Windows versus Linux fragmentation

WTF? This is bullcrud. You can run apps that came with Windows 1.0 on Windows 7 (32bit) - there is no fragmentation.

Linux is inferior to windows for end user purposes because it lack that ability. Binary compatibility and run anywhere applications is what makes a non fragmented OS - and Linux just does not have that.
Oh, and don't cry virus or spambot, everyone knows about the dangers of unprotected sex - computers on the internet is the same.
 
straatkat said:
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There is not another Operating system out there that can match it for it sheer versatility out of the box, and with that versatility comes overhead, something that I don't mind, considering that it runs everything that I through at it, and them some.
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What do you mean by "out of the box"? Are you saying that a clean installation of Windows, disconnected from the internet and no 3rd party installation disks is more versatile that any other OS?
 
adrianx said:
What do you mean by "out of the box"? Are you saying that a clean installation of Windows, disconnected from the internet and no 3rd party installation disks is more versatile that any other OS?
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Well... It can play mp3's :-P
And I am convinced most end users (Even grandma's) would want that feature hehe.
 
adrianx said:
...a clean installation of Windows, disconnected from the internet and no 3rd party installation disks is more versatile that any other OS?
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Are you Free or are you Dom ? Why on earth would you want to do that unless you are some messed up gamer kiddy living in Put-sonder-water ?
 
adrianx said:
What do you mean by "out of the box"? Are you saying that a clean installation of Windows, disconnected from the internet and no 3rd party installation disks is more versatile that any other OS?
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Simply referring to the functionality out of the box as well as the access to application out there that would work on your OS.
 
straatkat said:
You have a valid point. It is especially confusing for mobile guys. I remember John Carmack stating that they had to do 150 versions of the game to work on cellphones. Since Iphone came along he reckon that the market will be big enough so that you can just build for that. How quickly that has change, there is now 4 versions of that tech available, put Andriod in the mix and it is a nightmare very quickly.
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You'd think that virtual machines and things like Adobe Air would address the problem(maybe not solve it, look at JavaME - ugh), but Apple seems intent on not letting that happen.

With Android you can at least code for the lowest version that you want it to work on and chances are that it'll work fine on the newer versions(not sure how it is for iPhone, but I assume/hope it's similar) - the problem here being that you can't use the newer API's. Again, another argument for another day.

straatkat said:
I always found that the biggest problem with Linux is not the amount of distros, it is the lack of direction. The one sane thing they did was to lock down the Kernel. And it shows. A lot of the smaller distros disappeared and a couple bigger once have emerged since. They can do them self a lot of favour by at least by getting a unified installer packaged and distribution channel. I still believe there is room for all of them, but it would make the OS at least more friendlier and more approachable for the average person.
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I tend to agree with you, though I'm not sure about the unified distribution for all of Linux. Ubuntu has a good thing going, with their problem being that they're trying to make too implement too many new features while not perfecting the one's they have already. If they settled it down and perfected their current features and then focused on getting new features out, it would be a lot better IMO. The same goes for most other Linux distro's. Too much of a good thing....
 
Come on... what a dumb article.

I have had no compatibility issues with any distribution of windows other than 3.1 and 95.
Linux on the other hand gives me compatibility issues with almost everything.

Just because there are a few more versions of windows than there used to be doesn't in any way cause the underlying fundamentals of the system to become "fragmented"
 
HawkiesZA said:
You'd think that virtual machines and things like Adobe Air would address the problem(maybe not solve it, look at JavaME - ugh), but Apple seems intent on not letting that happen.

With Android you can at least code for the lowest version that you want it to work on and chances are that it'll work fine on the newer versions(not sure how it is for iPhone, but I assume/hope it's similar) - the problem here being that you can't use the newer API's. Again, another argument for another day.



I tend to agree with you, though I'm not sure about the unified distribution for all of Linux. Ubuntu has a good thing going, with their problem being that they're trying to make too implement too many new features while not perfecting the one's they have already. If they settled it down and perfected their current features and then focused on getting new features out, it would be a lot better IMO. The same goes for most other Linux distro's. Too much of a good thing....
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I was referring to a universal way of packing software, much like the Installer package for windows. Instead, you are faced with either multiple download options for various distro's or a zip file with forum reading to do as to how to make it work...

I have no problem with open software. Some of it is awesome, look at VLC and Firefox. Both great, but they are only great because there is a centralise coordination and direction. The one thing however that I find often is the problem with these software is that everyone is focus at adding stuff...and little time is spend on cleaning the code and optimising and killing bugs. Look at how Firefox has degraded over time. When it launched, it was awesome, because it was small and fast...can't say that any more...


The problem with middleware is that they are only good for one thing, making everything run slower...native apps will always have the edge.
 
As most have said, article is retarded.

This is not "fragmentation", simply feature-setting. Everything that runs on one version of windows 7 will run on all versions of windows 7. It's the same OS, features are simply installed/unlocked.

Sensationalism FTL.
 
I think the article was about the user not knowing what to choose. Not about whether our apps will run on xp and vista and 7. Heck, when last did some of you try to grab a linux ap? There are like maybe 3 different packages and your good to go on most distros. Again, its not about the devs, its about that user standing in incredible connection looking at the 3 windows 7 boxes in front of him and not knowing what the real difference might be. And then lastly it is also about Ballmer being Ballmer http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/ne...ozzie-at-d8-why-does-google-have-two-oses.ars
 
I've been using Linux on the desktop for the last 5 years, and I have no idea what the heck you lot are on about. I've never had compatibility issues. On Windows, it's a different matter, you have to run a lot of XP-compatible apps in "Compatiblity mode" on Vista and 7.
 
It seems that the article was written by someone who has no clue as to what they were talking about. How much research went into this article, except for Googling the various different editions of Windows?
 
superfly said:
I've been using Linux on the desktop for the last 5 years, and I have no idea what the heck you lot are on about. I've never had compatibility issues. On Windows, it's a different matter, you have to run a lot of XP-compatible apps in "Compatiblity mode" on Vista and 7.
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You have been running Linux for 5 years now. I think it is pretty safe to assume that within that time you have had to use something like dpkg to get a particular app running. If not then you obviously don't have the horrible habit of fetching random little apps off of the internet and playing with them to see if they will run :D

Linux is definitely getting smoother, Ubuntu is exceptionally streamlined now. Those new ATI drivers even come with a GUI installer thing now instead of you having to unpack and insert them through the command line like you used to in the beginning. That is really nice to see.

However this doesn't solve the fact that Linux does have fragmentation issues and it seems that nobody is prepared to make these issues easier to handle for new users. I am a dedicated Linux user but I am more than happy to say that this is indeed the case with Linux. It is the nature of the community though. One of the central concepts within the community is that the user needs to put in the effort to learn how the OS works and to manipulate it at a more fundamental level while in Windows the OS handles all of this stuff for you. This is an attitude that isn't soon going to change and honestly I don't see why it should. While it makes it easier for the user we could all do well to learn a little more about how our OS is held together.
 
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