Sorry for the title…but I thought it was funny.
In a previous post titled “Rediscovering Linux (via Ubuntu)” I discussed my newfound ‘toy’ in Ubuntu & Linux. Well..the joy of that ‘toy’ has faded.
The joy turned to sorrow after about a month of constant tweaking, updating and configuring. One of my biggest pet peeves was the inability of Ubuntu 7.04 to run VMware on this machine (believe me..I tried to get it to work). The final straw came when I bought a Maxtor Shared Storage II Network Storage device and plugged it into my network and tried to access it from my Ubuntu server. I did get it to work, but found myself constantly changing User ID’s, Group ID’s and re-mounting disks…so I gave up on it.
That old Dell 8250 now has Windows 2003 Server (Standard Edition) running on it. I hadn’t looked at Windows 2003 Server in a long time but I have come to realize that I really like it. It is stable and reliable (so far). I’ve been able to easily setup Apache, PHP and MySQL (using Wampserver) and also have IIS running (go figure…Apache and IIS on the same box). In addition, I have VMWare Player on the 8250 so I can play around with other OS’s and appliances.
For me, Windows is still a much better solution. Sorry Ubuntu & Linux…I have moved back to the Microsoft side for now. I still like the idea of Linux, Free and/or Open Source Software but I don’t think it’s ready for prime time just yet.
P.S.
[tags] Windows, Microsoft, Windows 2003, Ubuntu, Linux [/tags]
Related posts:
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
While I agree that Linux may not be ready for the “production” prime time for the at-home user, I haven’t had any issues with Ubuntu Desktop as a dual-boot on my laptop. The only issue I experienced with the laptop was in the BroadComm wireless driver. With the help of the amazing Ubuntu forums I was able to get that going with a relatively small amount of hacking around in the terminal.
I am now playing with a Ubuntu server inside my LAN as a development server. I have experienced the issues with Apache, permissions, etc. Mainly due to my lack of knowledge.
If you really like the idea of Unix based security and stability, look into getting a Mac! Just over a year ago I began looking at and longing for a Mac. I went out a month later and got an iMac. The only thing I could be happier with is a new Mac Pro with a 30″ monitor!
Hi Will,
Thanks for the comment.
I really liked Ubuntu when I had it on my machine, but as a full-time usage machine, it just didn’t work for me. I am about to setup another machine with Ubuntu to play with…will probably setup a LAMP server system for testing with PHP, MySQL, etc.
I currently have a Win2003 server running at home and think it will be fun to setup a linux server next to it to play with and test.
As for Mac…that’s my next purchase. I plan to wait a few months after the new version of OSX has had a chance to float around out there and maybe buy a Mac mini to play with.
I understand with not wanting to use it as an everyday machine. As a server, Linux can be unbeatable. However, the knowledge required to set it up properly can be overwhelming.
I still believe an everyday use desktop product (for most users) needs to be a commercial based product (e.g. WinXP or Mac OS X). Linux is a lot of fun to play with though!