As someone who has recently begun to experiment with the Linux operating system I have also been introduced to .NET’s Linux’s cousin Mono. This has made me question what the best cross-platform program language to use is. I am familiar with both Java and various .NET languages (Visual Basic & C#) so I decided to run a few tests to see what the resource usage on my Linux laptop is like between these two competing platforms.
Some of you may remember an old Windows program of mine called Hash Verifier. It was a graphical utility that allowed people to generate hashes of their files, and then compare those to known hashes, ensuring that their files had not been corrupted. Well in recent months my foray into the world of Linux has finally taken me into the realm of programming on that platform. Being primarily a .NET developer on Windows I have found the Mono project on Linux to be an absolute breath of fresh air.
As a long time Windows user I have had my fair share of dull, gray toolbars, buttons and controls. Prior to Windows Vista, Microsoft’s first real attempt to pretty up the system – sorry XP, making the taskbar blue just doesn’t cut it – I even looked to Mac OSX with some jealousy.
Flash forward to The Linux Experiment and I have been introduced to a whole new set of environment graphics.
…to The Linux Experiment. That’s right, it seems like such a short time ago that our little experiment began and now it’s already celebrating it’s second month on the web! Please stop by and check us out and let us know just how crazy (or not) we are for committing to using Linux for four whole months!
Some friends and I have decided to give Linux a run for its money. Most of us are experienced Windows users so we figured making the transition to Linux would be 1) a good thing for the resumé and 2) a pretty easy switch. Boy were we ever wrong about #2… #1 is still debatable 😉
The basic premise is this:
Is Linux really a practical desktop computer for the masses?
