Web design & FOSS
Front-end web technologies and Free Open Source Software.
Tuesday 29 April 2008, 6:17 PM
Nubuntu? Schmubuntu!
The Problem With Linux
or
My Problem With Linux
or
My Problem
With everyone raving about how wonderful the new Ubuntu is (well, everyone except ZDNet – whatever were they thinking shipping Firefox 3? Oh, Fool Hardy Heron…), I thought it time for a whinge.
On Windows I used the lovely Scintilla-based Notepad++. On the Mac, I used to use BBEdit, then Textmate or Smultron. But on Linux, I've had real problems finding a slick GUI text editor. And no, I don't want to learn Vi. I've settled with Bluefish, it's pretty cool (and fits in nicely with Gnome) but its configuration is tricky.
And this is my beef with Linux, is that Configuration has been my biggest stumbling block. I'm a front-end sort of guy, I'm no geek, no command-line guru. So when it comes to fixing something, like the syntax colouring in Bluefish, I'm kind of stumped when presented with Perl regular expressions. Eeek.
And yes, this is a My Problem ;)
The plus side of all this is that I asked for help on the Bluefish mailing list and received answers from two of the main developers within 24 hours, with a quick workaround. Ahh, isn't Open Source great?
PreviousComments on this post
I tried posting earlier, but it didn't seem to take my message. Anyhow, I pointed out that if you liked Notepad++ in Windows, and didn't find any Linux native app acceptable, why not try it in wine?
I just went to the sourceforge download page for Notepad++ (did you know they have a Linux FAQ on how to install? http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/nppLinux.php ). Downloaded the .exe file. Ran it with wine, and it installed and runs.
Seems like if you want Notepad++, you got it!
Seriously, there are so many programs that ship with ubuntu that are far better than notepad++ with no configuration necessary (emacs for instance). I'm not sure about the concern with Firefox 3. It is far better than 2 and much more stable. As mentioned, if you like notepad so much, go ahead and install it by just downloading the .exe and clicking on it.
This article confuses me because I have been using ubuntu for over six months now without the need to edit a single configuration file or create a regular expression. It's really an easy OS and all of these geeky modifications have mostly faded away. It's probably one of the simplest to use operating systems and is far more intuitive and stable than Vista. Unlike Vista, it actually works in 64 bit (no driver hell) and uses half of the memory, all while doing window effects, including a 3D desktop if you desire. I know several non-geeks who know nothing about computers and are quite happy with the system. Lastly, unlike windows products, it doesn't slow down over time (fragmentation) and really does a good job of maintaining its programs, keeping all of them up to date.
> there are so many programs that ship with ubuntu that are far better than notepad++ with no configuration necessary (emacs for instance)
@Enrico : ahh, you see, this is so much a matter of personal opinion -- what I like so much about Notepad++ is its streamlined interface and cool slick little features. What I don’t like about emacs (and this is purely shallow, cosmetic reasoning) is that it is Pig Ugly. IMHO ;)
Just look at the success of TextMate to see how a text editor can be powerful and elegant. I know, this is all fuel for the flames...
I totally agree with you about the ease of installation and configuration for Ubuntu, and I truly believe this is so central to its success -- I’m just unlucky and I think I have quite idiosyncratic requirements (see previous ;)
re. Firefox 3: the problem is it says BETA in big letters all over it. If you're a big corporation, you don’t run BETA software, even if it is more stable, has more features and is generally far nicer than any proprietary offerings. It’s simply not attractive.
@markjensen : I don’t know why, but I don’t like the idea of Wine. It seems to sully all that is pure and ideologically profound about Linux, plus I’d like a program to fit in with the windows manager -- that’s why I abandoned Quanta, because of all the KDE widgets that were left dangling about in Gnome.
(apologies for delay in replying, I didn't get my usual alerts!)
