Mac verses Windows Verses Linuk

[Anti-Trend]

Yeah, pretty much I was suggesting that if freedom and open source doesn't mean much to you philosophically and you're happy enough with Windows technologically, there's not much besides curiosity to motivate you to learn.

[ot]

I know that this is a questionnaire for Windows users, but I just like to join :)

OS X is already based on FreeBSD, so it's fundamentally light years ahead of Windows in terms of architecture. It does slow down a bit over time though, due to limitations of HFS+... not nearly as severely as good ol' 'doze though. :)[/ot]

For me curiosity was part of what motivated me to learn Linux, but I was also disgusted with the direction Microsoft is going. From Windows 2000 to XP showed a lot of bloat and resource hungriness. The jump from XP to Vista confirms this is the direction MS is heading. That in mind, there isn't a single day I regret jumping from the MS ship and swimming for the shores of open source. :D On that note, even if Linux didn't exist and I only had to choose between Mac OS X and Windows, it'd be Apple all the way.

 

[Net Jockey]

All-in-all I found out that for me, Windows does not offer ANY advantages what so ever. Linux is free, works out of the box and instantly secure so WTF should I bother?

First off this exercise...on my part...has nothing to do with WTF you should bother...I am not interested in that.
I have had a distro of Linux on my second computer...For some time now...and it did not work out of the box...XP worked out of the box...And that is one of the things that has frustrated me about Linux.

 

[Anti-Trend]

First off this exercise...on my part...has nothing to do with WTF you should bother.

Woah now, easy there. If you didn't want people's input on this, why did you post this as a thread in a public forum? Saba's opinion is perfectly valid, especially considering the fact that he initially struggled with whether or not to give Linux a proper shake also. I'd recommend considering what he has to say. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his position, he has been in your shoes.

I have had a distro of Linux on my second computer...For some time now...and it did not work out of the box...XP worked out of the box...And that is one of the things that has frustrated me about Linux.

Again, "a distro" can not be representative of Linux as a whole. Each distro is built differently, by different groups of people, who don't always have the same goals for their respective projects. If the distro you had a bad experience with was Ubuntu, join the club.

 

[Net Jockey]

Open Office... being open source software that ships with most Linux distros as the default office suite. ;)

Yes I was aware of that.

Backing up user data was never a problem for me, but installed software is a different issue entirely. Due to Microsoft's use of the Windows registry, it's not so simple to archive installed software in the same manner, nor to restore it to a working state after a recovery.

Yes I was also aware of that.

That's a lot of trust to have in a company that's motivated purely by profit, especially in one that has proven itself to be so untrustworthy in the past. My point was that they have control of your machine. It's almost like they own it, even though you paid for it. That may be perfectly OK with you, or maybe you just never thought about it, I don't know. But it always bothered the hell out of me.

You and I have had previous discussions around this subject...And I think I told you that there is not much I like about Microsoft other than XP.
How ever since that time I have built a new machine...with quality parts...And XP is Preforming like I have never seen it preform before.

I am not a Microsoft friendly user...but I sure like what I got now.

DOS used to be called "QDOS", for "Quick and Dirty Operating System". Bill Gates bought it from a local programmer, repackaged it as "MSDOS" (Microsoft Disk Operating System), and sold it to IBM. That's how MS got rolling in the first place. Since QDOS was designed literally out of somebody's garage as a hobbyist OS to run on IBM's new x86 platform, it was never intended for production use. Therefore, it wasn't designed to be future proof either. Every version of Windows from the first release until now has been based on concepts (though not necessarily on code) from DOS. In that sense, you have been a DOS user all along. As for me, I'd run MS products from DOS 2.0 all the way up to Windows XP, so I think I can make the DOS/Windows connection with some confidence. :)

Yes I Knew that...But I never learned it.

Truthfully I would like to become comfortable with Linux...But from where I am at right now...I think it will take a lot.

Posts that tell me how much you all like Linux...Do nothing to contribute [to where I think I would like to be.

It appears that...perhaps... those who have responded to this thread...other than Anti-Trend...Have somehow missed that.

 

[Anti-Trend]

It seems like you want to be persuaded into using it, then when others have commented, you seemed to lash out. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your intentions? By all means, keep using Windows if it makes you happy. On the other hand, if you are interested in the potential benefits of Linux, you're of course welcome to pursue that path. The OS is free, in every sense of the word, and there are mountains of documentation out there. Additionally, I've already offered to assist you with any specific questions you should have along the way, assuming you decided to even pursue Linux to begin with.

Is there something else you were seeking on the subject? Unless you have some specific information you're looking for, it seems to me that this particular topic is pretty much exhausted. Keep in mind that it's not going to affect me, saba, or anybody else if you choose to use Linux or don't. It isn't as if we get a commission, now is it? ;)

 

[Net Jockey]

Woah now, easy there. If you didn't want people's input on this, why did you post this as a thread in a public forum? Saba's opinion is perfectly valid, especially considering the fact that he initially struggled with whether or not to give Linux a proper shake also. I'd recommend considering what he has to say. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his position, he has been in your shoes.

The reason I responded the way I did...was to make it very clear that I am not attempting to convince any of you to do away with Linux.

Again, "a distro" can not be representative of Linux as a whole. Each distro is built differently, by different groups of people, who don't always have the same goals for their respective projects. If the distro you had a bad experience with was Ubuntu, join the club.

OK It was/is Ubuntu...But in all fairness when I did my research,Ubunti Forums told me that was the one a beginner should start with...Go figure.

 

[Net Jockey]

It seems like you want to be persuaded into using it, then when others have commented, you seemed to lash out. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your intentions? By all means, keep using Windows if it makes you happy. On the other hand, if you are interested in the potential benefits of Linux, you're of course welcome to pursue that path. The OS is free, in every sense of the word, and there are mountains of documentation out there. Additionally, I've already offered to assist you with any specific questions you should have along the way, assuming you decided to even pursue Linux to begin with.

Is there something else you were seeking on the subject? Unless you have some specific information you're looking for, it seems to me that this particular topic is pretty much exhausted. Keep in mind that it's not going to affect me, saba, or anybody else if you choose to use Linux or don't. It isn't as if we get a commission, now is it? ;)

Yes you have misread my intentions...Sorry for the confusion...I am actually quite pissed off that my introduction to Linux was Ubuntu...The hours and hours of lost time that I spent trying to get that thing to work right...is something I no longer want to think about.:stars:

Yes this thread is exhausted...Please feel free to close it. I do not want to be persauded to use Linux...Now I am actually excited to learn about it.

Please understand my frustation?

 

[Anti-Trend]

Yes you have misread my intentions...Sorry for the confusion...I am actually quite pissed off that my introduction to Linux was Ubuntu...The hours and hours of lost time that I spent trying to get that thing to work right...is something I no longer want to think about.:stars:

Well, I can understand that. Did I mention that I maintain Ubuntu-based servers for a living? :)

Yes this this thread is exhausted...Please feel free to close it. I do not want to be persauded to use Linux...Now I am actually excited to learn about it.

I don't personally care if the thread remains open or not, I just didn't want to have a useless back and forth on a dead topic. Even if I wasn't an admin, there's already too much of that on the internet, right? :P Still, if there is something else you want to hear from us Linux geeks on this subject, by all means, ask away.

Please understand my frustation?

I do, especially since my own frustration with Ubuntu is well known by the locals. :chk: A lot of people love Ubuntu, God bless 'em, but I could never figure out why. Other distros may have a steeper learning curve, depending of course on what one is trying to accomplish, but there are a *lot* of distros out there... surely one might someday be the apple of your eye?

 

[Net Jockey]

I just didn't want to have a useless back and forth on a dead topic. Even if I wasn't an admin, there's already too much of that on the internet, right? :P
Absolutely...and I have my own way of cutting those things very short.

Still, if there is something else you want to hear from us Linux geeks on this subject, by all means, ask away.

Thanks...You will be hearing more from me.

 

[sabashuali]

I know that this thread's life is now spent. We all got to say how much we love/hate/curious about our OS's.

But to conclude, as things got a tad heated at one point, I think I owe NJ (it has a nice Spiderman ring to it....) a quick explanation -
I really do not want to persuade anyone to use one thing or another, nor do I care what other people use. What made me comment on the video, was the fact that all too often (and trust me I have done it myself) people comment on things which they are clearly not very knowledgeable about. Now it is fine when you are chatting amongst friends but when you are broadcasting to a large audience, I really think you should do your homework.
I will say it again, even if it means AT tutting in dismay – Windows is a viable and relevant OS. If it wasn’t, Bill Gates would be just another nerd using Mac, or Linux, or something else.

I am not an expert on Linux/Windows/Mac by any means. Whenever I voice my opinions I tend to stick to mere facts rather than make sweeping generalisations. Painting all Linux dostros with the same brush is clearly wrong. What drew me to Linux was cost, security and reliability. In this order. I spent the best part of the last two years playing around with various distros of Linux. I tried to learn a bit and even tried to rid my household of windows altogether. Unfortunately, the rest of my family did not want to give this a fair go so they are still using XP. The PC never halts (unless I get a BSOD due to my faulty mobo) due to rigorous regime of maintenance. My dreams of using Linux on a desktop have been put on hold…. I found Linux immensely frustrating when I tried to make it do things which were meant for windows. Apart from that it did everything else more or less instantaneously. Now, after a lot of trials and errors I am using Xubuntu on My laptop. Why, because it worked right out of the box and suits exactly what I need to do with it. I would love to make Debian working on it but as I only have my laptop to work with, I “cannot afford” to have it offline while I try to make various things work.

To finish, I started my Linux experience with Mandriva and dropped it like a ton of hot coal. It was all Greek to me and I was not prepared to learn a different language.
Linux distros have moved light years now and are in most part, more or less automatic. To make a distro work you might need to make minor tweaks, depending on your PC set-up but I see it as no different than hunting down and installing drivers and security programs. For my part I am glad that I stuck with it.

Whatever you decide to do, god bless you and I hope you get all you want from your computing experience. Keep contributing to the forum regardless of what OS you use or which browser ensures your contribution….

Take care! :cool:

 

[Net Jockey]

Thank you sabashuali.:)

 

[RHochstenbach]

Whatever you decide to do, god bless you and I hope you get all you want from your computing experience. Keep contributing to the forum regardless of what OS you use or which browser ensures your contribution….

I completely agree with that :good: