Linux Desktop Summit Re: [SGVLUG] Hello from San Diego

[Dustin Laurence]

On Tue, Apr 25, 2006 at 09:43:35AM -0500, sean at seanodonnell.com wrote:

> I have to agree w/ matti... "linux is definitely got a LONG way to go on the
> desktop. Sad to state this."
> 
> Things that would help make MY life easier on my Slackware Linux Laptop
> (slacktop)...

Stop.  Stop right there.  Put the Slackware disk on the table slooowly.
Keep your hands where I can see them.  OK, now step away...no, keep
those hands in plain sight....

Slackware is basically irrelevant to discussions of the Linux desktop.
It can be one, just like OpenBSD can be one, if you have the knowledge
and like doing things yourself.  When people talk about "The Linux
Desktop" they are talking about either

(1) The Xandros/Linspire/Mepis style distro.  Mandriva may be in this
category, not sure.  Aimed at individual Microsoft Windows users,
essentially.

(2) The Novell/Red Hat desktops, aimed at corporate deployments.

(Yeah, they'd both probably fuss about the individual/corporate labels,
but that is how I interpret their differences.)

As an example, all of the above try do do as much for you as possible
and give you fancy graphical administration tools for the things they
can't automate.

Slackware is, well, exactly the opposite--simplicity means "don't create
a complex automation system or a GUI for something that can be fixed
with vi and a text file".

Try Xandros or SuSE and we'll talk about the Linux desktop--otherwise,
Slackware just assumes you're the expert and will do what you tell it
to.  Simply. :-)

> 1) A CD/DVD Burning GUI (or even a simple command-line app) that works!
> (cdrecord/dvdrecord just plain suck (imo), although it's more of a lack of 
> my
> own patience and understanding, and lack of time to rtfm).

See, that's the sort of attitude that Slackware punishes mercilessly.
:-)

My experience is that once cdrecord is configured properly, it Just
Works.  Like this:

    $ cdrecord I_stole_this_from_the_internet.iso

However, configuring it sucks.  Not the least because Schilly (the
author) is about as socially adjusted as a rabid stoat and refuses to
cooperate with anyone.  Too bad he's the guy who did the heavy lifting
to make burning work, cuz we're stuck with cdrecord.

> NeroLinux could be a good alternative, but I don't feel the need to pay 
> for such
> an application, as (imo) it should be part of the operating system
> 'desktop-stack' or whatever the marketing einsteins would call it.

It is--cdrecord.  If you don't like it as-is, use a GUI shell.  Pretty
much every graphical burner app on Linux calls cdrecord behind the
scenes.  I agree with the K3B and XCDRoast suggestions.

> It really all comes down to the hardware manufacturer's lack of support, and
> Commercial Software Developers who perceive that the Linux Desktop Market is
> simply DWARFED by the Microsoft Windows Desktop Market, and that it's not
> within their stock-holders (or their own) interests to support an open 
> system.
> 
> The fact is, I don't want to use linux as a desktop if EVERYONE else is 
> using
> it, and imo, the commercialization of linux will be it's inevitable downfall
> (primarily in terms of security).

So what you're saying is that as soon as Linux is ready for the desktop
to your satisfaction, you'll quit using it?  That seems like a recipe
for frustration. :-)

I can't see how this is a big worry--"Linux" doesn't exist in the sense
Microsoft Windows does.  If Xandros/Linspir/Mepis/whatever makes a bad
security decision, that won't affect what Debian an Slackware ship.
Those companies don't write most of the software--the LKML crowd and the
community and enterprise distros are moving toward more security, not
less.

Dustin

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