[CS-FSLUG] The Fast-Food Syndrome: The Linux Platform is Getting Fat

[N. Thompson]

Here's a copy of my comment to the article:

I know I'm going to get martyred for this but the article is right, sure 
its not Linux itself but the include apps that are the problem. As much 
as I like Linux I will not deny that ever since I started using it I 
kept wondering where I was supposed to find all that extra speed 
everyone was talking about.

In my case I've found KDE 3 to start apps faster then Windows XP home 
but in KDE I use Konqueror and KMail and in Windows I use the Mozilla 
suite which is heavier (more features) then Konqueror and KMail and 
therefore an exception can be made for the extra few second it takes to 
load.

I can't say anything for Microsoft office because its been a long time 
since I've used it but Corel WordPerfect Office in Windows has a lot 
more features then OpenOffice.org and starts up faster (albeit OO.o is 
also available on Windows, Linux and MacOS).

I know how miserable it is to try and install any Linux distribution 
(except for the antiquated Debian woody) on old hardware never mind run 
it because the minimum requirements have been increasing so fast, using 
an old distribution isn't always an option because those don't meet the 
software requirements for running new apps any more so the only two 
options now are either to use source based distributions or buy a new 
computer every two years.

IMO Linux will survive for a long time to come because of the $0 price 
tag on most distributions and the free developer tools and KDE of course 
but something does need to be done to resolve the minimum requirements 
issue or the next free OS with free developer tools that comes around is 
going to outperform Linux and get all its users.

I get the impression that a lot of the people who commented either 
didn't bother to read the entire article or didn't bother to read it at 
all, there is mention of source based Linux distributions being a 
possible solution but as the article said how is a newbie supposed to 
manage installing a distribution like Gentoo (yes newbies do end up 
having to do their own installs, they don't all have a seasoned Linux 
veteran to turn to).

Its getting to the point now where it would be more worth people's time 
to buy a used copy of Windows 95/98 off eBay and use that with free 
tools like Zone alarm, Grisoft AVG and Spybot Search & Destroy rather 
then use one of the latest Linux distributions even if a lot of them are 
free.

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In order to understand the comment about being martyred you'd have to 
know happens to people who voice their opinion on OSNews, especially 
when the majority of people are against you.