Linux; Unbuntu, OpenSUSE, CentOS

It has been a frustrating week!

My previous attempts at Linux installs have all been met with failure for one reason or another.

Although this week, I have succeeded at a few different distros, the remaining problem is then getting the application one needs to work. For instance in my Cent OS on i386 I had no problem with hamachi, it was the GUI I could not get to work. I also dis a PPC install of Ubuntu and found that NO VERSION HAMACHI WOULD INSTALL SUCCESSFULLY, until I gave up! In each case there was always something else I needed installed to install the program I needed to use. The package managers were of Little Help, such as when I looked for gtk+ 2.0 In the Synaptic Package manager for Ubuntu, I had to sort through over 100 results and most seemed irrelevant. Keep in mind I had to do this several times to even attempt the installation of hamachi!

OpenSUSE on the PPC platform from the mini ISO was a complete failure despite many, many attempts.

I think someone should make some standards for Linux Distros to ensure programs will install without installing 10 dependencies along the way! In that way a user can download a program with the full knowledge that they will not be relying on a post on a forum to hopefully get a geek to answer their question a week later.

Although I can say that Ubuntu seems to have won my heart for the included packages that can be easily installed, it is a far cry from Windows or any Mac OS, and fails with advanced applications like Hamachi, or any third party program that supposedly runs on linux.

My opinion on Linux, it is great for getting an OS on an older machine, but so is Windows 2000, and there is no nightmare with the installation of Java, and All of the necessary web browser plug ins. I suppose it is a matter of the value of ones' time however I can say Linux in general for me has been one of the biggest time wasters I have seen. I need to employ cutting edge applications and I can not identify and install 10 different packages to install the program I need. Let alone whatever problems arise after the installation of said program.

Linux is good for playing, or a dedicated server, with, but I see it as little competition for Microsoft or Apple in the desktop OS market, as it is still Kludgeware. If you can not install the programs you need, forget it.