GeekLimit

Tux doesn’t need to be a copy-cat, and got his own style.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has written an article titled “Top five things Linux can learn from Microsoft“, where he mentions …. well the title says it all. Though I agree with some of his thesis, there are few that I totally disagree.

First he mentions that Linux could use something like MSDN, where developers are provided with help in writing applications ! “quote” using Microsoft products and programming tools. Well, let’s presume that Novell+Redhat in colaboration start providing something like “NRDN – Novell Redhat Developer Network” – where products of only these companies are provided for Linux developers …… the question –> do you need that?

Then he mentions that MSDN provides with well-written tutorials, best practices guides, the latest betas and so forth ….. isn’t all that available for Linux on the Internet, besides what is then open source all about!Common Interface – what! I do not need common interface for KDE and GNOME and other desktop environments. Where is then the choice and philosophy suite yourself – use what you like the most and is better option for your particular hardware. Besides all my applications look quite good, no matter in which DE I am using and whether it is QT and/or GTK based. All you need is to setup the system correctly and use the balanced options – in terms of themes, icons, colors, etc. It is not that difficult.

One thing that I agree is that the KDE, GNOME, XFCE, Enlightenment, and others should work together to make this easier on end-user side and maybe even share “global settings”, no matter which DE is being used. I need choices to be there, period.

“The problem is that, even now, it doesn’t have enough support. I’m looking forward to the day when all Linux and open-source applications can read and write to ODF.“ Not having “enough” support – from where? The world is 90% MS owned! Already quite a lot of Linux applications can handle ODF and the list is growing day by day.

“A major reason why Microsoft stays on top is that they’ve continued to pay hundreds of millions every year on marketing and advertising.“ Is there anything new about that. All know very well that MS is one of the best marketting companies to exist on this planet and surely Linux (not a commercial entity) cannot pose such threat to MS using millions of dollars. But then Novell, Redhat, Canonical and some other, including governments, are trying their best. Nothing to learn here from MS … period.

“Why do you think Linux sites, like this one, Linux Today, and many others have Microsoft ads running on them? Because, Microsoft buys the ad space, and the Linux companies almost never do. It’s that simple.“ On this I will be personal – Do I need MS adds, or rather, will I have MS adds on sites that I host and are dedicated to Open Source and Linux … think NEVER. But I will host adds (even for free) for Bill’s charity foundation … getting my point.

“Why? Because while the total number of Linux users is still growing, it’s no longer growing explosively. Linux is no longer the newest, most exciting kid on the block.“ Who is then – Windows (again!) or OS X or perhaps BeOS and AmigaOS?

“Once the HPs and Dells see that there’s money to be made from the Linux desktop, they’ll come on board, and then, and only then, can we start talking seriously about any so-called year of the Linux desktop.“ Some have already, and stats already show that thanks to Linux HP was able to sell more notebooks in India. You already are getting notebooks in market which are Linux certified and I am getting one next time.

Of course Linux vendors have to pull strings to get their distribution to be pre-installed. Doesn’t AMD has to pull strings$$$)

“Linux may never have the universal hardware support that Windows gets, but its supporters have to try with all their might and influence to get as much open-source driver support as possible.” I am cool with closed source drivers as long as they have good support for Linux and work on par with that of drivers for other platforms. Open sourcing drivers is really good, and what should be the ideal solution, but companies have commercial secrets which I understand (relates to drivers only).

So, as you see I had little some-some to say about his thesis. I understand that not all will agree with my points, but still.

3 browsers in the same year get major updates … which one you are using and planning to use, is the question.

Feature	Firefox 2 Beta 1	Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3	Opera 9.00
Tabbed browsing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Add-ins	Yes—Extensions	Yes—Add-Ons	Widgets
Themes	Yes	No	Yes—Skins
Built-in search with multiple engine choice	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pop-up blocker	Yes	Yes	Yes
Anti-Phishing	Yes	Yes	No
One-Click Button to add Favorites	No	Yes	No
RSS reader	Yes	Yes	Yes
Download manager	Yes	No	Yes
Can remember open tabs for next session	No	Yes	Yes
Save group of tabs as bookmark	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thumbnails for tabs	No	Yes—Quick Tabs	Yes—Mouse over tab; also can tile tabs
Macintosh/Linux version	Yes/Yes	No/No	Yes
BitTorrent client	No	No	Yes
Spell-checker for text boxes	Yes	No	No
Download pause	Yes	No	Yes (stop and resume transfer

- Ziff Davis

Big changes have or are about to occur in three well-known browsers: Internet Explorer is finally being updated, with version 7 in its third beta and almost ready to roll out the door; Firefox is also ripening an upgrade beta for its Version 2.0—it’s in beta 1; and finally Opera, which has a devoted but smaller following, has recently come out with Version 9.0.

Related: A first look on Firefox 2 Beta from MacWorld and a review on Opera 9 from Ravi. Don’t ask me to look for review on IE7 … guess you know why.

Wow !!!

“Intel’s Core 2 Extreme X6800 didn’t lose a single benchmark in our comparison; not a single one.” - anandtech.com

As I wrote sometime ago, I wasn’t planning to upgrade my current system, which is Athlon64 overclocked @2.9Ghz, to new Athlon X2 processor on AM2 socket. Why end up paying extra cash when I don’t see noticeable performance gain when switching, main reason being that most likely it will be hard to achieve even 2.8Ghz on dual-core X2 and would want to have the current performance from each cores when doing next major upgrade.

It seems that with Conroe Core Duo, and especially the E6600 processor, which by default runs at 2.4Ghz with 4MB shared L2 cache, can easily reach 3.6-to-4.0Ghz on air. If you think I am looking from megahertz perspective of both processors then you are wrong. The E6600 will be sold around $320-$350, and by the end of this year closer to $300 mark. With recent announcement from AMD on price drop on their current line-up, all I can expect from this price range is Athlon X2 4600+, clocked at 2.4Ghz and with doubts reaching 2.8-2.9Ghz when overclocking.

Now, even at stock speed, E6600 can actually outperform most of the time the X2 5000+, not talking about that E6600 still has around 50%+ overclocking potential left. With E6600 overclocked, it can easily outperform any top of the range desktop processors from AMD and Intel, not only the current ones but probably the new unannounced silicons in coming months. And all that for around $300.

The only grudge with Intel based systems is the high cost of motherboard, which runs close to $200, while for AMD you can get a good one for around $120. Also, due to a couple of changes in voltage regulation to the Core 2 Duo core, nearly all the motherboards that have already been sold will NOT support these processors. That means you’ll need to look at a new motherboard if you want Intel’s Core 2 Duo in your system. But again, a performance analysis shows that Core Duo based system is still a better option.

What can I say. Is this the defeat for AMD, or they do have some secret weapon hidden underneath their sleeves. If so, I really hope that within next few months they will unveil it and then once again I will be looking towards AMD powered computer when going for next upgrade, which I think will do somewhere in 2007 Q1, if my budget allows.

Related Stuff:

• Intel’s Core 2 Extreme & Core 2 Duo: The Empire Strikes Back
• Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 and E6700 Review – Conroe is Here
• Motherboards.org takes a sneek peek at the nForce4 590 and 570 chipsets for Conroe Core Duo
• Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 and E6700 Review
• Intel’s Core 2 Extreme/Duo Processors
• AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (AM2) Overclocking Performance