Re: New to CentOS, and wondering about application availability

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Les Mikesell wrote:
> On Wed, 2005-07-27 at 17:36, ryan wrote:
> 
>>>i infer from some of your previous comments that you're looking to  run 
>>>CentOS on your desktop machine (since you're talking about DVD  drives 
>>>and Xine and so forth).  if you want a pleasant desktop  experience 
>>>where things Just Work, i'd recommend you buy a Mac like  Bryan said.  
>>>running Linux on the desktop is a painful and laborious  experience, and 
>>>is likely to be so for the foreseeable future.  it's  a different story 
>>>when you're talking about server applications,  though...
>>>
> 
> 
>>I have Linux running on a Desktop machine, and 2 laptops. Installing, 
>>updating and using Linux on them has been great and not at all a"painful 
>>and laborious  experience".
>>
>>For the technically savvy, and those who aren't afraid to learn, Linux 
>>is an excellent desktop OS.
> 
> 
> Yes, but for many things you take for granted under commercial OS's
> like playing music and videos you'll have to do some non-obvious
> and legally questionable things to do the same on Linux.
> 


The legal argument is a sword that cuts both ways. Commercial OS's have 
issues I never need to deal with on Linux. On Windows, if I run MS 
Anti-spyware running while I have Kazaa installed, I am violating the 
agreement I made when I installed Kazaa!*

Another example is WPA support, which, was not available until mac OS 
10.3 (jaguar only had WEP). If you were an early adopter of OS 10.2 
(some buyers got credits for OS 10.3 later on), you had to pay for an 
upgrade to 10.3 just for WPA support for the WiFi card. Paying for a 
security upgrade. ACK!**


I don't think that downloading RPMs is very non-obvious. You may have to 
read the README on some packages, but that goes back to my "for those 
who aren't afraid to learn" ;-)

Many Linux distros include mp3, .wmv, etc support built in.


* http://www.kazaa.com/us/terms2.htm
"you will not take any action, including downloading other software 
which modifies, is intended to modify or permits others to modify 
registry or other settings on your computer to, disable, remove, block, 
prevent the functioning of, or otherwise interfere with any of the 
Embedded Third Party Software."

** http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/G.Wilford/WiFi.html
"You need Panther (Mac OSX 10.3), it's not supported on Jaguar (10.2)"







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