 and i386 were given different dependencies to make things more stable and efficient (once I worked it out) and I absolutely adored the way that there was no jazz like Internet explorer built in and assulting you every time that you opened a file window. I loved the way that if you had to do something that would totally change your computer you would have to pop in your admin password yet it didn’t really change your user experience. I thought the way that it installed things with Yum was really cool and I thought that the way that the fresh install was so user friendly.
Clearly there is some potential to the linux/Fedora operating system however the question lies directly at- why would I need to use an alternative when I can pretty much use Windows XP and all of its programs for (effectively) nothing throught the wonders of internet piracy. When it comes down to the line, there is very little reason for the standard power user to change over- They both (effectively) cost the same amout, they both (effectively) do the same thing but at the end of the day, Fedora leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling that you haven’t broken any laws and Windows XP leaves you with compatibility and familiarity. When you weigh it all up, for me… an apathetic youth- the choice is easy.