Comments on: Wow, articles can actually get this bad http://www.smick.net/notebook/wow-articles-can-actually-get-this-bad/ Mike Smick - Web Designer and Graphics Guy in St. Louis, Missouri Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:23:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: FFred http://www.smick.net/notebook/wow-articles-can-actually-get-this-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-137 FFred Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:38:22 +0000 http://www.smick.net/notebook/2009/03/05/wow-articles-can-actually-get-this-bad/#comment-137 <em>Thanks Fred for these insights here. I do appreciate them and I'm glad to know another enthusiast who has traversed a lot of ground both on the desktop and in systems mgmt. You've outdone me in that you've been able to lock into Linux more effectively. I have to keep checking back to see where the Lightroom-style Linux software is. I recall seeing several programs that were fairly good commercial Linux photo management apps. This is an area covered pretty well, wouldn't you say? ~MS</em> Your comment was spot on (found it randomly through my daily Google Alert on "Linux photography"). I've been using Linux/Unix as my main platforms on the desktop for over 10 years and have gotten back to semi-pro photography in the last 3 or 4 years. And it works fine for me. I used a Mac OSX laptop for about a year but didn't like it much, felt a bit like Windows to me. <em>Glad to hear it. I gotta look into a photography workflow with Linux as I believe that it would be effective. If you've ran across a good workflow article for photography, or written one, I'd read it today. =) ~MS</em> Apart from that I work a lot in switching antiquated (Windows mostly) infrastructures to open ones, mostly using Linux. So I'm very familiar with the issues involved. With most users, I'd say "go with what you know and what you're comfortable with, they finally all more or less work now". On the Unix side, there has been enough progress that major distributions can (and are) be used as drop in replacements for Windows in pretty much any small or medium shop. Larger ones will often have become entangled in a number of data flows that completely rely on MS proprietary tools and which will have to be completely redesigned, requiring a major planning and programming effort. For the average home user, the open systems work fine with the exception of games. In niche markets, it depends. In photography we have a number of very good open apps which can be supplemented by some great commercial apps (which apparently sell pretty well). I never really needed the complexity of photoshop since I just make photos and not graphical compositions. As you pointed out, the music area seems to be fairly well furnished. On the purely graphic side, things are definitely lagging behind other platforms. There is a huge effort being undertaken though so maybe we'll see things happening this year. Re. development difficulty... I don't really know. For most applications it's much much easier to write stuff in Unix than in Windows. And most Linux users will readily buy software if they need it and if it's standard compliant and doesn't lock them in. <em>I think you're right about developing for Unix Linux is easier. I wish I knew first hand, but I don't grasp programming tutorials very well so it's an area I can only dream of knowing at the moment. ~MS</em> Anyway that attitude you poked at is unfortunately all too prevalent with users that *still* haven't figured out what people use their computers for. Tools and not toys to dick with. They're a nuisance. Thanks Fred for these insights here. I do appreciate them and I’m glad to know another enthusiast who has traversed a lot of ground both on the desktop and in systems mgmt. You’ve outdone me in that you’ve been able to lock into Linux more effectively. I have to keep checking back to see where the Lightroom-style Linux software is. I recall seeing several programs that were fairly good commercial Linux photo management apps. This is an area covered pretty well, wouldn’t you say? ~MS

Your comment was spot on (found it randomly through my daily Google Alert on “Linux photography”).
I’ve been using Linux/Unix as my main platforms on the desktop for over 10 years and have gotten back to semi-pro photography in the last 3 or 4 years. And it works fine for me. I used a Mac OSX laptop for about a year but didn’t like it much, felt a bit like Windows to me. Glad to hear it. I gotta look into a photography workflow with Linux as I believe that it would be effective. If you’ve ran across a good workflow article for photography, or written one, I’d read it today. =) ~MS

Apart from that I work a lot in switching antiquated (Windows mostly) infrastructures to open ones, mostly using Linux. So I’m very familiar with the issues involved.

With most users, I’d say “go with what you know and what you’re comfortable with, they finally all more or less work now”.

On the Unix side, there has been enough progress that major distributions can (and are) be used as drop in replacements for Windows in pretty much any small or medium shop. Larger ones will often have become entangled in a number of data flows that completely rely on MS proprietary tools and which will have to be completely redesigned, requiring a major planning and programming effort.

For the average home user, the open systems work fine with the exception of games.

In niche markets, it depends. In photography we have a number of very good open apps which can be supplemented by some great commercial apps (which apparently sell pretty well). I never really needed the complexity of photoshop since I just make photos and not graphical compositions.
As you pointed out, the music area seems to be fairly well furnished. On the purely graphic side, things are definitely lagging behind other platforms. There is a huge effort being undertaken though so maybe we’ll see things happening this year.

Re. development difficulty… I don’t really know. For most applications it’s much much easier to write stuff in Unix than in Windows. And most Linux users will readily buy software if they need it and if it’s standard compliant and doesn’t lock them in. I think you’re right about developing for Unix Linux is easier. I wish I knew first hand, but I don’t grasp programming tutorials very well so it’s an area I can only dream of knowing at the moment. ~MS

Anyway that attitude you poked at is unfortunately all too prevalent with users that *still* haven’t figured out what people use their computers for. Tools and not toys to dick with. They’re a nuisance.

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