When I was blogging at Aspect of the Hare I had the rather unique privilege of becoming one of the most well-known Linux users in the WoW blogging community. I talked about it a lot, made techie posts, and made no secret of the fact that Linux was my main (and for quite some time, only) operating system.
This had an interesting side effect: a LOT of people were inspired by me to try Linux for themselves. I got tons of e-mails and comments to this degree.
And this, in and of itself, had another interesting side effect, one that took me a little while to get used to: a good 80% or so of these comments and e-mails were people documenting their negative experiences with Linux.
Imagine, if you will… that you love something a lot and are excited when people want to try out that thing you love. Now imagine most of them hating it. Now maybe you understand why this was always a bit awkward for me.
Where am I going with this?
A few places. First of all, I feel there is something I should say as an unofficial spokesperson of the Linux community in this little corner of the Blogosphere:
LINUX ISN’T FOR EVERYONE.
Now before you go all crazy on me, I’m not trying to be elitist and say it’s only for programmers/leet hax0rs/hardcore geeks/etc. Rather, I’m trying to say that there are a lot of people who, I think, come to Linux with the completely wrong expectations and end up being disappointed.
Examples:
* If you can’t live without iTunes/Photoshop/the latest super-shiny computer games, guess what: don’t install Linux. Seriously. It’s probably not worth the hassle unless you’re a freetard like me who is willing to make sacrifices.
* If you don’t like using the command line, don’t install Linux. Now, granted, stuff like Ubuntu is making it easier and easier to do lots in Linux without the command line, but it is still very much CLI-oriented compared to, say, something like Windows.
* If you don’t like stuff randomly breaking, don’t install Linux. That’s not to say that Windows doesn’t break either, cause good ol’ XP broke on me plenty of times. But one of the best analogies I ever heard was that Windows is like a die-cast toy car, and Linux is a car made out of Legos. They can both break. The Lego car is much more likely to “break”. But that’s the point. You’re supposed to break it and put it back together.
I’m kind of mental (and possibly masochistic) when it comes to this sort of thing; dealing with computer problems gives me a strange sort of high that little else can give me. So I embrace the Lego-OS. If you are not of that mindset, or at least don’t want to deal with it at home, don’t install Linux.
* If you aren’t willing to spend hours on Google getting something simple like wireless working, don’t install Linux. In defense of Linux, this is frequently a driver support issue more than a Linux issue. But the end result remains.
* If you are looking for a clone of Windows that is somehow mysteriously “better”, don’t install Linux. Linux is not Windows. Just because you saw some YouTube movie of a guy showing off his shiny Compiz cube and desktop effects, doesn’t mean it worked entirely out-of-the-box for him. It probably didn’t. Is the tradeoff for having the Compiz cube really worth the effort, especially now that most people are using Vista/Win7? …well, that one’s up to you, but think about it.
“Piiiiike. I thought you loved Linux. Now you’re just trying to talk everyone out of trying it. What gives?”
I’m not trying to talk everyone out of it. I just want people to be aware of the commitment. Sort of like the animal rescuers who screen anyone who is thinking of adopting one of their “babies”. If you want to try Linux, that’s awesome, and I’m excited for you. Trying new things is always good, as far as I’m concerned. But you have to go into it with an open mind. Maybe you’ll end up really liking it.
But if you decide it’s not for you, that’s fine too. Use whatever operating system you feel comfortable with and suits your needs.
And remember the other side of the coin, too: for some of us, Linux is what suits our needs. Yes, some of us actually like this crazy mysterious operating system. Some of us like it for the utility, some of us for the bash terminal, some of us for the security, some of us for the F/OSS philosophy, some of us for two or more of the above, or myriad other reasons.
Oh, and the penguins. Can’t forget the penguins…
(Disclaimer: This ramble is not directed toward anyone or any event in particular. It’s sort of an amalgam of thoughts that have been floating around in my mind for months, and more than one LJ entry I’ve written on the same subject over the years.)
Hm, I’ve recently tried Ubuntu and it’s broke on me like three times already 🙁 It’s too bad, if it wasn’t for the mass of stuff I’ve bought through iTunes, I’d ditch Windows completely. (Even though getting WINE to play WoW is like pulling teeth!)
Hehe nice ramble pikie, i tried various distro’s (in VM’s mostly) but i finally found my true love: Osx 😉 Coming from the Amiga i felt right at home, something i didnt have with windows or linux. Sure i use windows and linux at work, i can do all the programming stuff i need to do with it, but when i come home, i flip on my trusty 24″ IMac and all is well…
Whenever i wanna play a pc game, reboot bootcamp, frag and relog to OSX 😉
I guess every fool has his weakness 😉
Hugs, OmeCloak.
Oh and the penguins… gotta love those 😉
Very good post. You’ve outlined the reasons I use a Mac as my main computer. Linux, while I love it, was consuming too much of my time. I need something that “just works” on my laptop. Linux has found a nice home on the computer hooked up to our TV. It runs MythTV and Boxee like a dream and is basically a cheap Tivo with far more features. Other areas where Linux shines are as a webserver, or on older hardware.
My fiance gets to use Linux more – Ubuntu is on his work computer and his desktop. He’s willing to struggle with it occasionally in order to utilize its power and flexibility. I really do miss playing with it, but I know I’m more efficient with my Mac.
A while back I unleashed a mighty rant about how much trouble it was just to use my video card to its capabilities on Ubuntu, much less do something useful. My conclusion at that point was that Ubuntu had not yet accomplished the goal of replacing Windows on the desktop, and that those stating otherwise should STFU and get to work FIXING that.
A couple of years later, and it’s largely at the same point, in some respects going backwards (I’m looking at YOU, Nvidea). Though Mint is getting a lot closer.
As a developer and QA professional trying to set up a useable GIT server environment on Ubuntu, however, I keep running across half-finished work – such as half-removing an old services framework, half-adding another, and so forth.
IMO, Ubuntu’s lost its way and needs to reaccess where it is going. If it is targeting Wintel, it needs to remember that the goal is this: IT JUST WORKS. I haven’t had to worry about a video or audio or keyboard or monitor issues on Win for years, and that’s the way it should be. The most I have to do is chuck in a CD. But at least we have a CD.
Note I am not saying Ubuntu can’t be used day to day productively. What I am saying is that it requires work and effort and PATIENCE. My netbook is a Linux house. It works fine. But I spent 2 years learning the ins and outs of making that come together. Since I have to be able to remote in to work from time to time, my main PC remains Windows, and that’s OK since I like playing games on it too. You DO NOT want to get between me and the premier of Civilization 5. 🙂
Like Ome I came from Amigaland, in fact the development environment was very familiar since a lot of Ami stuff came from gnuland (How do I love thee, gmake?) so that’s something I like. If would be nice if it got to the point where I could use it at work without worry.
Additional note: one place that Linux fails in the work environment is not exactly a Linux issue. Get into any sizable office and what you see is an office full of two or three identical models of PC and laptop; IT has a “standard image” it has tweaked for best performance and security, and a hire gets a pre-cooked install that has been tested and retested.
We need that for Linux as well, and for that to happen we need IT professionals to get into the act. All the geeks in the world won’t make a dent in corporateland until IT gets with the program.
Thank you for that post – you have put into words something that I felt for a while without ever knowing how to phrase it.
Thank you.
Nice post!
I’ve actually just started getting back into the Linux world myself. I ran Ubuntu exclusively about 2 years ago before getting annoyed with my inability to play some newer games. Now since my only PC gaming is WoW, I’m trying to get back to it.
The annoying thing is, now my PC has an ATI video card in it, and I don’t know if it’s bad ATI support or just something I screwed up, but WoW is barely playable in Ubuntu (about half the FPS of what I get in Windows). It’s quite disappointing. I know I need to play around with it more, but after previous experiences with it working fairly easily with nVidia cards, I don’t know if there’s much more I can expect without having to change hardware.
Mmm linux.
I suppose you’ll know linux is for you if you find you’re breaking other operating systems all the time. I beachball my mac a lot, I blue screen my windows a lot. I don’t break my linux as often (the latest ubuntus are making it excessively unnecessary to do anything that would risk borking it.)
That said, even if you’re not a linux user I suggest you try moving away from your photoshops and itunes and trying the alternatives. iTunes especially. The only thing iTunes does well that I don’t think Songbird does better is burn cds (discounting the fact that apple won’t let you sync your iphone elsewhere)
@Rkik ensure that the command “fglrxinfo” outputs OpenGL information and your WoW installation is configured to use OpenGL (I assume this is true anyway, but best to make sure)
I used Gentoo Linux exclusively for about 3 years while I was in high school (’04). I had a lot of fun, but like you said, there are trade-offs. My computer wasn’t always working and I always had to either deal with issues, or spend some time figuring out what was wrong and fixing it.
Awhile back I installed Linux Mint (because my Win7 beta expired and I didn’t want to install the RC, just wait for the release) and I was playing WoW on that for awhile. Everything worked ok, and it wasn’t too difficult to get setup, but some things just DIDN’T work. When patch 3.2 came out, the updater didn’t work and I had to scrap it and install Windows.
I get into Linux kicks every now and then, but these days I don’t have time to sit around and figure out a problem, I need something that just works ™.
Great post on the benefits/drawbacks of using Linux. And my favorite line, “Linux is only free if your time is worthless.”
Back when I used Linux (I’m on OS X right now) I had a phase where I basically installed a new distro on my box every week, and probably went through around 20. When my dad asked me why, I told him it was fun; learning how to set up each distro was fun; learning each distro’s package management systems was fun; and figuring out why each was unique was fun. If you want to use Linux, you have to be prepared, and you have to LIKE, breaking stuff, rebuilding it, and then basking in your self-improved program’s glory. So Pike, a salute to you.
/endramble
A very succinct analysis and entirely true. Linux is in many ways a throwback to the times when computers were things that enthusiasts built and operated for themselves, not the consumer devices they have become. My main computer is unashamedly a Windows (7) box because it does what I want with a minimum of fuss. At the same time, given that I have the luxury of having several computers around me, I indulge my interest in alternatives, currently running a Ubuntu 10 box, an OS/X hackintosh and a Fedora laptop. I don’t consider my time worthless and fortunately for me neither does my employer but I do like to have some say in how I spend it and, to me, playing with my toys and learning from them is never time wasted.
Oh and yes, before I forget. Love the penguins . . .
That was a good article you linked to; everything was very well put.
(Your own article was well written as well, of course 🙂 )
I’m picking up Linux bit by bit myself; right now I’m just using Fedora for a class, but I may look into more distros later. It sure beats paying $200 for a WineDoze license of you have the know how to make it work.
A question: will WoW work well in Wine?
I’m new to the FLOSS mindset. I dualboot Ubuntu and Windows on my Dell Inspiron 530, and i am tempted to try a linux distro (not necessarily Ubuntu) on my netbook.
Pike, you have been an inspiration for me throughout all of this. So thank you for posting this. I agree with completely with what you say.
GUIs are for sissies. >_>;
@Bamos: YES. I get a 15-20% FPS increase using wine/WoW than Win7. That’s with a AMD 5200+ proc, 4GB ram, and a NV 9600GSO 768MB card.
As for ease of install, Ubuntu makes the wine install a breeze. Go to the wine website, follow the instructions. Couldn’t be easier. The actual WoW client can be a bit of a pain, 99% of the issue is the stupid “hidden” files on BC and WotLK. But if you google it, mounting the install CDs/DVDs is a breeze. And since I already “registered” all the WoW installs (Vanilla, BC, WotLK), I only install the Lich King DVD now, and already have all the updates from WoW on a separate DVD. Takes me 30 min to install WoW to usable levels. But, as was stated earlier, you have to run in OpenGL mode, which is easy to do: Just append ‘-opengl’ (Without the little quote thingys) and the end of the command to launch WoW (And run the Wow.exe file, not launcher. Blizz borked the launcher for us Linuxians).
I run Linux exclusively on 3/4 of my computers. This one, my “Main” (Uses Gnome as the GUI), both kids computers, both of those with KDE and wireless (So nice to be able to stop them from doing ANYTHING you don’t want them to do),. The only holdout is the wife’s laptop, she only want Vista on it…Oh, well…
I started off years ago w/ Slackware, and until a month or so ago, was the only distro I used. But I switched to Ubuntu to be able to easily install Mangle (A vent type VOIP program). Since I used SW since the early days, opening the hood of Linux is no issue for me. The switch to Ubuntu takes some getting used to (Can’t login as root to do some stuff that is NEEDED), and the general “This is Ubuntu. Designed by committee” aspect has me a little miffed (Can’t get totally rid of Compiz, for example)
If you need help with getting 3d acceleration going, check out my post in the Slackware forums at linuxquestions.org. If you need help getting wine/WoW to work, drop me a line at my name here plus @ yahoo.com
That’s one the HUGE plus of Linux. We like to help each other.
I actually miss Ubuntu. I enjoyed it, specially when I first loaded it and it automatically found all of my drivers and installed them. It was a moment of pure awe.
But, alas, I am one of those Adobe users (web designer) and I just don’t have the time to get it all to work. Course, the fact that I couldn’t get half of my video games to work was a downer. So Vista it is for me. I actually like Vista (64-ultimate). I’ve not seen a blue screen and everything works extremely well (for microsoft).
Some day, perhaps, I will load up that neglected partition of my drive and play around.