a113n’s daily dose

When installing applications on any windows machine, I typically find myself with multiple apps to install. This never works out as easily on Windows as it does in any Linux distribution. Typical example, today after uploading the VS install discs to the server and beginning the install, I remembered the large Vista SDK that I also needed to install. Since these are both required for the same project (PowerShell cmdlet development), it makes sense that I could kill two birds with one stone–install them at the same time in parallel instead of consecutively. So while VS is installing, I start the web-based SDK install, only moments later to get the message “This install cannot complete because the Windows Installer is already running.” This problem does not exist in any distribution of Linux I have ever used. Though each distribution has it’s own package management system (yes, I know many of the newer distros are based on or directly incorporate prior package management systems, but no one denies there are several systems in use), they all allow applications to be installed in parallel. Therefore, the same scenario with only the OS changed is much more streamlined and simplified. I advocate neither Windows or Linux individually, but believe both have their place (reference my work-in-progress Windows vs. Linux article), but in situations like this, you can see how Linux seems better accustomed to increased productivity. Why can we not have a streamlined install process in Windows? I don’t expect any real answers, just a bunch of excuses traced back to a bad design; chop this up to another frustrating aspect in the world of Windows that we are forced to live with (kinda like the various crap Apple forces down our throats on the iPhone).

Speaking of Linux distributions, many people (or maybe just the uneducated few) tout Debian or Redhat as the distro with the best package management system–apt-get or RPM respectively. Though many distros do in fact copy the apt-get system, I never took to it myself seeing a lot of room for unneeded package installations. The package tree, in my opinion, was never maintained as well as it could have been. My distro of choice is, as anyone who listens to my Linux rants will testify, Gentoo. Though many people have erroneously stated that Gentoo’s Portage system is based on apt-get, it is actually loosely-based on BSD’s port system. In my experience (sever al distributions, including Redhat, Mandriva, Debian, Ubuntu, and even Slackware, the distro for die-hard Linux fanatics), this package management system allows for a finely tuned system, which is the greatest advantage Linux offers over Windows. Both apt-get and the RPM system have their place, but when I want a system perfectly tuned for the hardware capabilities, I will turn to Gentoo.

BSD is not an option for me as it is not actually a Linux distribution and has a licensing system all it’s own. Further, after watching King of Kong last night, I see an interesting comparison between the Billy Mitchell vs. Steve Wiebe drama (and yes, drama is the right word) and the Andrew Tanenbaum vs. Linus Torvalds saga (and yes, here, saga is the right word). Any Linux advocate is well-versed on the banter between these two across the years, and every time I read the online email exchanges, Tanenbaum shows his true colors as an arrogant douchebag. And just as Billy Mitchell uses his faux-celebrity status for his own advantage, playing mind games to stay ahead of the game, Tanenbaum uses similar tactics with news articles and appearances on nightly broadcasts. The true advocates of their respective domains are Torvalds and Wiebe, who do what they do out of enjoyment, not out of personal gain or, as Mama Bear so kindly points out, being a douche.

• Current Location: Bed