JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum An Eye Opener!

I feel Dave's critique of Linux and other public domain software is a bit harsh. Most people only use their computers to surf the internet, watch videos, and listen to music. For that, Linux is already there with regards to user friendliness.

What may be a bit confusing is that there are many versions of Linux, compared to Windows or Apple, which only offer their latest rev in maybe home and business versions. Linux, though, has many different versions, depending upon what you are looking for. I've tried Mint, but I felt it was a bit bloated, just like recent Windows and Apple versions. I've been using Lubuntu, which is a lighter, less bloated version of the popular Linux Ubuntu, for most of my work for the past four years.

The public domain software for internet surfing, word processing, spreadsheets, animation, picture viewing and editing, professional graphics, watching videos, and many other functions are as good as equivalent software offered but the big corporations. But some areas are admittedly still lacking, such as video creation and website creation and maintenance. There is good quality audio recording software out there, but it is still a bit clumsy to set up, not well integrated (like separate software required for audio, MIDI, and drum pattern creation), and definitely lacking in quality loops and samples. So I am still doing my recording on a Windows machine, even though most everything else I do on Linux machines.

I am not adverse to paying for quality software. I have spent thousands over the years for software. What bothers me is spending all that money on something that only works for a couple of years before it no longer useable. Many times the "upgrades" offer little improvement over the older software; it is just different. Often the software still works and meets my needs, but I have a hardware problem and when I fix the hardware problem, I can no longer authorize the software. And many software suppliers are going to leasing instead of selling the software. These are the main reasons I've been doing more and more stuff with Linux and other public domain software.