[CS-FSLUG] Blog: Forgot Linux?

Fri Apr 1 11:30:38 CST 2005

>
>> Well, I distinguish the bundled software from the
>> OS disc. My PB and G5 both came with generic install
>
>> discs for Panther that do not install the Apple
>> professional software bundle. That is done
>> separately.
>
> And here we see the crux of debate. Is Linux really
> that bad in terms of making you search for and install
> DVD software or RealPlayer or Flash or whatever when
> none of the other major OS's come with them either? If
> a Linux based multimedia program auto-updated it's
> codecs then you probably couldn't tell the difference.

	Well, the drivers and stuff like DVD software come with the generic 
Panther install. It is only extras (like Graphics Convertor Pro and 
QuickBooks) that must be installed separately. Even if a generic 
install of Jaguar did not install DVD software, if Panther has it, it 
isn't really far to continue to say Mac OS X does not come with it. It 
is true that Mac OS X does not come with Flash, but it does come with 
QuickTime which is more popular than RealPlayer anyway.

	The other distinction I would make is ease of installation: while I 
may have to go download RealPlayer for Mac OS X, it is much easier to 
install it on Mac OS X if I don't know what I am doing. Not in the case 
of RealPlayer, but as you know, most apps on Mac OS X are installed 
simply by dragging the application icon onto your hard disk... even MS 
Office can be installed that way. I think GNU/Linux might do well to 
copy the .app system that Mac OS X uses, despite its inefficiency in 
that you might install the same library multiple times.

	But back to the main point... I do not think GNU/Linux's present 
multimedia situation is acceptable for the masses. The masses will not 
go online and dig around for codecs, and the masses will also be scared 
to death of the idea that it is potentially illegal to do so. Here's an 
example: I did a fresh install of Mac OS X last year on my G5. I did a 
fresh install of GNU/Linux on my mother's computer last year too. To 
get Mac OS X the way I wanted it, including photo downloading, 
multimedia streaming and the works, took maybe an hour and a half, 
including the time it took to do the initial install -- everything was 
already there, save for RealPlayer, Flash and MS Office. To get 
GNU/Linux to be not-quite-as-easy-to-use-but-usable for my mother took 
about 10-15 hours of downloading packages, tweaking camera drivers, 
hacking together an autolaunching script for the KDE photo album tool,  
etc. It never did work quite right with her camera (a standard issue 
Kodak which is technically supported on GNU/Linux, that wasn't the 
problem, it was an issue of making it easy to use), and there were some 
other problems too. Late last year, she got an iMac G5. I did zero 
configuration to make it usable for most tasks, and only did a few 
tweaks later on, like adjusting font size to make things more readable 
for her.

	It is also worth noting that comparing Apple and GNU/Linux is like 
comparing, well, apples and oranges. No one builds their own Macs, so 
determining what is bundled and what is part of the OS is really 
irrelevant to the Apple computer experience, because it all comes 
together (as opposed to even Windows, where an HP computer may bundle 
completely different tools for everything from wi-fi to audio from a 
Dell computer). On the other hand, unfortunately, so long as GNU/Linux 
lives primarily on commodity PC's, and especially so long as it is 
primarily something installed by the end user, it really must do much 
more out of the box than OS X or even, to a lesser extent, Windows. And 
it does, but not in multimedia.

	So long as multimedia is a gray market item on GNU/Linux is will have 
a hard time with mainstream home user adoption. But, frankly, that's 
not where GNU/Linux can expand the most at the moment anyway, it is 
going to expand in the enterprise. Before it can expand at the same 
rate in homes, it must have:

	1.) Full multimedia support out of the box. Windows can play a bunch 
of stuff in Windows media player, including about 30-50% of all 
streaming media. Mac OS X can play even more stuff, including DVD's, 
with QuickTime/iTunes/etc., again, including 30-50% of all streaming 
media.

	2.) iPod support. iTMS may never work on GNU/Linux, but there must be 
a good, out of the box iTunes replacement, with auto-syncing and the 
works. Good iPod support (and other MP3 player support) is really 
important -- everyone has an MP3 player these days, even my mother. 
Personally, I think Apple would stand to gain if they released iTunes 
for GNU/Linux, but that's neither here nor there.

	3.) Photo album improvements. When I tried to move my mother over to 
GNU/Linux, I quickly found one of the biggest problems that did not 
occur to more of a techie user like myself: a quality photo album 
program. There is no program available where I can connect virtually 
any camera and, with the press of one button, transfer my photos into 
logical groupings. iPhoto sets the standard for this, but companies 
like Kodak bundle very nice software for Windows to do the same thing.

	4.) Games. Lots more games.

	5.) Better PDA support. I've owned two different normal PDA's (a Palm 
Vx and a Zaurus) and a smart phone (Nokia 3650). None of them 
synchronized right when they were new, and only the Palm Vx has good 
GNU/Linux support now. USB Palms are a pain in the neck to get 
supported on GNU/Linux at all, and last year, when I tried to configure 
a m500, I gave up after failing to get it to sync even once. A big 
hurdle here is Bluetooth support -- this is going to become an absolute 
necessity now, and it really spoils people who have seen it work with a 
Mac... with zero configuration other than pairing the devices per the 
on-phone and on-screen instructions, my phone stays sync'ed with my 
Macs and .mac.

	6.) Better integration throughout. Now this is something that is 
happening. Especially thanks to the Novell/Ximian/GNOME folks, we are 
seeing the new system wide search tool (the name escapes me) and 
similar innovative projects. And of course, Freedesktop.org is working 
on HAL and other useful initiatives to integrate GNOME and KDE more 
directly into the lower level parts of the system.

	You'll notice that only number 6, the one that is actually being 
improved on in a big way right now, is really applicable to the 
business desktop. Well, number 5 is too, but that's another story. But, 
the others are necessary for home users. Having spent four years or so 
running GNU/Linux almost exclusively I did not realize how far behind 
we were on stuff like photo downloading until I started using a Mac 
more seriously last year. Now I can't imagine organizing my photos in 
anything less brilliant than iPhoto, for example.

> Indeed, cable companies make 70% of their revenue from
> subscriptions. Unlike networks, advertisers avoid
> cable because of the small shares per channel. What
> can you do? Audience Fragmentation and Media
> Fragmentation go hand in hand.

	True. Well, I'm hoping they'll fix it. They've given me virtually 
every channel they could for the same price as a basic Dish package, 
and while I have no use for all of those channels, if they can make it 
work, I'd love to keep it. All I had to do was tell them that their 
prices were higher than Dish, and the next thing I knew they were 
giving me the kitchen sink. I found a cool feature last night while 
playing with the Moxi box (which is, of course, GNU/Linux based)... the 
package comes with HBO, Starz, Cinemax, Showtime, etc. "on demand" for 
free, so you can watch any movie that any of those channels are airing 
whenever you want. Just select the one you want to see and it starts 
playing gratis.

	I have no idea why they offered me such a good deal. In two months it 
will work beautifully, once they get rid of the analog broadcasts of 
the extended basic channels, but for now it isn't worth even the great 
bargain price they gave me because most channels look awful.

	Nevertheless, I think it is an opening salvo in the war between 
telecos and cablecos. With SBC and Verizon getting into the TV 
business, it makes sense for Charter and others to start offering 
better deals when you get *everything* through them. I'd expect 
cable/dish prices to come down a lot when the baby bells start 
competing in that market -- they've already shown themselves willing to 
be very aggressive with DSL pricing.

	-Tim
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Timothy R. Butler       Universal Networks      www.uninet.info
==================== <tbutler at uninet.info> ====================
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