3_2_1001.xml
hed: Linux skeptix
dek: Plus, EarthLink: an insider's perspective.
blurb: Plus, EarthLink: an insider's perspective.
number of pages:1
by Dan Heilman
I read with skepticism your comment, "I think Linux with the KDE desktop is every bit as easy to use and far more crash-resistant than Me" (August). Maybe the crash-resistance part is true but the part regarding equality in ease of use simply rings untrue. What's important to ease of use is not constantly having to learn a developer's way of doing things.
I dual-boot Suse Linux 7.1 with KDE on a 500MHz, 256MB development PC with Win98SE. I also use an old 200MHz, 64MB test PC in a similar way. With nothing open but KDE, Linux runs like a tired slug while thrash-swapping my hard disk on the test box. On the same PC I can use two or three apps under Win98 with minimal disk swapping.
My modem mysteriously goes AWOL under Suse but has never gone AWOL on me under Win98. Even if I get online under Linux, surfing with Konquerer is primitive compared to IE5.
Cutting and pasting text is predictable under Windows. I don't know what to expect under KDE. It's worse on KDE when graphics are introduced.
Windows users have become familiar with installing and uninstalling with Installshield. With Linux you're faced with RPMs, tars, zips, glibcs, and poorly written installation how-tos.
Finally, there's starting an application. Under Windows, you just double-click yourapp.exe. Under Linux maybe you type ./yourapp, or maybe you have to find the starter script, or maybe you have to know the starter script parameters, or maybe …
H. Evans
Randolph, Mass.
I read your article on EarthLink, in fact, I was probably the person in the Finance Department who transferred you. I was with ELN for some time and I have never been exposed to such customer neglect within a company. To be honest, your case is nothing when compared to others.
There are customers that have tried for many months to cancel their service with ELN, while charges keep racking up on their credit cards.
Julio Moreno
Credit Analyst/Monthly Billing Rep
ELN
Thanks for mentioning Friskit in your 'Where's the Music?' article. Here are some notes regarding your Friskit review:
1. Friskit Version 1 (the product you reviewed) requires exact artist spelling, so to get to the 37 Rolling Stones streams Friskit links you to, you'd need to type: the rolling stones, not just rolling stones.
2. We solved this issue with new Friskit Version 2.0 that was recently released. It includes a fuzzy-semantic artist search--try misspelling common artists name and Friskit will help you get it right. A search for The Rolling Stones (or Rolling Stones) yielded 101 results for me today.
Aviv Eyal
Friskit Inc.
I almost cried when I read your editorial ("The Dyslexic CEO") in the July issue. I spend way too much effort and emotion avoiding situations where I think I'm going to "look dumb." Your article has encouraged and inspired me.
I have been reflecting on the strengths that I have developed in the process of compensating. For instance, I am very good at training users and new programmers because I use a step by step hands-on approach and I wait until they've "got it" before we move on. I am probably a lot more patient than other trainers when a trainee takes a little longer to catch on.
Name and address withheld by request
Correction
The article "Network lockdown" (August) contained the sentence, "The U.S. Army used the Navajo language, unaltered, as code during World War II." In fact, the branch of the service that used the code was the U.S. Marine Corps.
To start a discussion or ask a question, e-mail dan@computeruser.com. letters may be edited for style, length, or content. no anonymous letters will be published.
