Linux Part II

Well, what an adventure this Linux project has been! By adventure, I mean that I have managed to avoid most or all my responsibilities in order to install one lousy application onto my new Linux installation. Yes, as I sit and write this, I have probably spent at least six hours trying to install Skype for Linux on my laptop. I am not as enamored with Ubuntu Linux as I was when I wrote about it last week – obsessed would be a more accurate term.

Just how different is Linux from Windows? Apart from sharing a mouse-driven, GUI interface, the two are as different as chalk from cheese. While many may belly-ache about the high cost of Microsoft products (and I was one of those), the justification is refinement and simplicity. To illustrate, I’ll describe the process of installing the free application Skype for both Windows and Linux.

Windows: Do a google search for Skype, click on first result, find download link, click download, run, next, next, next, installed. The process is simple and straightforward.

Linux: Do a google search, skype for linux, click on first result. Here are the choices: RPM for SuSe 9 and newer; RPM for Fedora Core; RPM for Mandriva 10.1 and newer; Debian Package; Dynamic Binary Tar.bz2; and finally, Static binary tar.bz2 with QT 3.2 compiled in. Clearly, this is not for the faint of heart. But the fun doesn’t stop here. I happened to know that I needed the Debian Package, which I then downloaded. Where did the download go? I finally found it using the search function of the Synaptic Package Manager, which according to the documentation makes installation simple. Without that, one would have to open a terminal window and type in the simple command:

tar xjvf skype-0_90_0_1.tar.bz2

Then it’s a simple matter of marking for installation. This I did, only to be met with the error message:

Depends: libqt3c102-mt(>=3:3.3.3.2) but it is not installable

I was unable to overcome this final problem, despite spending a couple of hours searching for the answer. All I really found out is that a few geeky nerds out in cyberspace have found a way to make it work, but I had to help get dinner ready for my family, and fend off the bemused looks from my spousal unit and child.

I did manage to get a firewall installed after much head-scratching, but the result of this was that my internet stopped working and the only way to get it going again was to uninstall the firewall, which was just as complicated as installing it.

I think my experiment is over. I am sure that Linux is very rewarding for people who don’t mind hunkering down in darkened rooms, in the pale glow of their computer screens for uninterrupted days and nights, but I have better things to do. Linux makes me feel inadequate. I never thought I’d ever say this, but Microsoft Windows Rocks!

In other news, I have finally launched my modest website – please visit www.zoomy.com