Well, Windows is back on the disk.

[Lionel]

Michael Richter wrote:
>>> I'll cheerfully learn.
> 
>>> Where, exactly, is ALSA documented again?  And its interactions with
>>> OSS and the other misbegotten software turds that seem to float around
>>> the Linux multimedia bowl?
> 
>>> Give me docs--complete and coherent ones--and I'll gladly learn.
> 
>> If you've been reading the LKML, there certainly aren't many. If you ask
>> the LKML, I'm sure you'll get a response like, "the header files". It
>> works in practice. :)
> 
> So much for Linux on the desktop.
> 
> If I have to read kernel code to make something work we're talking
> about fifteen layers of information too far from the end-user
> experience.  Were all other OSes this way it would be bad enough, but
> in the arena Ubuntu wants to compete in sound cards Just Work<tm>. 
> Having Ubuntu require reading of kernel source to get half-there
> operation that Mysteriously Fails<tm> slightly less than the default
> scenario is not going to give anybody a good impression.
> 
> Here's what you're competing against, for reference:
> - In Windows, since '98 (and possibly earlier -- I don't have any '95
> disks left anymore), sound cards either Just Work<tm> out of the box
> or they work after installing an easily-found, easily installed
> driver.
> - In Windows, since '98 (or earlier), in a system with multiple sound
> cards, telling the OS which one you want as the default device means
> all audio activity goes to that default device.
> - In Windows, you see the pattern, AC3-encoded (or DTS-encoded, etc.)
> audio played on a system that doesn't support AC3 (for whatever
> reason) gets converted intelligently through software into a format
> which is supported.
> - In Windows, if a format isn't supported it gives intelligent error
> messages like "no codec for this file format" instead of "device
> busy".  This means you can easily figure out you're dealing with a
> codec issue and can Google on "<name> codec" to find the software you
> need.
> - In Windows, when the desktop starts, if it can't play the startup
> noise (because of a hardware misconfiguration, say) it doesn't hang
> the system.

You forgot at least one.
- Windows comes with a high price tag, is restrictive and is developed 
by highly paid software developers.

- Most Linux distro's are free and provide a flexible OS in an attempt 
to provide an alternative to blue screens, viruses and spyware. You are 
getting it for FREE. You are getting it for FREE. A lot of people put a 
lot of hard work into Linux and get nothing in return, consider yourself 
lucky that people are out there trying.