awesome blog keep updating and you will see us comming back and back….

As far as text files go: wordpad/write in Windows, and vi in *NIX.

On the topic of ease of use, I’d say you haven’t given Ubuntu a proper run. I loved it because the live CD not only let me try the system, but allowed me to use and configure the system while still installing it. It means I didn’t have to wait out the installer before I got right into using it.

On the matter of Office suites, Microsoft Office if it is already installed, OpenOffice otherwise, simply because I’m too lazy to dig out my Office install disk.

2) Who’s the developer? You or your mother? For development, Linux is a much better platform, and, like you, I could write a separate article about this. Read this: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/02/drm_in_windows.html

3) Ever heard of commerical SlickEdit? Runs on your buddy Windows and *Nix. Bragging about a product that has a built in keystroke to compile a Java source file is an odd argument.

5) Get your facts right. Open office is not written in Java, and the fact that you think it is shows that you don’t know a lot about open source. Most open source groups didn’t look too kindly on Java until Sun open sourced the JDK. They certainly would not have promoted an office suite written in Java. On the point of usability, I use Open Office at home and use MS Office at work under duress. I’m happy with OO as it is.

The only product the company makes that is even reasonably acceptable is the RDB and that is an overcomplicated monster that takes far more trouble than it is worth to keep running. If you really need it’s power, then you might be stuck with it. For 99% of the rest of us, DB2, PostgreSQL, SqlServer, MySql, probably even Derby are better choices. I don’t hate Oracle as a company, but I *HATE* their products.

Oracle Portal – absolute garbage
Oracle AS – functional, but not nearly as good as WebLogic
TopLink – can’t even compare to Hibernate
JDeveloper – bloated mess. NetBeans is *so* much better.

Windows? I’ve got five boxes running Ubuntu. To hell with Windows’ lack of a reasonable command line, binary bias, cruft-gathering registry, idiotic update “validation” utilties, once-yearly (if you’re lucky) service packs … ugh. Yes, there are some things Windows does extremely well. But “just better” than *nix? I wouldn’t even know what you mean.

Textpad? I realize that text editors are a religious choice among programmers, but, dude … Textpad? Among its “features” are listed, “It can handle file sizes up to the limits of virtual memory” and “Text can be in either the ANSI (Windows) or OEM (DOS) code sets”. Whoop-de-freakin’-do. I’ve used Textpad and, I’m not sorry to say bud, but you and I get into a debate on the merits of Textpad vs., oh, Vim, and the only point you’re going to have is learning curve issues. After that, I win every point. Every one. All of them. All the points. You lose. I win.

Of your other choices the only one I can unqualifyingly agree with is iTunes, which delivers a set of highly desirable proprietary services. Trillian *is* great software and I also like Microsoft Office, but you’d need to define your criteria for “better” before I’d absolutely agree. Otherwise you’re not saying anything meaningful beyond, hey, “I like these!”

Okay. Hey. I like chocolate ice cream. It’s the best of all the other flavors.

However, free software is mostly aimed at developers, sys admins, people who actually know a thing or two about computer in general. And in that it excels.

But for creation/design, its not even close (yes, Gimp sucks).