Switching to Shrike

Switching to Shrike

by Brad Choate

RedHat Linux 9 (codename Shrike) makes for a nice OS. I have it
installed on my home desktop PC, which sits beside my G3, both of
which are connected to a Linksys router (running Linux). These are
in the same living room as our TV which has a TiVo - another Linux
device. I don’t know if any of this is worrisome to Microsoft, but
it should be.

The only Windows machine I have left is my laptop. It still runs
XP. I’d switch it right now if there was a driver available for my
54g WiFi PC card. Linksys has no ETA for it, but I don’t think
there are any 54g cards available for Linux yet (check for
yourself).

While I find RedHat 9 to be a decent desktop OS for me, it’s
certainly not for everyone. Yes, installation was a breeze, but
general maintenance is not for the timid. For example: enabling
anti-aliased fonts in XFree86. Or installing the latest nVidia
drivers (this one required the kernel source code to install for
my machine). Or adding the NTFS support so you can mount and copy
files from a NTFS-formatted volume. Here’s hoping that RedHat
continues to improve usability. It would be nice to see it reach
the level of ease seen in Mac OS X.

Speaking of Apple and Macs, I’m still tempted to buy an Apple G5.
This weekend we took a trip to the Apple store near us so I could
drool up-close-and-personal-like with the latest goods. Man, that
place is built to frisk you of $1000-$6000 depending on what you
can bear to part with. I would love to have a dual-processor G5 in
my home, but I’m afraid I would be spending most of my time
staring at a terminal window. Something I can just as easily do
with a $200 PC. But wouldn’t that terminal window look spectacular
on an Apple Cinema display? I somehow managed to walk out of the
Apple store barehanded, but I don’t know how much longer I can
hold out.

Speaking of freakin’ huge monitors, the Samsung SyncMaster 240T is
quite a beauty. It has the Apple Cinema 23″ beat in many ways: one
more inch of real estate. It has digital and analog inputs - even
S-video. You can split the screen between multiple sources - great
for watching a movie while you’re working or reading. I’m afraid I
might have to buy a more powerful video card to support a DVI-
powered 1920×1200 display.

But I digress.

Software-wise, I feel pretty comfortable. OpenOffice is installed
and running nicely. Mozilla Firebird runs better than ever on
Linux. I can share files with my Mac thanks to the Samba support
both have. jEdit is identical to the Windows version. No need for
Putty since ssh is installed (and patched) right out of the “box.”
Gaim is no Trillian, but will do for now. The Gimp interface will
take some getting used to (Won’t someone add a Photoshop-like
interface option for it? Photoshop-compatible keyboard mappings
would be nice.) I still can’t find a good replacement for TopStyle
Pro. So Nick… if you’re listening - any plans for a Linux
version? You have heard of Kylix, right?