Comments on: Linux is about choice

By: jack parler

jack parler — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:55:32 +0000

I don

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:20:14 +0000

“Some distros (both technical and social) might be about choice, and others might not be. And that’s fair.”

So Linux is about choice about choice

By: morison dony

morison dony — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:43:53 +0000

I keep listening to the news speak about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one.

By: Ademeion

Ademeion — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:00:17 +0000

Here’s an article about how Microsoft’s Silverlight technology brings Linux users more choice – which is “paramount”:
http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2009/09/does-silverlight-on-linux-matt.html

By: Ademeion

Ademeion — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:26:14 +0000

“Every time somebody writes “Linux is about choice” something inside of me dies.”

I have always felt the same – thanks for putting it to words so nicely. I’d like to add, that every time somebody writes “Linux is ALL about choice” something inside of me gets tortured first and then dies These belong to a large group of in my opinion largely brainless (sorry) sayings, that have started to live lives of their own.

By: hughsie

hughsie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:19:38 +0000

No, PackageKit removes choice. It gives one API client applications can use, rather than 8 commands that an application has to choose from. By having one API an application can add functionality knowing that it’ll work no matter what distribution it is running on.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:15:39 +0000

You mean like PackageKit or PulseAudio?

By: Adam Tauno Williams

Adam Tauno Williams — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:03:09 +0000

There are two LINUXs:
(1) The first is about “choice”. Primarily this exists in order to give dreary pedantic people an infinite range of topic to gripe, whine, and complain about. And have flame wars where they all fly their ignorance as a flag. They hate GUIs or LINUX’s GUI(s) will never equal Window’s awesomeness. And developers trying to tell users how to do things. Or utterly incoherent copyright/patent conspiracy theories. And why can’t you run LINUX & GNOME/KDE on a 15 year old computer? BLOAT! BLOAT, I say!
Someone needs to build a type#1 e-mail filter.
(2) The second LINUX is about actually *using* a computer, getting things done. You hear a lot less from these people – they are too busy actually doing something with their computer.

It is about choice, ulimately. To waste your type on Type#1 users or focus on Type#2 users. Fortunately Type#2 users are usually fun and interesting.

By: Np237

Np237 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:25:23 +0000

I meant “to not start writing alternatives”, of course.

By: Np237

Np237 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:23:47 +0000

It’s utterly true that Linux (and Free software in general) is not about choice.

But this should not be used as an excuse to start writing alternatives to existing software. Especially when there are design issues in said software, and new designs need to be explored.