Mark Knecht wrote:
I was talking to a guy I saw reading Linux Journal in a coffee shop this afternoon. We both agreed that Linux's major problem for the average user is not the way it operates but the problems of configuring it. Once set up it's great. The path to get it set up, while hugely better than a few years ago, is just way beyond what anyone should have to do.
I don't agree that this is "Linux's problem" exactly. The sole remaining major problem with Linux imho is bad support from the hardware vendors. The OS is capable of accurate hardware detection but without drivers (either at all or of good quality) the configuration process gets mired in a quagmire of xorg.conf and kernel modules. I'm not laying blame exclusively at the feet of the graphics card manufacturers on this, the situation with soundcards is just as bad.
The current workaround for this seems to be an all Intel system which is fine until you realise that this leaves us as vendor locked in as the Windows guys who can't switch because they've got too many accounts in Quicken.
Note that in no way to I want to denigrate the hard work of the hackers working on Linux drivers. They've done an amazing job working completely in the dark in some cases. What I'm saying is that years of reverse engineering _shouldn't_be_necessary_ in the first place.
The solution as I see it (and so this isn't a /completely/ negative rant ;) ) is more advocacy => more users => noticable difference to the bottom line of companies who don't supply quality (open-source where legally possible) Linux drivers. The people on this list are amongst the best advocates seen as we're out there on stages in front of people already.
-- Jonny Music - http://jeremah.co.uk News - http://voxpolis.com
