I’ve been catching up on some of the emails and comments I received after I announced I was disappointed with myself and felt some issues need further comments.
Non-debian based distros
After some experimentation, I have discarded the others and returned to Ubuntu & Debian. SELinux is just too much hassle.
Finding software
I said:
Of course thereâ??s nothing like these repositories for Windows, but then again itâ??s so much easier to find things.
…and to a certain extent it is, but even though I installed XP a few weeks ago, I’m still adding software on almost a daily basis. After following my instructions for configuring Ubuntu I’ve had to do very little.
Also, mrben made the very good point that…
one thing that Linux is becoming very good at that Windows will always struggle to do, and that is allow a using to update the entire system (including all the software) in one foul swoop
I’m pretty sure he meant “fell swoop1”, but it is valid nonetheless. Sure, you can use Windows Update for your OS, but it won’t provide the latest updates for all your apps.
Outlook
…is a pretty nice client, but I find I’m mainly using it for the calendar/contacts rather than mail. Now that I’ve finished the work I was doing, I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it.
Productivity
I’ve also discovered my perceived productivity increase under Windows is just plain wrong. The amount of time I’ve wasted on typing bash commands is the command prompt, or forgetting you actually have to copy text after you select it has shown me that my brain is now more aligned to the *NIX way of doing things.
Sure I’m faster using some applications, but on a whole I’m slower. Go figure…
Power Users
Ket made comments about how as “power users” we were more likely to stick with Windows. Apart from my disagreement with the phrase (see here for why – it’s all true), in my opinion being adept at keeping Windows running smoothly (something I can’t always do myself) means you have the ability to adapt to another platform more easily than a normal user. You may find the transition more difficult initially, but you get up to speed much more quickly.
Conclusion
Personally I choose Linux. Professionally I (currently) have to choose Windows. In the future…who knows.
1 Just to head of discussion, go read this. It’s about two-thirds down.
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