USA TODAY: Linux: Windows competitor ... NOT! | Linux Today

USA TODAY: Linux: Windows competitor … NOT!

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Dec 22, 1999

[ Thanks to Larry J.
Blunk
for this link. ]

My own experience has uncovered a host of problems that
Microsoft and Apple licked years ago.
Since I added Linux to a
computer at home, I find I can’t make my cable modem work because
the device that connects it to my PC won’t work with Linux. I can’t
make my standard-issue laser printer work because — contrary to
the assertions of the point-and-click interface in the
configuration settings — Linux does not know it is there.”

“I have the same problems with my PC’s sound, since the
“sndconfig” program designed to handle that part of the computer
isn’t working either. It’s so not working, in fact, it doesn’t even
have the good graces to give me an error message when I try to
start it up.”

“This, by the way, is a fairly common trait of Linux software.
Sophisticated programmers, after all, don’t want to spend time on
things like warning messages when there are so many more urgent
matters to address.”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.