I am still keeping my documents in c:\docs\ - Am I mad?

[CountMike]

The reason that Linux has a reputation of "toy" and "enthusiast" OS is that it is totally disorganized and so can not have a larger base of apps that can run on all or most of distros. Could you imagine outcry if MS would come out with 50+ distros of Windows where most of programs would not run on each of them. Although Linux kernel is quite potent, being able to run on wide spectrum of systems, there is no organized effort to standardize the way apps run on all of them and not even the way how they are to be included to run an different distros. I would have to use multiple Linux systems to do 10% of the stuff I'm running on Windows. Linux also uses quite archaic file system and that doesn't help it's cause a bit. So we are pretty much stuck with Windows to be a real everybody's OS with Linux as niche product for appropriate applications where Windows wouldn't fit or is to large. Apple I would not include in those kinds of systems, as it is a whole other kitten caboodle tied to very specific hardware.

 

[lehnerus2000]

The reason that Linux has a reputation of "toy" and "enthusiast" OS is that it is totally disorganized and so can not have a larger base of apps that can run on all or most of distros. Could you imagine outcry if MS would come out with 50+ distros of Windows where most of programs would not run on each of them.

It depends on what software you need to run.
The software I normally use in Linux works on all of the distros I've played with (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, OpenSUSE and Arch Linux).

There are always complaints about "broken" software when a new version of Windows is released.

Linux also uses quite archaic file system and that doesn't help it's cause a bit.

I'm not a fan of its file system (it's OK).
In theory it is a good setup, but there is no authority who can crush developers who "go their own way".
Tracking down binaries is a nightmare.

Apple I would not include in those kinds of systems, as it is a whole other kitten caboodle tied to very specific hardware.

Sure.
Apple stuff is totally locked down.

 

[Mystere]

It depends on what software you need to run.
The software I normally use in Linux works on all of the distros I've played with (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, OpenSUSE and Arch Linux).

But that's just it, each distro vendor must maintain their own separate repository of applications, each customized to work on their systems. Yes, many are based on a common platform, such as Debian or Red Hat, which allows these repositories to be shared, but that doesn't change the fact there are often big differences in how the applications are setup, compiled, configured, etc..

For instance, both Red Hat and Debian use totally different mechanisms to configure common software like Apache (the very structure of the configuration files are totally different, and even the folder structures of the /etc files).

Knowing how to configure apps on one distro doesn't always translate directly to another. And the documentation is often, well.. of limited value. Try searching for anything online, and you have no idea if the documentation is still applicable to the version you're using.

There are always complaints about "broken" software when a new version of Windows is released.

While true, it's not the same thing. That tends to be because an app was written poorly, or used undocumented functionality.

I use Linux everyday on servers... and it does its job well. But its extremely frustrating on the desktop.

 

[lehnerus2000]

For instance, both Red Hat and Debian use totally different mechanisms to configure common software like Apache (the very structure of the configuration files are totally different, and even the folder structures of the /etc files).

Agreed.
We used Fedora 14(?) in my "Intro to Linux 1" subject, as part of my Networking course.
I was having a network issue in Ubuntu 10 and the file I needed to edit was in a different location compared to Fedora.

Knowing how to configure apps on one distro doesn't always translate directly to another. And the documentation is often, well.. of limited value. Try searching for anything online, and you have no idea if the documentation is still applicable to the version you're using.

Agreed.
I hate decoding man pages.
Other FOSS documentation is often awful or basically useless.

That complaint also applies to non-Linux software.
Unless the programs you are using are very popular and therefore have lots of YouTube videos, tips & tricks articles, etc. (e.g. Photoshop), the documentation is often lacking the information that I consider to be crucial.

There are always complaints about "broken" software when a new version of Windows is released.

While true, it's not the same thing. That tends to be because an app was written poorly, or used undocumented functionality.

Agreed, but from the average user's perspective, the new version of Windows has broken their program.

I use Linux everyday on servers... and it does its job well. But its extremely frustrating on the desktop.

I know that in a work situation, the choice of OS isn't up to the IT workers "in the trenches", but if you are comfortable with a certain server distro (e.g. RHEL) couldn't you use the related desktop version on your own devices (to minimise the frustrations/inconsistencies)?

I think that these last few posts on Linux show why there are so many distros.
We all have our own opinions on what needs to be fixed, but they don't necessarily overlap.

It reminds me of PCs during the 80's when there were multiple flavours of DOS, plus a few other completely different operating systems, battling for "hearts and minds".