Linux Is A Time Killer | Hacker News Reader

Linux Is A Time Killer

mostlymaths.net

4 pointsnochiel16 comments

This title needs to be qualified: Linux on the desktop is a time killer. I sympathize (which is why I use a Mac), but it's a radically different story for servers.

I run quite a variety of headless servers. In almost every case, it is easier to setup and maintain an Linux box than a Windows box. Almost every software package I need is a command away. And if I were doing this on Windows, I would still have to mess around configuring the software I installed, so there is no gain there.

One command, and all security patches are installed and running - live, and without re-configuring a thing. The only exception is a kernel upgrade, which requires a reboot, but otherwise is trouble-free.

Plus, when things break, it is so much easier to get configs transferred and running on a new Linux box, than on Windows. Re-install the software. Restore DBs. Restore configs. You're good. To a degree this is possible on Windows, but it is a lot harder because there are so many black boxes, binary configs, registry keys, etc.

You are completely right, it was my fault with the post title. I think I sounded too against-Linux, which is not what I meant. I love having Linux around, and having Linux installed. But there are times when I don't feel like editing X11 settings from the console again :)

Sorry, but I didn't edit X11 settings for years. Speaking of xorg.conf, it is optional for years. The system works just fine without it.

When I dist-upgraded neither the keyboard nor the mouse worked under X11.

Yesterday, my Thinkpad running Windows 7 hybernated during sleep. It never woke up from that hybernation. So I did hard reset and it didn't boot (it did boot after second hard reset).

What does it have common with your situation? Sometimes shit happens, things go wrong and there is some lurking bug that is hard to duplicate. You wasted few minutes of your time editing xorg.conf. I wasted few minutes rebooting and holding breath. Neither it does make any system bad, nor is it any ground for generalizations. Just hard to find bug.

For desktop linux....

Servers and Embedded Devices it's one of the easier alternatives.

Indeed. And desktop Linux is not bad... It is really a big piece of software. But it gets on my nerves when something does not work

I somewhat disagree, it is a question of entitlement. On stable platforms, of which there are also Linux distributions besides OSX, stuff isn't cutting edge but somewhat older and working fine mostly. So you have to wonder why you demand cutting edge from Linux but not from OSX, this is because on a lot of Linux distributions the cutting edge is an option but often not on stable OS like OSX and even windows. When it comes to drivers the problem is with stubborn manufacturers that only want to provide specs to closed platforms.

I had the same problem as the author (SD cards in an Acer Aspire One). It took me about twenty minutes to mind the fix on the web and apply it to get both card readers working. I'm not sure why it would have taken him the whole day and only get one working.

I've also had lots of weird hardware configuration things with Windows, especially when upgrading from one major release of Windows to another, so I'm not sure that you can say it's a Linux thing.

Hi, author here. With Ubuntu 10.04? The proposed solutions don't work in my version (I have the earlier with hard drive). I have also seen several other cases of LH works RH doesn't.

It wasn't meant to be a Linux thing. It happens with every operating system. But with Linux, you have so much freedom you can get trapped by it trying to solve it all.

Windows can waste plenty of your time too, if you have (or think you have) some kind of malware ...

But you always have malware with Windows installed ;)

"Linux is only free if your time has no value." --Jamie Zawinski

I definitely love this quote!

although it is good ... it is really right.

Windows always gave me a lof of headaches for absolutely no reason.

Last night , only getting local connection .... why ? And explorer.exe just decided to crash up on me everytime i opened the panel.

Fresh install .... crap win

No worry, I wasted equal share of time with Windows and OSX. If I had to pick one-eyed among blind, it would be difficult choice, becasue they are all blind like bats.

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