How The Game Is Played

Desktops that work

I want my desktop computer to work. To do what it is suppsoed to when its supposed and not suddenly fail or lose data. To use the hardware I've paid for as my hardware was designed to be used and to maximal advantage. To run the software I need or want to run.

Is that really so much to ask for?

In today's world I'd have to say, "Yes, it is."

I switched from Windows to Linux some time ago. Let me tell you the sum of my experiences. I spent more or less 10 years with Windows. Windows if anything gets more problematic and less stable as time goes on, though stability was never ist hall-mark. Under windows I had to count on a night-mare re-install of a failed OS at least every 6 months and usually every 3. Each tiem i did that i managed to lose something important that I wish I hadn't.

Windows is also a bear to program, really discouraging me from doing much in the way of garage shop projects with it. The combination of factors led me to move to Linux.

Linux is much more friendly to garage programmers. The problem is that it really is a garage program. Its full of "almosts." The hardware drivers are almost good enough. The Windowing system is almost reliable. Software installation is almost friendly and almost reliable. Wine is almost good enough to run Win32 apps. Cedega is almost good enough to run Win32 games. And in general everything is almost finished.

Linux is almost what I need, but not quite. To be fair if I weren't doing cutting edge stuff it would be fine. My wife loves her JDS. It web browses, word processes, and does email fine and thats all she does with her computer. But I need more machine then that.

Which brings me back to my beloved Mac PowerBook and OSX. Frankly, I have concluded that today Apple makes the only desktop that works by my definition of the word. Its reliable, friendly, and easy to use. It uses the hardware to its maximum and what software there is is rock solid. Being a Unix its also a joy to program. Having its own Window system it really does work as a desktop, unlike almost-desktop X which was engineered for networks not local desktops.

Unfortunately that software is also expensive. Macs themselves aren't cheap. And there are a lot of programs I want to run, such as games, that don't run on it at all.

So today i have a choice, desktops that don't work, or a desktop that is expensive and won't do exactly what I need.

What will it take for the industry to make a desktop that works, is reasonably priced AND runs all my software? I don't know. Maybe if Apple ported OSX to Intel that would happen but I'm not holding my breath.

All in all, I miss DOS.

Posted at 02:43PM May 05, 2005 by gameguy in General  |  Comments[1]