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My beef with Linux
I'm going to state some opinons. I may get some that disagree with me, which is fine. I'm not looking to convince anybody. I just want to explain why I never really got into Linux, and find out if I'm correct, or why I'm wrong.
This is written from my perspective, which is almost always a unique one--in this case, I would call it the "lazy nerd". I could have been one of those AV club guys, spurned from social circles to retreat into the safety of the machine world, where through mastery of the keyboard and the soldering iron, they could create gods. I think anyone who owns their own server counts into that group--and I think at least half the population of Germany has a Linux server in their basement. Either that, or they're in a band. Sometimes both.
But instead, I stuck to Windows, and grew up learning all the nooks and crannies inside XP. Not with any sense of dedication, although I did take a bit of pride when I was the "go-to" guy for computer problems (the first ten times, anyway...), but only incidentally, learning it along the way because it interested me. And a lot of the Linux philosophy seems very interesting to me. So I guess my chief question is whether I don't like Linux because it's just very faulty in many different ways, or whether I'm simply too accustomed to doing things the Windows way.
I started this post because I just started learning how to program ATMEL microcontrollers. It's not an easy task by any means, but even as a beginner I'm certain that it could be easier. This is the point where you say "If you can make it better, then why don't you?" The answer is that I'm still at the foot of the learning curve, and it's a steep climb. By the time I get to the point where I'm capable enough to simplify the process, I'll have reached the point where I can look back at a line like "OBJ = $(SRC:.c=.o) $(ASRC:.S=.o) " and say "what's so complicated about that?"
I think that's probably Linux's biggest problem. It's written by people who are at once interested in it, and capable of writing code for it. And if the subject is complex enough, then the only people interested in it and capable of working with it will be those already comfortable with the complex interface. Which means that those users who are just interested in it, but not enough to learn how to deal with the complex interface, are turned away. Windows has the advantage and responsibility of a paying consumer base, so they have the funds to hire a bunch of idiots to come in and explain why they can't figure out their software.
But it's not only idiots. I don't consider myself an idiot. But I consider myself rare in that I value simplicity. I suspect the problem with the Linux mindset is a sort of elitism--a value that prides itself on complexity, often for its own sake. Having to rewrite your driver files just to increase the screen resolution (to give a simple example) requires a certain amount of obscure, arcane knowledge, which feels like power to those who already know it. But it's not an advantage. A simple graphical slider could do the same work with much less preparation required. Simply put, the computer does it for you. And isn't that what computers were supposed to do all along?
Trouble is, I'm only interested in this subject enough to write a blog post about it. If someday my skills improve sufficiently for me to be able to solve some of the problems I've seen, I'd like to think I could be of some help. But I'm not interested in it enough to pursue it as a quest. So until someone is, I think I'm going to stay away from Linux for a while. Just as long as I don't have to buy Vista.
This is written from my perspective, which is almost always a unique one--in this case, I would call it the "lazy nerd". I could have been one of those AV club guys, spurned from social circles to retreat into the safety of the machine world, where through mastery of the keyboard and the soldering iron, they could create gods. I think anyone who owns their own server counts into that group--and I think at least half the population of Germany has a Linux server in their basement. Either that, or they're in a band. Sometimes both.
But instead, I stuck to Windows, and grew up learning all the nooks and crannies inside XP. Not with any sense of dedication, although I did take a bit of pride when I was the "go-to" guy for computer problems (the first ten times, anyway...), but only incidentally, learning it along the way because it interested me. And a lot of the Linux philosophy seems very interesting to me. So I guess my chief question is whether I don't like Linux because it's just very faulty in many different ways, or whether I'm simply too accustomed to doing things the Windows way.
I started this post because I just started learning how to program ATMEL microcontrollers. It's not an easy task by any means, but even as a beginner I'm certain that it could be easier. This is the point where you say "If you can make it better, then why don't you?" The answer is that I'm still at the foot of the learning curve, and it's a steep climb. By the time I get to the point where I'm capable enough to simplify the process, I'll have reached the point where I can look back at a line like "OBJ = $(SRC:.c=.o) $(ASRC:.S=.o) " and say "what's so complicated about that?"
I think that's probably Linux's biggest problem. It's written by people who are at once interested in it, and capable of writing code for it. And if the subject is complex enough, then the only people interested in it and capable of working with it will be those already comfortable with the complex interface. Which means that those users who are just interested in it, but not enough to learn how to deal with the complex interface, are turned away. Windows has the advantage and responsibility of a paying consumer base, so they have the funds to hire a bunch of idiots to come in and explain why they can't figure out their software.
But it's not only idiots. I don't consider myself an idiot. But I consider myself rare in that I value simplicity. I suspect the problem with the Linux mindset is a sort of elitism--a value that prides itself on complexity, often for its own sake. Having to rewrite your driver files just to increase the screen resolution (to give a simple example) requires a certain amount of obscure, arcane knowledge, which feels like power to those who already know it. But it's not an advantage. A simple graphical slider could do the same work with much less preparation required. Simply put, the computer does it for you. And isn't that what computers were supposed to do all along?
Trouble is, I'm only interested in this subject enough to write a blog post about it. If someday my skills improve sufficiently for me to be able to solve some of the problems I've seen, I'd like to think I could be of some help. But I'm not interested in it enough to pursue it as a quest. So until someone is, I think I'm going to stay away from Linux for a while. Just as long as I don't have to buy Vista.
cynical
amused