Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Looking forward - what linux needs to beat microsoft

Yesterday was a very sad day for me...i sometimes like to play some games (Doom 3, Halflife 2, etc...) and linux just can't do it as good as windows...so i installed windows so i could play games...i still use linux as my primary OS but have windows just so i can play games from time to time...i was thinking what could bring linux to the next level so it could beat microsoft and become the primary OS for most of the computing nation...I decided linux needed the following improvements (comments on ones you think i missed):
Easier for home use; more media options --> direct X 10 and under support, hardware exelerated drivers, faster 3d, the option of simplicity, games working out-of-the-box; perfect hardware support and auto config; always up-to-date; pretty (xgl/compiz option that comes as default). Well that's all that i have time for today...cheers.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you want all of that in an Operating System then just use Windows. DirectX is a proprietary software-hardware interface designed by Microsoft. Linux comes with OpenGL and so does Mac. Most games these days can work with OpenGL but for that to be the case you need the proper drivers for your OpenGL compatible graphics card. Linux was not designed for games, it was designed as an Operating System that was to be better than Minux. Even a Mac isn't designed for gaming, it just happens that they support OpenGL and people have ported games to Mac. They are designed for multimedia applications and have been in the media industry for years. Its in these well rounded operating systems that problems start to arise. Windows tries to do everything, and fails miserably. It tries to be a production Operating System as well as a home computing OS and these are two totally different things. Why in a production environment would you want a OS that can play the latest games? So your employees will be playing The Sims 2 when they are suppose to be doing inventory counts? Or they could be building with SimCity instead of filling out an order for supplies needed to keep order in the company? You don't want this and its the same with the OS. You don't want it getting its function calls mixed up and start Windows Media Player instead of Notepad. Or having a graphic driver that causes the entire system to crash and all of the work in memory lost. So what Linux (I'm referring to the distributions and not the monolithic kernel) needs is to make some of the harder tasks, like program installation or hardware configuration, more down to earth for those people who don't know squat about computers. But all the functionality of now should be retained. In Vista everything is protected with stupid dialogs telling you that you don't want to change this or that because its a security risk. As well the functionality is hidden deep inside the OSs settings or has been removed completely, annoying the hell out of experienced computer users everywhere. Good luck on your quest to turn Linux into Windows.

Anonymous said...

If you want all of that in an Operating System then just use Windows. DirectX is a proprietary software-hardware interface designed by Microsoft. Linux comes with OpenGL and so does Mac. Most games these days can work with OpenGL but for that to be the case you need the proper drivers for your OpenGL compatible graphics card. Linux was not designed for games, it was designed as an Operating System that was to be better than Minux. Even a Mac isn't designed for gaming, it just happens that they support OpenGL and people have ported games to Mac. They are designed for multimedia applications and have been in the media industry for years. Its in these well rounded operating systems that problems start to arise. Windows tries to do everything, and fails miserably. It tries to be a production Operating System as well as a home computing OS and these are two totally different things. Why in a production environment would you want a OS that can play the latest games? So your employees will be playing The Sims 2 when they are suppose to be doing inventory counts? Or they could be building with SimCity instead of filling out an order for supplies needed to keep order in the company? You don't want this and its the same with the OS. You don't want it getting its function calls mixed up and start Windows Media Player instead of Notepad. Or having a graphic driver that causes the entire system to crash and all of the work in memory lost. So what Linux (I'm referring to the distributions and not the monolithic kernel) needs is to make some of the harder tasks, like program installation or hardware configuration, more down to earth for those people who don't know squat about computers. But all the functionality of now should be retained. In Vista everything is protected with stupid dialogs telling you that you don't want to change this or that because its a security risk. As well the functionality is hidden deep inside the OSs settings or has been removed completely, annoying the hell out of experienced computer users everywhere. Good luck on your quest to turn Linux into Windows.

Anonymous said...

Double Posted Oops

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous (above). Linux, Mac and Windoze were all dezigned for a purpose. Linux simply wasn't designed for games. Likewise, Windows was not designed to be a video editing/multimedia-creating machine as Mac was. Personally, I attempt/prefer to use my Mac as much as possible; however, I would never give up Windows as it can do things Mac can't and there is NO WAY I'm willing to MICKEY-MOUSE the operating system to do so; Mickey-mousing is a sure-fire way for problems. I do use Linux from time to time and like it, but Linux is NOT for the average home user (to say the least). Linux simply would never be my prime OS as it lacks certain things which I need in an OS and I have to fight with it to install things. Mac, I have found, is stable and fast like Linux yet easy to use like Windows (as easy as Windows gets). It is running on high quality hardware and, basically, just...works.

P.S. New Intel Macs run Windows (for those apps which don't run on Mac such as, oh, I don't know, maybe Doom 3) and run Linux (for those who want to go the "open-source" path or enjoy playing with Linux) Once you go Mac, you'll never go back ;-)

Collin said...

I love linux and use it for my primary OS...i just wish i could play games and do more media stuff in linux...i know linux was designed for speed, security and stability but i would like to see it become more of a rounded operating system...for those who choose to. I love mac just don't have the money to get one at the moment...most id games run in linux but ATI makes the crapiest drivers ever so the graphics suck...My Radeon 200M has had broken drivers for four releases already (i think)...thanks for the comments and info :)

Anonymous said...

Collin, have you seen/used Wine?
http://www.winehq.com/

Also you might find this web site useful, http://www.linux-gamers.net/