Well, I finally gave up on having Linux as my workstation here at work. While it was cool having virtual desktops, a real stable environment, etc, it really came down to productivity - something that Linux just couldn't provide me with (perhaps it's b/c I grew up on Windows):
- Scroll wheel: Sure I had a crappy OEM Logitech mouse, but Linux for some reason couldn't handle it. It sure comes in handy when dealing with a lengthy piece of code.
- Printing: Got a Novell network and got it set up, but for some KDE applications, it wouldn't work and for others (StarOffice, the console 'lpr' command) it would.
- CD Ripping: I was using RipperX (on the old drive) and it would take hours to rip a CD. Needless to say, RealJukebox does this in minutes.
- CD Burner: I could only burn a CD and after doing a modprobe ide-scsi. cdrecord is an awesome application - I do give that props... but ...
- CD Mounting: After getting my new CD-RW drive installed, I couldn't mount CD's anymore.
- Coding: I'm not a gvim or emacs guy - I like project-based IDE's to work within. I tried Glimmer and Komodo, both of which were either slow or had functionality missing that I needed. I'm now using Crimson Editor on Windows right now.
So now I have a cheesy/instable Win98 workstation, but at least I found a virtual desktop shareware app (Cool Desk) and Putty & WinSCP are cool apps, too.
Of course, I'm just waitin' 'til I get a new tiBook/OS X, hopefully later this year.
Jason
Update: Added the coding point... I'm sure this list will grow as I think of other things that bugged me.
Win2K
koschei on 2002-05-22T17:39:42
Windows 2000 seems reasonably stable (compared to 9x/ME). You may want to consider that. Or not =)
Re:Win2K
Purdy on 2002-05-23T13:22:11
Agreed - I just haven't a copy of Win2K here at work. I use Win2K at home and it's very nice.
Jason
Re:Win2K
koschei on 2002-05-24T01:44:37
Normally, I'd agree.
But my copy has just decided that it wants to crash any installers that run. On the bright side, Emperor: Battle for Dune is already installed. On the not so bright side, programs that my gf would like to learn to use aren't.
Darnit.
