[LINK] Moved to Linux

[Kim Holburn]

On 2006 Sep 12, at 8:55 PM, rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au wrote:
> 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.

19" powerbook?  Apple doesn't sell a 19" powerbook ;-)  Did you mean  
17"?

> 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.

Can't disagree with that.  The other day I had to get a >100 page  
book, that someone had written in Word, to the printer in a useable  
form.  It was a nightmare.  Almost every time I opened the damn thing  
Word had somehow changed all the pages.  The printer I noticed  
wouldn't accept Word documents, very wise.  They only accepted PDF.

> Copy an Excel chart, swap to Word, and attempt to paste it, and I  
> have a 100% method for invoking a crash.

I do that all the time with no problems.

> 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:

I look after a lot of powerbooks and macbooks that are in general  
roughly treated.  They are remarkably reliable.  I'm not much  
enamoured of Apple's support not because of its quality but mainly  
because of the speed of getting the machine to the tech.

> 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.

Nice rant.  Not only are they expensive but they are about the worst  
investment possible.  They lose value in themselves and in comparison  
to the current market.

> 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.

I have a friend who wrote:

No matter how much you pay for software,
  you always get less than you hoped.
Unless you pay nothing, then you get more.


> 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.

--
Kim Holburn
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