__/ [ John Bailo ] on Saturday 03 June 2006 15:18 \__
>
> http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/254/1/
>
> "HACKING SUSE LINUX 10.1
> Written by Jem Matzan
>
> When you're done installing SUSE Linux 10.1 OSS, your desktop system is not
> complete. You might still need support for Java programs, MP3 audio files,
> and browser plugins for Macromedia Flash, Adobe Acrobat, RealPlayer, and
> Windows Media Video. You may also want to add support for playing DVD
> videos on your computer, and to try out the new XGL graphical toys. Here's
> how to effectively make SUSE Linux 10.1 into the perfect desktop OS."
I remember that article fairly well (not sure if I posted it to COLA, but
I suspect that I did) because its use of the word "hacking" is rather
appalling and out of place. Yes, it's no "cracking", but how does
extending a desktop making it "hacked"? Either way, all platforms require
some so-called 'hacking'. Windows, for example, does not support PDF's out
of the box and until not so long ago (revision-wise), it didn't have any
built-in, integrated compression tools.
Most Linux distrobutions do not have these problems, whose solution has
simply become common knowledge to Windows users ("get WinZip, then go to
adobe.com, et cetera et cetera", or call the next-door neighbour).
Non-commercial Linux distributions are more likely to contain proprietary
components (e.g. codecs) 'out of the box'.
Lastly, I would like to add that developers (Web, desktop) and
distributors often make life bitter to non-Windows users simply because
they excessively /assume/ and practice prejudice. In a world where Linux
dominated, nobody would have sent Office files (with macros/viruses) or
even videos encoded with Microsoft codecs and potentially Microsoft DRM.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Roughly 2% of your keyboard is O/S-specific
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
7:20pm up 37 days 1:52, 12 users, load average: 2.69, 1.80, 2.14
http://iuron.com - Open Source knowledge engine project
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