[LINK] Moved to Linux

[rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au]

Got one, Rachel, and ...

... the software side is about 90%. The hardware build (19" PowerBook) 
is truly dreadful. The particular machine has been warrantied four 
times, once requiring complete replacement.

Microsoft Office is stunningly bad on the Mac. Out of this world; all 
arguments about the superiority of proprietary software are lost on this 
point: it is an unstable misery. Copy an Excel chart, swap to Word, and 
attempt to paste it, and I have a 100% method for invoking a crash. It 
*must* be pasted as a Picture (ie, edit > paste special > picture) or 
the crash happens ... WTF? (This is a work machine so encouragements to 
use OO are in vain, I don't make the rules, I already use OO by 
preference, no correspondence will be entered into on this point I 
*have* to live with MS Office and that's that).

But it's the build quality and support that drives me nuts. The warranty 
jobs, in order:

- won't boot; replaced motherboard
- still won't boot; replaced machine (after much yelling at Apple Care, 
which should be renamed Apple Don't Give a S***)
- later, kernel panic shutdown, won't boot; RAM loose in socket (!!!), 
took 19 days to get on a workbench in Apple and about 7 minutes to fix.
- power supply fails with noise, light, smoke and smell; still waiting 
for the replacement after a fortnight. Had a long phone call explaining 
that "I know that you don't have a recall on 19" PowerBook batteries, 
the power supply blew up and you won't let Apple Centres replace 
equipment so please test the power supply!"

The real problem with computers is that everything is trash. It's 
unbelievable that in one of the most expensive items of household 
spending, people are expected to put up with rubbish hardware *and* 
software *and* incompatible systems. Linux is (so far) only "better" at 
inconsequential margins but free crap is better than expensive crap, and 
frankly even with good luck today's computer industry won't have much to 
write on its gravestone.

Rand endeth...

RC

grove at zeta.org.au wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Sep 2006, Adam Todd wrote:
>
>   
>> Perhaps the problem with the *nix OS community is the desire for people to
>> learn about their systems and take care of them, rather than "point, click,
>> make coffee, enter name and password, connect to net"
>>     
>
> Or you could get a Mac and have it all.
>
>
> rachel
>
>