To all those who complain of Linux being hard to use

Being a Linux-only user for many years now, I don’t even keep up on the never-ending flame wars of Windows vs. Linux.  But sometimes a sentence or a paragraph would catch my attention in a totally unrelated article.  Here is something that I think a lot of people will find surprising:

There’s an awful lot to be said about the simplicity and usefulness of installing software on Mac or Linux. In the latter case, you simply drag a file to your Applications folder, and you’re done. Linux package managers do all the heavy lifting without any user intervention. If a Linux program requires additional libraries, the package manager finds them and installs them automatically. In both instances, I can install new applications in a fraction of the time it takes to install something on Windows.

Read the rest of the article to put the quote in context.  Read comments to the Slashdot story too.

Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull

Everyone and their brother wrote about the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in the last couple of weeks or so.  I read everything from personal complaints of delayed flights, to jokes, to serious analysis of the impact on the economy, and so on and so forth.  And nothing seemed to touch my nerve.  Yes, it’s Mother Nature and she has a way of showing to us how small, insignificant, and fragile we are.  But that’s nothing new, not to me at least.  But what did impress me out of my skin was The Big Picture blog post, filled, as usual, with stunning images.  I think unless you see them all, you haven’t really learned anything about this volcano.

Day in brief

  • Mobile Twitter website is really slick in Opera Mini. Enjoying… #
  • Trying out Tweets60 application. Nice! Has everything I need except multiple accounts. But even so, I think I'll stick to it for a while. #
  • RT @stepanov: CakePHP 1.2.7 released http://bit.ly/9NjCCi #
  • Set Firefox to Use Google Results for Default Address Bar Searches [Firefox] http://bit.ly/9ZAi3o #
  • I'll be there! RT @lockstockrock: Hard rock gig tomorrow, 22:30 at Motor Bar, Limassol, Cyprus. Come! Details – http://lock-stock-rock.com #
  • Finished work for this week. Plenty done, much achieved. Now for well deserved rest. #
  • I favorited a YouTube video — Sugarbush Dog Groomers http://youtu.be/kdJcYTh1rP0?a #
  • Came back from Clash of the Titans. Very average. Don't watch it i 3D. #

Day in brief

  • I favorited a YouTube video — 'The Expendables' Trailer HD http://youtu.be/C6RU5y2fU6s?a #
  • Bookmarked: Zenoss – Open Source Network Monitoring and Systems Management http://icio.us/5b0jrg #
  • It's awesome outside. Sun, breeze, people. Waiting for my meeting… #
  • Imagine Twitter dropping their sms number and it going back into circulation. New owner will insane in one hour. #
  • Having my first beer of the week. #