third, X finally getting modular: this allows all sorts of experiments and yet easy install (X can now autodetect the mouse, the graphic card's driver and the display's resolution, and it contains accelerated drivers for many current chips built-in)
second, HP supporting and releasing source code for its whole range of printers - suddenly, those got plug n play too (I can testify of this: I plugged a small Deskjet on a USB port, and instantly my system detected it, installed cups, downloaded and installed the printer's driver, and had it running - I needed a single click to accept/deny the install procedure) finally make it truly plug n play - not forgetting that new modules now integrate it much faster, leading to better hardware support. Much more supple and responsive, it now includes enough interesting stuff to make it 'set and forget': automatic modules loading, new device notification, etc. first, the 2.6 version of the Linux kernel. To be frank, Linux systems have been, user-wise, crappy - until the past year or so. It has a lot of promise, but it's still far from where it needs to be. It's still in a state that I'd have to say is only a relatively solid beta, and far from an RC. The experience that Vista provides is very good, but it doesn't play well with much of anything still.
Most OpenGL games have rendering problems (may just be driver-related, but are rather significant), the drivers for my webcam don't work (they only have XP versions that don't work in Vista, and the company apparently no longer exists), and a few third-party applications (PeerGuardian, Media Player Classic, and Alcohol 120%) don't run properly in Vista (and, in the case of Alcohol, the version I have refuses to install, I'll see if an upgrade helps, but I doubt it). However, what is right now very difficult for me is the third-party application and driver support in Vista. Aero Glass looks great, and, apart from it not playing along well with GAIM, performs outstandingly now. To be honest, the interface itself is just as fast as XP on my machine (A64 3000+, 1GB RAM, GeForce 6600 256MB), and boots up in a comparable timeframe (might be just a bit faster, but can't really tell).
I've been putting Vista RC1 through its paces, and I'm having a hard time seeing where everybody is coming up with the idea that it is slow or unstable (yet to have a system crash in RC1, actually). And I doubt the average user will deal with Linux's current significant disadvantages in gaming and media applications. And the performance is very uneven while very fast for some things, Linux is also very slow in others. Joe Sixpack can't get proper video card drivers installed on a Linux distro heck, I'm just about tearing my hair out doing it myself sometimes (granted, I think this might just be something to do with Fedora, but still, it's never anywhere near as easy as MacOS or Windows). Let's face it Linux is still not ready for prime time. How many people stick with Vista after they've experienced it and don't either reinstall XP or move on to Linux is the real question. Microsoft will be able to sell Vista downgrade editions because we all know many consumers are also absolute sheep and have been conditioned to think new = better and higher cost = higher quality. Why they're gonna choose to pay $300 for a Vista downgrade for a machine already running XP is a different matter though. That and the fact they're already familiar with it because chances are they also use it at work.
thankfully, most people are open to or at least aware of OpenSource now through IE doing such a bad job it made it easy for Firefox to get a foothold.Ĭhances are Vista being so crappy will help Linux awareness quite a lot, although the problem is 90% of people aren't 'PC-aware' and just use what comes preloaded even if its junk, thats the biggest reason why 90% still use windows. Click to expand.I agree with you that more home users need to be made aware of Linux.