Windows & Linux once again

I'm a software developer by profession and I'm passionate about it too. Like many of my kind I prefer Linux/Unix over Windows as my preferred environment to work in, just because it's better suited for software developers. The environment is highly configurable, scriptable and the source code is available. I actually prefer a Mac to Linux and Windows, because an Apple provides the best of both worlds, it also combines the worst of both :)

I'm a big believer in open source, the GPL, but I also support more restrictive licenses because I think everybody has the right to know what their machine does and how it interacts with the world. Everyone should have to right to fix the products they bought or to tell the vendor what mistakes they made. It decreases our dependance on the corporate world, increases transparency and that's a good thing. (Remember when television sets and other equipment used to be sold with the electronic schema or service manual.)

I like my command line, so I can quickly /find/ a file. Or /grep/ the contents of a text file and pipe it to /sort/. All file formats are open and accessable. All configuration files are human readable. Very convenient.

All of this is what Linux offers me and it appeals to me. But I have to be honest to myself. I've been living with Linux for the past two years and it's been good so far. I've used great apps like KOrganizer, OpenOffice and Amarok. Applications I absolutely love, but I find myself annoyed again by how many simple things just *don't work*, or are not available.

Syncing my mobile phone for example. Most modern PDA type phones support SyncML , but in Linux, syncing with SyncML is almost non existent. (I've searched google and forums for three days now.) Finding a good alternative to Photoshop is another example; and *NO*, The Gimp is *NOT* a replacement for Photoshop.

I have to be honest, because the things that attract me in Linux(open source, command line) I almost never invoke. I hardly ever change any code. I've been willing to put up with the flaws of Linux software. It's time for a change. I will put up with Windows flaws, but in return get standard software like MS Office, Photoshop, much larger choice of software and a working SyncML.

So I'm switching back to Windows once again.. Let's see how long before I switch back. First thing I'll install will be unixutils :)