[TriLUG] Why Linux For Me

[Igor Partola]

For me the killer feature in the Linux world is the package manager. Even
OS X doesn't IMHO have this ease of use. I'll give you two examples:

Example 1: A few years ago, when both my wife and I were in school, she had
to do some work with molecule modeling for an advanced chemistry class. The
professor printed out two pages of instructions on how to get a project
called PyMOL to work. She got lost about half way into the first page and
asked for my help. I ran $ apt-get install pymol on my Ubuntu box and about
3 minutes later she was using it. Mind you, she was an avid Windows user up
to that point and did not want anything to do with Linux. That day she
became a convert.

Example 2: Even to this day, OS X does not come with a decent package
manager. True, there is now an app store, but if you want to download
something like GIMP, or the latest drivers for a USB video card, you have
to (a) find their source through Google and (b) go through one of those
fantastic installation Wizards. Afterward, if you want to keep things up to
date, you must either let each program remind you individually, or you must
check all the websites yourself. So much for not having to play the role of
a system admin... Like I said, the App store does make things easier, but
it doesn't have everything in it.

On the plus side, I am happy to see that OS X no longer requires any
removable media to upgrade.

Long story short, a system that knows where all the software is, how to
update it, and when there are critical security updates to install is a
killer feature for me. Oh, and Ubuntu's been getting more and more usable.

Igor