[ale] A use for Windows . . .

[ChangingLINKS.com]

It seems like we have an unusually high amount of Microsoft bashing on the 
list lately. 
A friend told me to always "be for something" as opposed to "against something 
else." The thing that I am for is speed.  My 2DO list is 99 items long - so I 
am impatient, and want things done yesterday - even if it means using 
undesirable tatics.

Here's an example:
I knew that I was going to be getting married and I wanted to make sure that I 
could take lots of pictures of the wedding and honeymoon. I researched 
linux-compatible cameras online. I posted to the list and started a thread 
discussing which camera to buy, what media, and even personal experiences 
from the members of ALE.
After visiting several stores to find a camera, I found that my choices were 
basically limited to Olympus and Kodak. These were the brands that use 
Smartmedia cards and were available. I paid extra money to buy a nice Olympus 
camera. Next, I paid extra money to get the recommended "card reader." 
I got married and took lots of pictures. When we got back from the honeymoon, 
I tried to plug in and read the card to download the pictures. It wouldn't 
work. I noticed that the computer hard drive light would flash (but nothing 
else would happen). Next, I tried to connect to the camera directly. RedHat 
8.0 comes with gtkam. Unfortunately, gtkam seemed to work with Olympus 500 
and 600 but NOT 550. Moreover, gtkam recognized the camera as a Olympus 2040. 
After spending an hour online researching, I posted a message to the board 
about the problem, detailing the hardware involved and asking for help. I got 
0 responses.
Flash back to the day we got home . . . . my new wife (who has much less 
computer skill than I do) was able to download all of the pictures to her old 
400 Windows machine within minutes. She put them in a special directory for 
me.
Finally, I decided to put my Win98 machine together. As soon as it booted up, 
it recognized the card reader (I had forgotten it was still connected). Then, 
I quickly transfered the files from her computer to my machine (Windows to 
Windows). I zipped up the pictures, uploaded them to a server in California 
and downloaded them into my Linux machine - but Linux I could not open the 
zip file using "unzip" (it thought that the zip was part of a multi-part 
zip).
I set up Samba (for the first time) and transfered the files to my RedHat 7.2 
box. I noticed that I only had to change one setting (completed with the 
mouse - and no typing) for the Windows box, but for the Linux machine . . . 
well, you know.
Finally, I made my Windows machine Linux 8.0 again and used scp to copy the 
files from the  Linux 7.2 computer. 
It doesn't stop there. 
I tried to use "Worker" to view the pictures. I would not work because my 
install of RedHat 8.0 did have xview. I searched online for xview and found a 
"better" program called "compupic" I installed compupic, and found out that 
it was a program ported FROM Windows. Compupic has lots of nice features, but 
when I deal with big graphics - my Linux machine crashes and I have to use 
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to recover my GUI.
So, the goal to get the photos from the camera to the Linux machine was 
accomplished - but I had to rely on at least 1 Windows machine even though I 
went faaaar out of my way to buy Linux compatible hardware. I am sure that 
RedHat 8.whatevercomesnext will support my camera more automatically - but my 
Windows.whatevercamebeforeXP-2000-NT supported it since late 1997.
I have found RedCarpet to be a nice solution to getting my Linux box "to 
work." I can do most things with my full install of RedHat 7.2 with RedCarpet 
updates AND update agent updates. But, the "Ximian Desktop product does not 
currently support [RedHat 8.0]."
As much as I say that I _hate_ Microsoft Windows, it now has a home (through 
Samba) on my desk. I use Linux for daily use (like Checking email, writing 
this letter, Internet browsing -when I don't care about Java or Flash). But, 
I am finding for the really tough problems (working special hardware, data 
recovery, data encryption, faster peer to peer filesharing, installing new 
programs to complete a special task, ultra easy file transfers between 
computers) the "fastest" way to solve the problem is to boot up my Windows 
machine.

More Reality:
I think that sharing this experience will yeild personal attacks, claims that 
I could be a "shill," or a "Microsoft appologist." The amount of effort I 
spent and the amount of help I asked for will be forgotten and I will be 
labeled a "Luser." I should probably RTFM just one more time and "take more 
time now to figure it out because it will be better for me in the long run." 
Why not go buy some books, go back to school and pick up that CS degree?

For the record, I don't like Windows for all of the reasons you don't like it 
- I like exhausting lots of energy and being completely ineffective less.

:wq!

-- 
Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew
http://www.ChangingLINKS.com

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