By Andraž Levstik
wine is not a solution. i have tried it. most programs i use on a daily basis do not run on it.
The problem is that most of these programs i mentioned either
- use a lot of functions in windows that is not avaialble in wine
- use custom hardware ( like a RTx2 graphics board ) for which there are no linux drivers.
- slow down to the point of unusable when running in wine
.
Native recompiling is the only way to go. For me, the biggest problem with linux , Osx, freeBSD and all these othere PC based os' ( i'm not talking about sun / solaris because that is different hardware.. although lately they became intel afficionados too ) is that there simply is no software for it. Yes yes yes there is ton's of 'free' software. But if you walk into a store or talk to a tool vendor and want to BUY software .. nada , noppes, zilch ,niente ,niks, nothing, except some very specialistic tools like chip design ( cadence,mentor,synopsys ) and some niche products.
But mainstream tools that are in use by hundreds of thousands ( if not milions) on a day to day basis like Autocad , Photoshop, Premiere , Dreamweaver, TurboTax , Ulead videoeditor , Paintshop Pro , and many many many others, don't exist for linux.
So this monoply is not only the fault ( if you can claim 'fault') of microsoft , but also becasue of the thousands of other companies that only make software for windows. It's a business world. Software manufacturers make tools for the platforms where there is a market.
Semiconductor design tools used to be only avaialble for Calma , Computergraphics, Apollo, and a few dedicated machines. Then VAX became popular and very soon all software was running on VMS ... Calma and Apollo went out of business. Then Sun came alon and all this stuff moved to Solaris ...
Ten years ago linux came along and because pc's with linux were cheaper and equally , if not more , performatn then a sun workstations the tool vendors started making linux versions. Why ? because there was a MARKET to SELL their tools.
Free software is cool but not liveable. With the exception of a few 'free' tools ( Eclipse , GCC ) , that are backed by some big corporation because they see return on investment , none of this free software find a foothold in business.
Lack of support, lack of centrialized contact in case of problems. And free meas you can;'t write it off as investment ...
As for the writers of free ( as in 'gratis' , you also get the source and do as you please ) software...at the end of the day what will they eat ?
We all ( individuals companies ) need money to thrive and survive. I have lots of development work that needs to be done. I can offer a lot of people a cubicle, top notch computer, all the water/soda/coffee they can drink and they can code to their hearts delight.
I will decide what coding tools to use , what platform is targeted, you get a a deadline and it HAS to work. I won't pay a dime, but i promise , in writing, i will give the results away for free, including the source. This is a multi-year project.
How many will sign up tomorrow ? That's what you get with 'free' stuff.
As a company you can not run on the goodwill of people alone.
Imagine you have a product to push out the door . Due to a bug in a piece of software you use to doe the production you can not deliver. If this software is bought you go to the vendor and say : fix this ( or else ... )
If its 'free' you can post the question on some bulletin board and hope someone will give you an answer other then 'try this', you need kernel pack so and so , grep this and edit that script' or plain gibberish. For commercial packages there are support contracts , helplines of you can have a person on site within a day.
try that for 'free' stuff.. Granted Red hat is successfull , but it costs more then dealing with Sun these days ...
Again the penguin. Because it says Linux Os to the gods..
Even if there was a god , he's either an atheist or a narcissist.