Hail The Penguin!

[Aaediwen]

ok, I started trying to harp and preach Linux in CR's thread, so here's a spot to try and show off a bit. I've been using Linux since 1998. I swear by it. and here's why:

lunatic@lugh: ~#ls -l /bin/install
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 411770 Oct 26 2002 /bin/install
lunatic@lugh: ~#ls -l /sbin/init

I built this system from source per www.linuxfromscratch.org on the date shown. Since then I've changed out motherboard and processor twice (had to reinstall Windows both times, yes this machine dual boots)

I've also upgraded my hard drive at least as many times. The last time I upgraded it, I also had some serious filesystem corruption which rendered both systems unable to boot for a couple days. I had, again, to reinstall Windows. But I was able to recover my old LFS and it's running happily

74 days since the last power failre caused a reboot of my server (which to be fair, was only migrated to LFS 5 in Feb. I've only managed to hose a Linux system one time since 1998, due to a dirty shutdown. With a larger UPS, I'm sure I could get some real uptimes going around here. How often do you hear Windows users talking about uptime? They don't have it. A world where reboots and reinstalls are a fact of life is wrong. We should be able to rely on a computer more than that.

I've heard stories of Novell uptimes measured in years, and although the longest I've heard for Linux is one year, I'm convinced it could do better.

In addition, how much hardware do you need to run Windows vs Linux? I've still got a 486 in service and running well under LFS 5. I'm sure that a version of Windows of the same vintage (XP, no service packs) Would laugh at the mere throught. Maybe it's a consperacy between Microsoft and Intel to sell more and more. A new system hasn't much more than come out before people complain about how slow it is. If the box is fine for web and mail now, when why is it no longer fine for web and mail two months later? The computer is still running just as it was before, and unless there's been bloat added to it then it won't be any slower.

Now for some things such as gaming where the extra power really gets used in enhancing the appearance of the game, and the depth of the game itself, or in processing applications such as video editing where there's a lot of time waiting on the system anyway, then yes. ever faster hardware is a must and there's reason to complain about how slow the old system is. But for daily use, one shouldn't be able to tell a speed difference between a 300 Mhz machine with 128 MB RAM and a 3 Ghz machine with 1.5 GB of RAM. If you use software that is contemporary with the system. Your performance should be the same for general use. And when you're doing the same thing, then why worry about anything else?

People ask me sometimes, why I still put up with a 486 sitting here in regular use. I tend to ask them; why can't you? It runs just as well as my AMD 2800. There are some real-time applications such as playing video that it would not be able to keep up with. But when I hear someone clamming for an upgrade, and all they do is use Word, browse the web, and read E-mail on their 1 Ghz machine, I am ready to puke.

[Madadh]

Aaediwen,

I use Linux both at work and at home. I will move my wifes computer to Linux as soon as I can find a good Publisher replacement.

I use an old 386 box with 35 Mbytes memory for a router/firewall. It allows me to link all of my systems at home and share my slow dialup line. This machine has been running since 2000 without a keyboard, mouse, or monitor. It reboots at each power failure and runs like a top. Try that with a windows box.

[Aaediwen]

Amen to that! A version of windows that could run on that would be lucky to have an IP stack. It certainly wouldn't be built it, and can one find Trumpet anymore?