Why I'm NOT Getting An Iphone

I have been happily running one distro of Linux or another for maybe 10 years now. It is what I run on my main PC, though I have a laptop with Windows 10 (upgraded from 7). I kept the windows because it came on the laptop, and some apps are proprietary.

Anyway, my Droid RazrHD Maxx is a couple of years old now, and they are not updating the OS, though it has been running fine. Cracked screen and case, still dependable though. So I was thinking of going with a Samsung Note7 when the news of those catching fire came out.

Friends told me they were using Iphones for years with no problems, so I began looking at the 6S plus. Came within a whisker's breadth of buying one when I read something on the web about difficulty in transferring files between the phone and the PC if you're running a Linux OS.

So that is the deal breaker for me. Just fortunate that I read that blurb, or I'd be an unhappy camper. :)

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I have been happily running one distro of Linux or another for maybe 10 years now. It is what I run on my main PC, though I have a laptop with Windows 10 (upgraded from 7). I kept the windows because it came on the laptop, and some apps are proprietary.

Anyway, my Droid RazrHD Maxx is a couple of years old now, and they are not updating the OS, though it has been running fine. Cracked screen and case, still dependable though. So I was thinking of going with a Samsung Note7 when the news of those catching fire came out.

Friends told me they were using Iphones for years with no problems, so I began looking at the 6S plus. Came within a whisker's breadth of buying one when I read something on the web about difficulty in transferring files between the phone and the PC if you're running a Linux OS.

So that is the deal breaker for me. Just fortunate that I read that blurb, or I'd be an unhappy camper. :)

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Apple does not like (nor make easy) most kinds of file transfers.

Why not just use Dropbox? The Dropbox app works great on my iPhone and is available for Linux.

Dropbox works great transferring files between PC and Android devices, its what I used until I broke my tablet............

I just transfer any files I want from my OnePlus One (Android) to my FreeNAS (based on FreeBSD) in the basement, using a file manager (I like, Solid Explorer, but there are others) either over the local wifi network or over the Internet, if I'm not at home. All my *nix computers can access the same files on my FreeNAS box. I also use Syncthing on my phone and my linux machines and FreeNAS server for automated syncing of files. When I open my camera app and take a picture, Syncthing syncs the pictures to my FreeNAS computer so I have a backup right away). I have no need for locked down, proprietary systems, that are here today and gone tomorrow, never mind the fact that they can poke around in my files at their leisure. There are a few such services that truly allow you to encrypt your files so only you can open them, but using dropbox in the regular fashion does NOT protect your files.

A large portion of the Internet runs on Linux (big outfits like Amazon, not to mention the lions share of big iron servers), a large portion of scientific work is done on Linux (Nasa, Cern etc.) and even Hollywood have given up on the half eaten fruit brand as they are not competitive with modern OSs like Linux and BSD. Heck, even Microsoft has begun to integrate linux into their systems as that is what is used/needed today. Most of the "Super" computers in the world also run custom versions of Linux.

I won't pay for second rate hardware, software or proprietary cloud services, I do pay for decent hardware and decent software, and wouldn't you know it, it's compatible with Linux!

It's not well known, but even Apple's operating system is based on FreeBSD (who's licensing allowed for it to be locked down and sold after Apple made changes to it).

Computers and software, like straight razors, are worth what they are worth... Taking a Gold Dollar razor and changing the name and color, jacking up the price and making it exclusive, does not make it any better in my opinion. But, that's how the world works today... marketing marketing marketing.

I've been running linux since the Dos 3.1 days.... back then, a server we were running had an uptime of about a week between crashes, requiring a long drive to push the button to reset it. When we switched it to linux, it ran for a couple of years before it quit. It turned out, someone had broken into the room and stolen the ram out of the server!

I've used a variety of Linux flavors over the years, I started with Slackware, then Redhat, Mandrake which became Mandriva, PClinuxOS for many years, Arch and Antergos, and lately I've been using Ubuntu Mate. Linux refers to the "Linux Kernel" everything else is added on top and will vary from distribution to distribution... Unlike Windows and Apple, I have a large range of available desktop options and I am free to look under the hood and change or fix anything I like, if I so choose. The same does not apply to the other two.

Sorry... I didn't mean to rant.

Regards

Christian

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Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

I've used a variety of Linux flavors over the years, I started with Slackware, then Redhat,

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I wish I had the know how to run Slackware. True I've never tried, and I'm a member of their forum. Not that it is a better system, but it has the reputation of being for bona fide linux geeks only. I'd like to be able to run it for the cool factor.

I started with Red Hat 5 and now run unbutu mint 17.1 Rebecca. Smooth as silk. I have a limited knowledge of the command line though, and if it weren't for the GUI I'd be in trouble. I have learned how to partition drives and do installs, and I have a couple of spare towers/hard drives, so one of these days I might try to 'get slack'. :)

Jimmy,

The neat thing is that today, it's easy peasy to test most Linux distributions as they will have a live disk for testing.

Mint is one of the few distributions I will not use for personal reasons and for the fact that they appear to have gone off the rails by going against the tide, They will end up having to recompile just about every single app in their repo to be compatible with their chosen structure. Sure, it works great now... but when the going gets tough, do they have enough people to keep things up to date?

Honestly, I'd take Ubuntu-Mate for a spin if I were you, very nicely done and super easy to configure! It even has a nice welcome app that helps you install all the basic stuff most users want. I'll admit, my needs are a bit more esoteric... and I got tired of having to compile things. If I run a Ubuntu based machine, I can always use the PPA or .DEB file instead. This may all be a moot point in the near future with containerization coming shortly. Snap packages are a breeze to install, though you still have to reach for the command line. In Ubuntu-Mate, all I do is hit the F12 key and a terminal drops from the top of the monitor.

Other nice distros are Elementary, Solus and if you really want the Bleeding Edge feel of Arch without the headaches.... Antergos. Antergos IS Arch, but all the work has been done and you can simply install the desktop of your choice when you tell it to install, I think you get a choice of at least 5 or more. The live disk defaults to Gnome 3, but during the install you are asked which you want. I've used KDE, Gnome2, Gnome 3, Mate, XFCE and several more and as I mentioned, I like Mate... it's light and fast, has a lot of familiarity with Gnome 2 and development is well organized and up to date... bug fixes get done quickly.

About once a year, I'll fire up my DVD burner and grab a rewritable disk and work my way through the new releases, to see if there's something I like better than what I have. The main thing to remember, while the software may be free, as in beer, throw a few nickels at your distribution of choice. Running those servers that distribute the software have real costs tied to them.

I'm going to assume you are aware of Distrowatch, if not, surf over there and you'll find news of the latest releases.

If you think Slack is hard..... stay far away from LinuxFromScratch and Gentoo! :-)

It's all good really, no need to slave away at the command line if you don't want to, that's really for the nerds who need to do weird stuff.... and or when something needs fixing.

The command line can be very powerful, and it's handy to have access to, but for day to day, I never see a command prompt on my desktops... my Raspberry Pi, Odroid C2.... sure... why waste cpu cycles on gui's if you don't have any spare CPU cycles to waste. I have a Pi 2 downstairs running Dietpi/Pi-hole/Hotspot that works great, and a Banana Pro with Xubuntu running rsync tasks upstairs (backing up my backup, in case the basement floods). I have another Pi running as a media server on my TV and two more just sitting here on the desk, looking for something useful to do.

Regards

Christian

Gee, and I was thinking of trading in my Motorola Brick for one of those new fangled models. People keep staring at me in the street and the TSA keep thinking I'm smuggling something inside but you just dissuaded me Jimmy.

I have an old Asus Netbook that I would like to run Ubuntu on since XP is now tombstoned, I just use it to browse the web and run videos on, Any good reason to switch (or not) from XP to Ubuntu?

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Originally Posted by kelbro

I have an old Asus Netbook that I would like to run Ubuntu on since XP is now tombstoned, I just use it to browse the web and run videos on, Any good reason to switch (or not) from XP to Ubuntu?

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If it has the technical specs to run it I would recommend ubuntu over XP in a heartbeat. Especially if you're surfing the web. Dangerous with a windows system that isn't updated I think.