« Windows XP OEM and the hidden recovery partition | Main | Dead USB ports on Asus P4C800-E »
PCW and Linux
I purchased a copy of your magazine to read while on holiday. I was disappointed to see that you had published a flame from an anti-Windows user. I am not sure what your point is, but surely you are not trying to say that more idiots run Linux than run Windows? I suggest everyone ignores them and hopes they go away.
Anyway I thought I would write in to let you know what I would like from the magazine, which would make me buy it more.
Hardware reviews should give the state of the drivers in Linux - none, Binary only, or open source. Also an indication of whether the hardware is crippled by running an open source driver, and how open the specifications are if the open source driver does not exist or is incomplete.
I suspect with some thought some visual icons could be developed so this does not take up much space in the mag. This is very important for anyone who uses Linux at all on their PC, or even for someone who thinks they may want to use it in the future.
Your Hands on pages, while there is some Linux stuff, mainly focus on proprietary software. I suspect there may be demand for some on free software, particularly for people like me who want to dabble but do not want to pay for full versions. I realise you sometimes have beta versions on your cover disc, but they still have limited appeal for people who run another operating system to the Microsoft ones.
I am trying to think why I like Linux. I suppose I am the sort of person who likes trying out new (free) programs, and there are more for Linux than Windows, and they are of a better quality. When I was first exposed to computers they were Unix workstations. Linux is an updated version of those.
Windows seems very limited in comparison. I cant believe that XP comes without a programming language.
The reason my wife switched to Linux is far simpler. Her XP box kept telling her that she was not connected to the internet while she was trying to read webmail. She would have believed it if she was not listening to BBC radio over the computer at the same time. Clearly the problem was with the OS, but neither of us had any idea of how to start troubleshooting it.
Installing Linux (Ubuntu if you are interested) was a far easier option, and it does everything she wants. (Email, web browsing, BBC Radio, and games)
Paul Houghton
Post a comment