Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX
NOT ENUF STUFF (DAMMIT)
Sleeping Dog:
I'm not out to flame, insult or berate anyone. Never was my intention, nor will it ever be. My lament is still the same. NOT ENUF STUFF. However, I have been doing some additional investigation on the subject of Linux analogue software. The common element that I have found in following the threads left by some of the developers is that fast and cost efficient tools for doing things like porting Pro-E or AutoCad to the Linux platform are still in their infancy. Much of the lack of software seems due to cost and time restrictions as well. It would seem that there are pure code ways of duplicating the GUI's and functionality of a lot of professionally popular software, but the time required due to limited tools and the development costs thereto associated are still prohibitive.
There do seem to be some rays of hope, however. Rumor has it that Pro-E is supposed to release a Linux version in late fall. Regretably, just the 5 day intro class to Pro-E carries a 15 Thousand dollar price tag for base versions that already exist. (That does not include the software.)
My lady is a Professional Graphic Designer. She has several years of MAC specific graphics experience. MAC's are not nearly as tempermental as Windows machines, but they are not without their own unique problems and issues, many of which are equally annoying. Recently she looked at and priced the updates of her software to run on OS Ten. In a nutshell, there is little additional functionality and a lot of additional cost. There are also some major version file incompatabilities between applications. (....and trust me, lately MAC support for Quark and Illustrator has left a lot to be desired.)
"Get a MAC" is not an answer to the issue that I initially addressed. Those of us who have several thousands of dollars invested in hardware and software that we use on a daily basis to put bread on the table for our families, do not always have the financial ability to trash our present tools and throw money at something else on a whim.
We look for stability, affordability and support.
Hopefully, these things will come of age sooner rather than later in a Linux format for us folks who make our livings using computers as tools. Until then, I guess we are just stuck with the MAC's and Windows machines/software that are presently available.
Sleeping Dog
Calum:
all of what you say is true however like most people, you say you want stability, affordability and support.
I put it to you that you do not get stability with windows. You do not get support with windows (at least not from Microsoft, who produce it) and arguably, you do not get affordability with windows either.
Linux already has windows beat on the fronts of affordability and stability, and windows, frankly, is not going to catch up on those two fronts. Support, can be bought for the GNU/Linux system, from any major linux vendor, however i think the support you mean, is purely porting and compiling applications from one platform to the other.
This, in my opinion, has been something the software developers have been incredibly lax on for years. As far as i can see, they wrote it, now take some time to port it, instead of bringing out a newer, totally indistinguishable from the last one, version for the same old platforms yet again.
I suspect it has more to do with marketing than actual time and effort in a lot of cases.
All people can do is use whatever alternatives there are, until somebody realises there's a market there to cash in on, and authorises the good stuff to be ported. If people do not use the alternatives, then no porting will ever get done, because there, obviously, will not be a market to direct it towards.
Sleeping Dog:
One of the threads that I referred to is a discussion between Vladimir Malukh ([email protected]) and Serg Shikov ([email protected]) about this specific issue. http://www.cad.dp.ua/stats/spor-e.html
Although it is primarily CAD related, the main points of their discussion can be applied to the development of professional Linux based software in general.
Linux presently is like having a great stack of lumber waiting to be used. However, without the right "hammer and fasteners", the house won't get built in a timely fashion.
Linux IS ready for the desktop, but the desktop is not quite ready yet for Linux.
para_fms:
quote:Originally posted by Calum:
...This, in my opinion, has been something the software developers have been incredibly lax on for years...
--- End quote ---
yep, and that is what scares me...
i'm very new to all of this (linux) and am looking for a M$ alternitive. there is SO much research to do to find a viable alternitive it's pathetic. who supports the largest selection of popular PC hardware? what applications will replace, or work on linux? what functionality will i lose/gain? where is linux's position in the market and which direction is it heading and how fast?
i need answers to all those questions and many more as many other alternitive seekers also do before an intelligent choice can be made (btw, i'm not necessarily actually asking them here).
analizing the quoted statement above (no offence at all) provides very little comfort. i sort of see it as a general sum to many of my questions and i don't like the answer it provides, or my interpetition of the answer anyway. this is what i'm reading:
obviously the software developers are going to cater to whatever market provides a profitible return, right? if software developers have been "incredibly lax" on providing software, drivers, ports, etc., for linux "for years", that suggests to me 1) linux simply ain't too popular as a desktop platform, 2) it's probably not gaining in popularity very rapidly and 3) i'm not likely to find software with the functionality of much of the windowz counterparts, free or otherwise.
now, my take on this is not something that i necessarily believe is the case, rather it's my interpetation of the above quoted remark. please tell me i'm WRONG!
unlike Sleeping Dog, i'm far less restricted in my choices of OS's. i'm simply an end user on a stand-alone desktop that, currently, is not used for profit. still, i want graphics software with the full capability, or better, of Ulead PhotoImpact, text editing software with the full functionality, or better, of UltraEdit, WYSIWYG editing functionality of Front Page (M$ office in general), communication software such as Trillian and file sharing software such as WinMX.
now i know damn well that i may not be able to have my cake and eat it too, but just how close can i get given the current state of affairs?
i'm the type of person who will GLADLY depart from the mainstream and head off in my own direction, yet i fear i may be hampered if i choose linux as that direction. please pat me on my little head and tell me everything's gonna be ok :rolleyes:
voidmain:
The nice thing about it is you can try it out and see if you can resolve all of your issues, for free. In fact, you can try it out *forever* and not feel guilty about it. There are a couple of office suites that are good. OpenOffice, http://www.openoffice.org is one of the best. "Evolution" is nearly identical to Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express) but without the little virus problem. I believe there is a solution for all of your other concerns as well.
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