Britannica and Linux. Does it get any more pitiful

Here is a perfect example of how little software and hardware manufacturers care about Linux.

Now let's take a looksee. With Windows XP I put the CD in the tray, selected install from the pop-up menu and after feeding 2 more CD's in I was done. Total time 5 minutes or less.

EVERY SINGLE FEATURE OF THE PROGRAM WORKS PERFECTLY!

Now let's talk Linux and more importantly what Linux Lusers are willing to put up with and call "working".......

You know you are in trouble when you read this:

Encyclop¾dia Britannica has developed a Perl script that allows Linux users to install and run 2004 Encyclop¾dia Britannica software products on a modern Linux installation.

While we are very pleased to offer this Perl script for your use, we must make it clear that the 2004 Encyclop¾dia Britannica software breastles were not developed to run on Linux, and we are not able to support this script, nor any other Linux installation of our software. We are making this script available for the convenience and enjoyment of Linux users, but its use is strictly experimental and unsupported.

To elaborate further: This Perl script, including the source code, documentation and related data, is made available by Encyclop¾dia Britannica. This software is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, not even the implied warranty of merchantability. Encyclop¾dia Britannica, the author of this software, buttumes no responsibility for any consequence resulting from the use, modification, or redistribution of this software.

IOW we sort of made it work for the 5 geek users of Linux that may want this thing.

Read on because it gets wven funnier!!

n addition, you will need to make sure that the JAVAHOME environment variable is set properly and that the Java 'bin' folder is in your path. To set these environment variables for the current session, you can use the following commands:

export JAVAHOME=-path-to-JDK (e.g., export JAVAHOME=-usr-local-j2sdk1.3.1) export PATH=-path-to-java-bin-:$PATH (e.g., export PATH=-usr-local-j2sdk1.3.1-bin:$PATH)

To make these variables persist for future sessions, add both of the above commands to your shell's initialization script in your home folder (i.e.,.bashrc).

WOW!!!

All I did was insert the CD (UNDER WINDOWS XP OF COURSE) and it downloaded, installed and configured java all by itself.

My "shell's initialization script" ?

WTF is that?

WTF is a shell?

But I digress and it gets even funnier:

There are a few bugs known to exist when running the Britannica breastles on Linux. We are aware of the following issues:

* Various Java VM messages of the form "Font specified in font.properties not found": This can be fixed by replacing your ...-jdk-jre-lib-font.properties file with the following: * Preferences must be edited manually: Preferences must be edited manually under the following: ~-britannica-product-conf-user.product.preferences.properties * Certain dialog boxes may be too small when displayed: Clicking buttons on the application's homepage launches the dialog boxes in question. As a workaround, just close and reopen the dialog. * 'Go' button to initiate search is missing: The 'Go' button that normally appears to the right of most search boxes is missing. To begin a Search, press Enter or Return instead. * Dictionary does not function: Entering a search term in the Dictionary-Thesaurus search box and pressing Enter will display no results. * Flash presentations do not work: All Flash presentations, including interactive images and the Timelines, will not be displayed. The QuickTime player that is used to render these presentations on Windows and Macintosh does not run on Linux. * QuickTime features do not work: Any video, audio, or animation files that exist cannot be played. The QuickTime player that is used to render these files on Windows and Macintosh does not run on Linux. * Content Updates do not download: The 'Online Updates' feature is not able to download and install updated content. * 'More Online Content' does not function: The 'More Online Content' button that appears above the search results does not function. As a workaround, you can open a browser window to the following address and reenter your search term: * World Atlas does not open: The World Atlas feature does not open when launching Britannica from the Data Disc. However, the hard-drive installation method noted in the Advanced section below will allow the Atlas to function. * Knowledge Navigator loads, but is empty: The Knowledge Navigator window opens, but the database is not available. Therefore, no data set appears in the window. * Learning Activities and Games & Activities buttons do not function:The Learning Activities and Games & Activities buttons do not launch a browser window as they are supposed to. The workaround for this issue is to manually open a browser window and enter one of the following URLs: o Learning Activities (Student Library): o Games & Activities (Elementary Library):

Oh that's a riot!!!!

See the Quicktime Player reference? Well that sure as hell explains why many websites don't work with Linux.

Once again Linux proves that doing without is the Linux way...

But this one is the most hysterical:

t is possible to install Britannica to your hard drive so that you do not need to insert the Data Disc(s) to launch the program. To do this, you will need to copy the contents of the Data Disc(s) to your hard drive prior to executing the script. Please note that these advanced processes are required for multi-disc breastles.

Ultimate Reference Suite CD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-urscd'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert Disc One. Copy the data, imagefiles, and jars folders into '-usr-local-urscd-'. 4. Copy all *.zip, *.jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-urscd-'. 5. Insert Disc Two. Copy the DATA2 folder into '-usr-local-urscd-'. 6. Open the DATA2 folder on the disc and then open the data folder. Copy the 'oecx' folder into '-usr-local-urscd-data-'. 7. Insert Disc Three. Copy the DATA3 folder into '-usr-local-urscd-'. 8. Open the DATA3 folder on the disc and then open the data folder. Copy the imagedb folder into '-usr-local-urscd-data-'. 9. If you want access to the World Atlas, you will need to extract the '-usr-local-urscd' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-urscd-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory at '-usr-local-urscd-data-atlasdb'. 10. Execute the Perl script from the command line (e.g., location where you installed Britannica (for this example, the path is '-usr-local-urscd-'). Note that it will take several minutes to initialize the application the first time the script is executed-this is because some data files are being copied to your home folder for faster access.

Ultimate Reference Suite DVD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-ursdvd'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert the Data Disc. Copy the data, DATA1, DATA2, imagefiles, and jars folders into the directory you just created. 4. Copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-ursdvd-'. 5. a. Inside of the '-usr-local-ursdvd' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-ursdvd-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory at '-usr-local-ursdvd-data-atlasdb'. 6.

Deluxe Edition CD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-dlxcd'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert Disc One. Copy the data, imagefiles, and jars folders into into '-usr-local-dlxcd-'. 4. Copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-dlxcd-'. 5. Insert Disc Two. Copy the DATA1 folder into '-usr-local-dlxcd-'. 6. Create a new folder named DATA2 in '-usr-local-dlxcd-'. 7. Insert Disc Three. Open the DATA2 folder on this disc and copy the data folder into '-usr-local-dlxcd-DATA2-'. 8. a. Inside of the '-usr-local-dlxcd' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-dlxcd-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory at '-usr-local-dlxcd-data-atlasdb'. 9.

Standard Edition CD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-stdcd'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert Disc One. Copy the data, imagefiles, and jars folders into '-usr-local-stdcd-'. 4. Copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-stdcd-'. 5. Insert Disc Two. Copy the DATA1 and DATA2 folders into '-usr-local-stdcd-'. 6. a. Inside of the '-usr-local-stdcd' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-stdcd-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory at '-usr-local-stdcd-data-atlasdb'. 7.

Ready Reference 2004

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directoryusr-local-rrcd. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert the Data Disc. Copy the data, DATA1, DATA2, imagefiles, and jars folders into the directory you just created. 4. After the above folders have been copied, copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-rrcd-'. 5.

Concise 2004

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directoryusr-local-concise. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert the Data Disc. Copy the data, DATA1, DATA2, imagefiles, and jars folders into the directory you just created. 4. After the above folders have been copied, copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-concise-'. 5.

Homework Essentials CD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home older (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-he'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert the Data Disc. Copy the data, DATA1, DATA2, imagefiles, and jars folders into the directory you just created. 4. After the above folders have been copied, copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-he-'. 5. a. Inside of the '-usr-local-he' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-he-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory atusr-local-he-data-atlasdb. 6.

Homework Essentials Plus CD-ROM

1. Click here to download the Linux Launch Script to your system. It's best to save it in your home folder (e.g.,home-username-). 2. On your hard drive, create a new directory to store the Britannica data files. Do not use any spaces or punctuation when creating this directory. For this example, we will use the directory '-usr-local-hep'. If you choose a different directory, be sure to subsbreastute the correct path when following the steps below. 3. Insert the Data Disc. Copy the data, DATA1, DATA2, imagefiles, and jars folders into the directory you just created. 4. After the above folders have been copied, copy all *Zip, *Jar, and *.inf files into '-usr-local-hep-'. 5. a. Inside of the '-usr-local-hep' folder, UN-jar the atlasdb.jar file into '-usr-local-hep-data-'. b. Confirm that there is a directory atusr-local-hep-data-atlasdb. 6.

All that poo?

Hell, all I did was select copy to hard drive and when it asked me if I had additional disks I fed them in. Total time 5 minutes.

Now there have been numerous posts trumpeting the support under Linux for this application and I am LMAO because if you call this "supporting" you, the Linux lusers have some serious issues.

But then again this is not unique.

Printers that half work with no utilities (ink adj, diagnostics, printhead cleaning) etc are common with Linux yet they are "supported" just because they manage to put a character on the paper

Video cards that are hammerlocked, IOW become basic SVGA cards, because Linux lusers haven't figured out how to reverse engineer the features yet. See ATI for examples.

Yes, Linux users seem willing to do without just for the *joy* of using Linux.

However, the rest of us are laughing our buttes off at you and this Britannica thing is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jorge Jorgensen