I'm going to respond to the basic question of Linux/Unix versus
DOS/Windows. I'm no Linux expert, so probably nobody needs to know
what I think about this subject. But there is an off-chance that
what I think may have value, and most discussions seem to overlook
what is important to me in favor of installation and hardware
issues, so I'll say my piece and accept my scolding.
I was introduced to Unix on a Sun workstation by a friend when I
couldn't get Matlab to print hardcopy using DOS/Windows3.1. It was
a shock to find that this new environment did the job well. Of
course, it was a Sun workstation versus a PC. But that wasn't the
only big plus for me with Unix over Windows. I attempt to describe
this below.
My line of work is engineering, and I write programs and scripts,
run them, and report the results. It is important that I know all
about the files and the directories that I work with, so I don't
want a File Manager. I want to look into a directory from the
command line and see all the filenames and dates and sizes, etc.
And I am scared of icons. I may not know exactly what they will do
to me. So I like a command line interface that lets me specify for
sure what actions I am taking on what files at all times. Finally,
I have a poor memory, so I need to access lots of data in
different files as I do my work, and having several xterms viewing
different files is a perfect environment for me. That is what
Linux/Unix gives me: file and directory direct access, command
line control, and multiple xterms for access to data. And it is
all so clean -- and the xterms are so mobile.
When I write reports, they have lots of equations and graphs, so
the Latex program, with its ability to use PostScript files from
any other Workstation environment and its perfect mathematical
presentations is ideal. Again, this puts me into Linux/Unix.
Now I know that MS Windows can give me multiple windows to work
with, and I have done that, with help from a Windows expert, using
Excel. It made me feel blind in regard to data access -- moving the
windows around, resizing, accessing files in each window as
desired -- it just was very inconvenient and all cluttered up, and
my ability to access information from anywhere instantly was just
not good enough.
Of course I struggled to learn the commands in Linux/Unix. But I
had help -- the Linux/Unix environment has Enthusiasts, and they
want to help. Yes, I know that some of the Linux/Unix experts are
pretty elitist and scornful about the clumsy efforts of newcomers
who need the OS to do their jobs but haven't yet become comfortable
with it. But I haven't encountered very many of them, in fact, on
the whole, the Linux/Unix community has been extremely helpful and
courteous to me despite the stupid questions I have asked.
Most critical discussion seems to be about installation problems.
My experience is very limited, but this hasn't been an issue for
me and my acquaintances, and I recall clearly the awful problems
that the installers of MS Windows plus applications had at the
company where I worked. And I also had problems installing MSW3.1
(mostly because it detected Linux on the same hard drive and
refused to allow me swap space).
If my work at the computer consisted primarily of running canned
programs like word processors and spreadsheets, using files the
locations of which the programs kept track of, I probably would
prefer MSWindows to Linux/Unix. For one thing, information that
had to be exchanged between myself and others would be in Word
and Excel files most of the time. The option of purchasing word
processing and spreadsheet binaries to run on Linux/Unix would be
ok if they could read and write Word and Excel files. Of course,
there we are right back in the Upgrade problem again, and that
is at the top of my list of hates.
I apologize for taking all this space and your valuable time (if
you read all of this). I'll never do it again.
bob jones ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
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