What *can't* you do in Linux?

[solo]

In my growing curiosity I've started a topic to poll the MES crowds on why they still have Windows.

We all know Linux needs more games support, save that one. Any other reason(s)?

[billy_gates]

It needs Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash MX.  It needs easier installation procedures with a central applications folder.  It needs better usb and firewire support.

Now explanations:
GIMP is not 100% compatible with Photoshop and vice versa.

I have not seen a Flash MX copy worth using and I've heard that people have had trouble getting Flash to work in Wine.

./configure make make install sound familiar.  Or rpm's that only work half the time.  Then you still don't know where the files are, they are just on your hard drive in some bin or etc folder.

I have a usb memory stick thing, not a card reader.  Just a little device with some solid state memory and usb port.  I plug it into my RH system.  nothing happens.  I don't know if it has mounted and I have to go look for it or if I have to mount it, but it aint on my desktop.

[Faust]

All the newer distributions are implementing schemes like Debians apt-get, and personally I think apt-get is simpler than Mac OSX method.  So software installation is now covered.

Apt-get process:
Go to big menu of software
Choose software you want
Click install and all the config is done for you

Mac OSX process:
Go to big download site / store
Find software you want in invariably poorly organized menus / shelves
Download software / buy software
Unzip/extract
Drag to relevant location where you have space
(Then I guess you need to set up shortcuts too?  Or do you just put it in a central location and it runs?)

I mean I don't even need to know where the binaries go because my path handles that all for me.  Why are you people still using Macs???   :confused:

[Faust]

All it needs is a graphical, easier Debian install for the newbies and a better centralised config menu.  That's it.

[mobrien_12]

Linux still has no hardware acceleration support for advanced 3d sound API's.  Creative was going to make an OpenAL accelerated driver for the EMU10K1 but that kind of died when Loki did...

You could probably group this under gaming support but there are some nice environmental effects which can be done in Windows (through EAX, for example) that can't be done in Linux.

[Faust]

I've played with EAX effects in Windows and the distort is shocking.  I just don't think that non-hardware solutions are really effective for real time sound work - the best equipment I've seen was a little box in a Melbourne "sound engineering" studio.  The dude playing that thing got the most realistic faked piano sound I have ever heard out of an electric guitar and that little black box...

I agree with you 100% about the 3D sound but not about the "special effects."

[Faust]

Oh and Debian needs:
"Nicer" looking windows ala Red Hat, (is this GTK2?)
Some pretty default themes (chosen from in the install?)
Incredibly easy Wine / WineX support.  Like "automatic" incredibly easy.
XFree86 4.3.0

[xyle_one]

i want to see more apps that are self-contained, so there is no install or uninstall hassle. Like OSX. I would like to see Adobe, Macromedia, & Autodesk software ported to Linux, becuase GIMP is a joke, and i prefer their software to any of the free stuff available. And since i already get to use these in OSX, what it is the point in using Linux? (baiting.....I'm an asshole    )

[spencerpi]

The development tools we use at work (Centura Team Developer, Toad, XML Spy and many others) are not available for Linux.

Colin McRae (and about a zillion other games) does/do not work under Linux.

Photoshop is not available for Linux (tell a REAL graphics artist that Gimp has no cmyk support and s/he will laugh at you)

I bet OpenOffice is not fully compatible with MS Office which means that you're not compatible with documents 90% of desktop users send you. While the last bit is easy to overcome when you're sending documents between friends this *IS* a real problem when dealing with customers. They simply do not care if you have a C64, Amiga or a Linux box. They will send you MS Office docs and if I can't read them they I have a problem.

Also, as long as the Office market is dominated by MS I don't see OpenOffice competing. Why ? Because of the closed fileformats from MS. Let's say for the sake of argument that Office 2003 (or whatever they will call it) will have a new fileformat for Word and Excel. It means that several people in the opensource community will have a hard time figuring out that format. It will take months before a new version of OpenOffice appears that will support them. And how good will it support them ? Even right down to the subtropical features that we get from MS : embedded this's and thats ?

We have tight roadmaps for new verions or service updates from our products at work. Keeping in mind that our main development tools have no Linux version using Linux is not an option.

[xyle_one]

quote:Originally posted by M505:
The development tools we use at work (Centura Team Developer, Toad, XML Spy and many others) are not available for Linux.

Colin McRae (and about a zillion other games) does/do not work under Linux.

Photoshop is not available for Linux (tell a REAL graphics artist that Gimp has no cmyk support and s/he will laugh at you)

I bet OpenOffice is not fully compatible with MS Office which means that you're not compatible with documents 90% of desktop users send you. While the last bit is easy to overcome when you're sending documents between friends this *IS* a real problem when dealing with customers. They simply do not care if you have a C64, Amiga or a Linux box. They will send you MS Office docs and if I can't read them they I have a problem.

Also, as long as the Office market is dominated by MS I don't see OpenOffice competing. Why ? Because of the closed fileformats from MS. Let's say for the sake of argument that Office 2003 (or whatever they will call it) will have a new fileformat for Word and Excel. It means that several people in the opensource community will have a hard time figuring out that format. It will take months before a new version of OpenOffice appears that will support them. And how good will it support them ? Even right down to the subtropical features that we get from MS : embedded this's and thats ?

We have tight roadmaps for new verions or service updates from our products at work. Keeping in mind that our main development tools have no Linux version using Linux is not an option.

i laugh everytime i think about GIMP not supporting CMYK. as for open office, it is very compatable with MS office. I use it at work and our office manager (and everyone else) uses MS office, and i can open and save to their files with no problem. Because i am a "graphics guy", i cannot seriousely use a linux distro yet. I say "Yet", because i have faith that open source software will dominate and be superior to anything the proprietary markets can push out. until then, i will use my mac...
if only i could code, then i could at least contribute to the GIMPs develpment.

[TheQuirk]

quote:Originally posted by M505:
I bet OpenOffice is not fully compatible with MS Office

Hey, man. It's MS Office that's not compatible with OpenOffice.org!  :rolleyes:

[HibbeeBoy]

quote:Originally posted by M505:
I bet OpenOffice is not fully compatible with MS Office which means that you're not compatible with documents 90% of desktop users send you. While the last bit is easy to overcome when you're sending documents between friends this *IS* a real problem when dealing with customers. They simply do not care if you have a C64, Amiga or a Linux box. They will send you MS Office docs and if I can't read them they I have a problem.

This is load of BS. The point of using open office documents is that the document format works with a large number of different office suites. It is actually in M$ best interests to make their document formats compatible with other office suites because if they don't, they are going to lose out. Why wouldn't you want to use a product that is more flexible than M$ office ? An applcation that can cope with documents from many applications has to be a good thing.
 
 

quote:Originally posted by M505:

Also, as long as the Office market is dominated by MS I don't see OpenOffice competing.

Open office suites are going to compete on price alone.

[spencerpi]

quote: This is load of BS. The point of using open office documents is that the document format works with a large number of different office suites. It is actually in M$ best interests to make their document formats compatible with other office suites because if they don't, they are going to lose out. Why wouldn't you want to use a product that is more flexible than M$ office ? An applcation that can cope with documents from many applications has to be a good thing.

Where did I say it is bad to be compatible with loooots of other Office suites ? Nowhere. Why did you bring this up ?

My point was and still is : as long as MS has 90% of the desktop market and dominates the Office market it will be difficult for OpenOffice to compete. Even your claim to be compatible with other Office suites makes no sense because all the other Office suites together is still only 10% of the market.

I'm just saying that if the competition has 90% market share they can make life very hard for OpenOffice, like I said, by starting to fiddle with their file formats is just one problem for OpenOffice. I've never used OO but I will try it when I get round to it. We have MS Office at work which I *hate*. I don't know why MS needs over 50mb of disk space for a text editor (Word). All it has to do is show the letter on screen that you type. Pretty elementary stuff if you think about it.

That said, they can do some heavy stuff within Office, embedding documents from other applications in their documents, just to name one. I seriously doubt that OpenOffice supports all those gimmicks.

A lot of people here make it look very easy ... Photoshop ? We have The Gimp, solved. MS Office ? We have OpenOffice, solved.

It's just not true : they may come close in functionality, close enough for Joe Average but expert users will laugh at them. The lack of CMYK support in Gimp is one example.

If you take a non CMYK file to a printing company they *will* laugh at you. Deal with it and don't go claiming that The Gimp = Photoshop. It just isn't so.

[spencerpi]

On a more positive note all the programs needed for webwork like html editors, ftp programs etc seem to work fine in my Mandrake 9.1 install.  

[KernelPanic]

I think you will be pleasanty suprised with OOo once you try it and maybe have to retract some of your post   . But I have to agree on the GIMP front as it just doesnt cut it for a pro, even with all the plugins installed.