3rd Week: OK, brace yourselves...

The BBC News website reports on the story that's going to be everywhere in the world tomorrow: Windoze Vista's launch. Luckily for my sanity, they've avoided (so far) the Redmond whitewash by inviting proponents of the other two members of the Big Three OSs to give their pitch alongside two pro-Microsoft folk.



We can all but discard the first pro-Windows comment, obviously from someone who's never seen anything but Windows first-hand and focuses almost entirely on eyecandy (nothing wrong with an OS having eyecandy - but when you're paying £170 minimum (or £80 for an upgrade), it can't be the only thing going for it).



The second pro-Windows comment is more substantial, so I'll grab a few quotes and deal with them in turn, occasionally sarcastically.

A huge amount of research has been put into this new version which is evident in everything from the user interface right through to the new security model.

This would be the 20+ people it took to design the shoddy "shut down" options menu? And the new security model based on the philosophy of "annoy the hell out of everyone so they turn it off" (as instantiated by my technically-adept contemporary MSHV). You can't really defend against users with the mindset of "click OK just to get rid of the damn things", mind (hence why not everyone is cut out to be a superuser - don't take the name of root in vain).

This latest update provides many new components but the one which will provide the greatest change for windows users is the Windows Presentation Foundation - a set of components which allow graphics designers to produce visually stunning user interfaces.

I have to say, I wasn't blown away when I first saw Aero (I know - "Linux fanboy!!!!111") but I can't deny that it looks... nice. It's certainly a big improvement over XP's default Fisher Price settings. And I suppose the big difference here between Windows (and Mac for that matter) and Linux systems is choice, or lack thereof. A Windows developer making a GUI application is almost certainly using Visual Studio, and (for Vista) will be using WPF to make their app look and feel like every other Windows app - like it's part of the system.



Linux is different. Not only are there two competing desktop environments in KDE and Gnome (yes, there are more than this, but these are the big two) but the way they draw elements like buttons, scrollbars etc is different from the ground up. KDE uses the Qt toolkit, while Gnome uses the GTK one. Somehow, I get the feeling whenever I use an app designed for GTK, that it's not quite looking how it should - and while integration with KDE themes is there, it's not watertight. It doesn't (usually) affect the functionality of the app, just the look and feel. Oh, dear, we're talking eyecandy again...

I also like the way that all my existing hardware just works (although I am aware many other people have had problems).

Well, at this point I could give the usual "if-more-people-used-Linux-more-hardware-people-would-release-drivers-for-it" spiel but I won't. Fact is, I think of the Big Three, Linux has the absolute widest hardware support of the lot. Vista only seems available on x86 and x86_64 processors... no SPARC, no PPC... Ever tried to find drivers for an old printer on XP? Chances are it'll be already waiting for you in Linux. Reading through the list of drivers in the Linux kernel sources is a mammoth task - but, of course, we can't compare it since OS X and Vista are closed-source. Apple OSs, it's worth pointing out, only ever come with Apple-built hardware and are only designed for Apple machines, so Apple loses the hardware compatibility race from the off.



So we get to the Linux-user's comments (interesting that the Beeb would put Linux above Apple in the article). And going through this closely... I can't really fault it. It makes all the right points (though it does only dedicate two lines to eyecandy... shock horror). It doesn't make a big song and dance about being completely free; it doesn't deny the weak points (as the other three comments do - any OS will have weak points!); and it does briefly discuss the fact that the whole ethos behind Linux as an open-source project is a different one to that behind Windows and OS X:

What really sets Linux apart is its social significance provided by the free software license. It encourages users to share the software they love with their friends, rather than making the act of sharing illegal and branding it piracy.



Also it encourages programmers to be better people, working in the open and allowing other programmers from across the world to help improve their software, rather than locking up their work with restrictive licences which prevent programmers from working together.

So to the Mac-user... and I have to admit, I have too little experience of Mac OS to be able to raise many comments. Most of the points he raises - security, maintenance, productivity and interoperability with Windows users - could equally be applied to Linux too.

I now feel like I am in charge of my computer rather than it being in charge of me.

And yet you can still only do things that Apple let you do, Mr. Tilney. You only own a license to the OS, not the software itself... and still, you're tied to the Apple hardware+software+soul combination.



My bottom line? I think it's been well-stated elsewhere that I'm a Linux user through choice, and see no reason to go back to Windows. Sure, I keep it around for the odd spot of gaming (or playing Lucy at MSN Games into the early hours) but would I ever use it as my primary OS again? Not through choice. And, let's not forget, that both Apple's OS and Vista are defective by design, and include software "features" to limit your freedoms with digital media. But when the Penguin sets you free, you will be truly free... ;-)





Technorati Tags: vista, windows, linux