I know a thing or two about wasting time with Linux, but this post at mostlymaths.net spells out the problem nicely.
Attached to my computer right now is a headset. The wire splits into two jacks: one for headphones, the other for the mic. The mic only works if it is connected to a USB adapter. The headphones only work if they're plugged directly into the headphone port. The best part is that the adapter came with a Logitech quote-unquote USB headset and my current pair is Plantronics.
I don't know how much time I spent fruitlessly tampering with modprobe and ALSA before I figured out that little trick, and I really don't want to know.
Arch Linux is another fine example. It doesn't ask you what your keyboard layout is before subjecting you to the installation procedure, which should give you a clue as to the kind of user experience you're in for with this particular distro.
I tried installing Debian from a two-week-old disc, only to find that the install halted inexplicably at downloading packages. Turned out there was some kind of GPG key error that the GUI wasn't reporting. I only found out by searching the internet that the control-meta-f-keys do in fact allow you to see other ttys, even in the installer.
Ubuntu would have saved me a lot of time, but it's too far on the opposite end of the user-friendliness spectrum, and needs some convincing before it'll do certain things. Certain... basic things.
Such was one lost weekend reinstalling the OS.
Tweak the source of any actively developed program. Wait two months, and find that it has developed code rot. Execute an SVN update, reinstall, and enjoy your upgraded program (which will in all probability be more broken than it was before you updated.)
It's still worth it, though. I'd rather occasionally repair things than depend on a closed-source program that could suddenly become discontinued, obsolete, prohibitively resource-intensive, or otherwise break down of its own accord.
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Thanks for the heads up in my Linux (unintended!) rant. I ended up installing Arch Linux, by suggestion of some commenters. I have to say that when you are able to fight the installation process (which is strikingly similar to Debian's, but a little less painful), the resulting (barebones) system is quite fast and reliable. Of course, if you are used to Ubuntu (as I did... luckily no more), re-installing everything can be quite an effort (configuring everything took me far less than in Ubuntu, but it takes time nevertheless), but the final result, now as I am writing this is simply fantastic. And upgrading the system is just a command-line instruction, and is finished in a whim. No need to spend 4-5 hours every 6 months. Upgrade as you wish!
ReplyDeleteWhich Linux flavour are you using currently?
As for your Arch installation problem, I just checked a post I wrote about my installation process (Ditching Ubuntu: Arch Linux in My Acer Aspire One) and it was done before running the installer, through console. Of course, I have qwerty-es, which is similar enough to the (I guess) default qwerty-en, but it just takes a few keystrokes that you can probably manage even if in a different layout (I remember when I was 12 and had keyboard problems with MS-DOS! I'll always remember that the ; is where the Ñ is located).
Cheers,
Ruben (from mostlymaths.net)
I have to admit, I did get Arch running, and found it unusable. I wasn't at all prepared to install and configure X myself, and never got it working quite right, possibly owing to an incompatible video chip. There's also my terabyte hard drive, which I had to manually partition, only to find that the partition software that comes with Arch doesn't work properly- it would either forget my settings after I'd calculated and manually input them or throw some irrelevant error.
ReplyDeleteUbuntu has its foibles, but I think it pays for itself by handling problems like that automatically. It seems the best thing is to install, and then immediately purge GTK and reinstall only the things you actually need. For me, that was very little. My system now is quite minimal, and very good at staying out of my way.
Not sure what I'll do next upgrade cycle. Maybe Debian Sid, since that's pretty much what I'm using now. ;)