banjo Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I got tired of all the bluescreens and the viruses and having to shell out extra $$$ every year to protect the OS from all the nasties out there. My Linux computer has been running now for a year, and the whole family uses it , and it never crashes. It just feels really good to sit down at the computer and concentrate on what I am doing instead of worrying about covering my @$$ with respect to keeping the OS running. The last time (and I do mean the LAST time) I let Win98 defrag the disk, it took 8 hours...... :blink: I don't remember having to do that on Linux. Banjo (_)=='=~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjo Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Oh, yeah, and I forgot to add..... My Win98SE is running on a Dell, and the hardware IS crap. I built my Linux computer myself from quality parts, and it runs fine. I have heard that often fnWindoze gets a bad rap from running on flakey hardware. So it is entirely possible that other folks are having a better time of it with Win98 than I am. Banjo (_)=='=~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I don't see everyones beef with xp.... Well you have a point. It is much more stable than 95, 98, 98SE or ME. It is not to far from Win2K as near as I can tell. As a long time 98SE user, Win2K seems more familiar to me. If you are not into PC's, WinXP would reallty be a great help for you. It is very user friendly. That is something that I don't appreciate much, but something I acknowledge is important. If you have been using a PC for a long time... WinXP runs fast enough and is pretty stable. WinXP is good enough... until you start to demand more from an OS :P such as? (desktop) :unsure: Won't you just take my word for it? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlc Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I would throw in my $.02, but everyone already knows my opinion. B) Ok, ok. Windows sucks!, there i said it are you all happy? :D Yes, i have windows exp. and used it since 3.1--server2k3. they all still suck. I have an mcse in nt 4.0 too so i'm not an idiot when it comes to windows, yes i've been able to crash/blue all of them. I've been able to crash linux too, but I love linux and it's my home! There isn't anything that "I" can't do with Linux that I could with Windows, well, more with Linux but who's counting right! Anyway, down with windows, windows sucks, linux is the best, blah blah blah hippied de who ya ya........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris z Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 i'll just add my 2 pennies, then scoot on along........... been using Linux for almost a year now. love it! in fact, the computer i just built is Linux only (finally!). i only have tried Mandrake (since 9.0) as far as distros go. in the time i've been using it, i've learned tons. i can use it now for my everyday needs without giving it a second thought. in fact, i haven't booted into Windows at home since my NAV virus subscription ran out back in February. but.............. .......i tend to agree with BVC's line of thought here. Linux is not any where as user friendly as Windows is, right out of the box, & it seems to me that it won't be for some time. i can manage quite well in Mandrake. i am a bit of a geek (if i wasn't, why would i even be here? :P ). but............... 99% of the people i know that are computer users aren't like me. they want to turn on the computer & use it. they don't want to compile, learn cli, search endlessly for rpm's of packages, not be able to properly view everyone else's MS Office documents in OOo, worry about scsi emulation in order to burn CD's, etc, etc, etc. they just want to sit down & use their computers without much thought or tinkering involved. shit, i want that. that's why i'm in no hurry to try out something like Gentoo, Slackware, Arch, etc. i don't have the time & don't want the hassle. and, as has been stated numerous times, that's been (& still is) the main stumbling point with Linux overtaking MS as one's every day OS of choice, whether it be at home or at work. that, and the bloat of distros to choose from & the distro wars that accompany that scenerio. (can't we all just get along?) to be perfectly honest, i don't like a lot of things about MS, whether it be their various OS's or their business practices. but......... in over 10 years of using MS products, i have never once lost a system due to an OS crash. not once........ i know it happens, but it never did for me. perhaps i was one of the lucky minority. or, perhaps it was the time i took to properly maintain my various systems. yeah, defragging in Windows can take a long time, but after the first time, if you get on a regular schedule (once weekly for heavy use/file changing) or once or twice monthly (for normal usage) the defrag, scandisk, etc. takes no time at all. shoot, towards the end of my Windows usage, i could clean out all temp files & garbage, back up the registry, defrag, scandisk, & reboot the damn thing in under 10 minutes easily. i just don't understand the hatred of MS sometimes, & the numerous problems people have with it. it's just like owning a car, in a way.......... change the oil when you should, monitor fluid levels, keep the tires properly inflated, use decent gas, etc. , & your car should last you a long time without any problems. neglect the little things, then it's gonna be prone to more problems. and, it's not like Linux is maintence free. it's just different types of maintenance. i have a friend, Eric. Eric is a very intelligent guy. high IQ, fast learner, college grad. he uses a computer daily, but he has no clue as to what makes the thing tick. nor does he have a clue what to do when things don't work like they should. that's when he calls me. i would never in my life call Eric a dumb person, in any way, shape, or form. he's just not computer savy, as are a vast majority of the computer users out there in the world. i performed a similar experiment with Eric. i sat him down at my old computer, that runs MDK9.2 flawlessly, & (after much coaxing, just to humour me) i got him to try to install MDK9.2 on it without my assistance. he got as far as the partitioning tool & he was stumped. so as not to barf my system, i did that part for him. he then got as far as the check configuration screen (which is good), but that's where he hit a wall. he had no idea what to look for to make sure the correct drivers were chosen (not all of them were.........for sound & vid card) he couldn't get internet figured out. he didn't know what to do i offered him no help. he took the default settings, rebooted & got the dreaded "black screen of death" when trying to get into KDE because of improper video drivers. even if he would have gotten to a GUI, i know he would have been frustrated & given up as soon as he realized he had to dick with Java & all the other plugins you need to screw with & tweak just to get a usable internet browser. i saw this same person install WinXP on his own computer (after i partitioned the drive for him) without any problems. yeah, it took almost 2 hours, & yeah, he had to reboot several times, but he did it without any help from me & he was using his computer without problem there after. Eric is not dumb........... anywho, it's basically neither here nor there for me. i use Linux now, & i can't really see going back to Windows. (except for at work where i have no choice.........other than using OOo & Mozilla B) ) i just don't seeing any form of Linux being the OS of the future until things become a lot more standardized & more easily configured, with a GUI (point, click, choose, apply, ok) tool for everything that might need it. but, that sounds almost like Windows, doesn't it? oh well. i was having a "bored moment" at work & thought i'd chime in for a change instead of staying in the background. peace all, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlc Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Don't forget, give your friends a copy of Xandros. No I don't care for it, but you want linux installed easy as pie, you can't beat it. There is seriously no thinking involved, stick the disk in boot and about 4 clicks it is installed and done for you. Anyway, i know I understand more aobut Linux/computers than the average joe and thats prolly why i think Linux is sweet! Or it could be because Linux is sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystified Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I would throw in my $.02, but everyone already knows my opinion. B) Ok, ok. Windows sucks!, there i said it are you all happy? :D Yes, i have windows exp. and used it since 3.1--server2k3. they all still suck. I have an mcse in nt 4.0 too so i'm not an idiot when it comes to windows, yes i've been able to crash/blue all of them. I've been able to crash linux too, but I love linux and it's my home! There isn't anything that "I" can't do with Linux that I could with Windows, well, more with Linux but who's counting right! Anyway, down with windows, windows sucks, linux is the best, blah blah blah hippied de who ya ya........ /me agrees with cybrjackle. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjo Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I would agree with Chris that fnWindoze is easier to set up and get going. In fact, you can just buy the computer with the OS already installed and just use it. So, with Linux you do need somebody in the house who can deal with Linux issues. However, once the Linux has been set up, it is WAY easier for everybody to use because it does not have all the problems that fnWindoze has. Some of my family members have no clue about how the compter got there or how it hangs together. But now that it works, *everybody* prefers the Linux to the fnWindoze because it *just works* without all of the hassles. Why should people who just want to email and surf be required to have a PhD in virus removal and rebooting techniques and recovery from frozen screens? With Linux they don't have to. It just works. Linux rocks! Banjo (_)=='=~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 (edited) Don't forget, give your friends a copy of Xandros. No I don't care for it, but you want linux installed easy as pie, you can't beat it. There is seriously no thinking involved, stick the disk in boot and about 4 clicks it is installed and done for you. Anyway, i know I understand more aobut Linux/computers than the average joe and thats prolly why i think Linux is sweet! Or it could be because Linux is sweet. I'll double that vote on Xandros. Although I think it does lack a decently large software archive. And for this type of user apt-get is not really an option, besides if you break it this way you loose your warranty. But I think for the 'power user' (like me :unsure:), SuSe is definitely in the league with it. Well I think, did not have the privilige yet of using it other than that 9.1 LiveCd on which I am typing this. I would say there are a lot of different types of users. Right now, there is a Linux distro that will feel good to almost all of them. Windows can only cater to one kind of audience: your average user. But users who understand NOTHING at all about computers will STILL have a hard time with it. For those users e.g. Linspire might be a better solution: everything possible is already configured for them and installing and using it is braindead easy. Plus they have those audio tutorials for those who REALLY don't know where to start. I would be very curious to see this type of user would be better of with say WindowsXP. I suspect not! Then there is the 'slightly' more adept user, maybe a bit more adventurous or more confident when dealing with computers. For this one, Xandros would be wonderful. Then there is the ones that are willing to learn (and/or not willing to pay :P). For those, Mandrake is excellent. The really advanced users, who like compiling etc. can take their pick between Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, ... IMHO a better question then all these articles asking 'Is Linux ready for the desktop?' would be 'Are YOU ready for the desktop?'. Are you comfortable using computers? Are you technically-minded? What do you need? What do you want to do with your system? I am sure that for the vast majority of people, an excellent match can be made with a distro that addressess those needs. Why do people in the Linspire Forums think Linspire is SO MUCH better then Windows? Because it better addresses their needs! I know some friends who did not have word installed, so I gave them a CD of OpenOffice to install on it. But they DID NOT KNOW how to install it! Did not even find the CD drive! Installing OpenOffice through Click&Run would have been possible for them without breaking a sweat. Oh wait, it's already installed by default. See what I mean? Another person is a bit more adept. Somehow he got a Windows network running and decides he wants to share a folder, say for MP3s or office documents. Or he wants to share a printer. Xandros will make that SUPER easy for him. If he's hanging on ONLY for Photoshop 7, Crossover Office is already included... This strength is something M$ will never be able to. Or even want to. Darkelve Edited May 4, 2004 by Darkelve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urza9814 Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I have heard that often fnWindoze gets a bad rap fromrunning on flakey hardware. So it is entirely possible that other folks are having a better time of it with Win98 than I am. No, I've used win98, XP, and MDK on this comp. It's a Compaq Presario, bought by my mom from staples, made to run win98. Win98 crashes 3 times a day when I don't do anythign with it...XP has never crashed on here, but that's 'cause I have yet to have it both run a speed that's possible to actually use and run over a week without having to reinstall. I'm in a bit of a jam with Linux right now, having to reinstall on a weekly basis for the past while...ever since I attempted to go back from 10.0 to 9.2 (10.0 had too many bugs and was far too slow)...but back before I got 10.0 it ran for over a month without rebooting. I am betting it could run a lot better, if I hadn't got 10.0, and if my mom hadn't kept rebooting to windoze for her email in the beginning, etc... So..don't blame windoze faults on bad hardware. This comp was designed for win98 and it still runs better on Linux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmc77 Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Here's one for you. My buddy just bought a new DELL Latitude laptop with XP professional on it. He was just unpacking it when I came over. I have been trying to get him to try Linux for a couple of months now and I thought I would take a copy of Knoppix over for him to play with. So he gets his computer unpacked and starts it up. Everything cool so far. Then he starts talking about how cool XP Pro is (he had Win ME on his last comp). He opens up Word to type a test letter on (wants to check and see if this printer is set up) and decides to write a transfer letter for some investments that he has. 10 min later, right before he prints it, Word crashed. Ha, Ha, Ha. He had just been talking about how well it ran. I know, I'm sure it was a fluke, but it was funny. I mean, he just unpacked the thing 10 min earlier On a side note - He did like the Linux demo. And OO didn't even crash when he tried it out . He is giving the dual boot option some thought right now. Maybe a convert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvc Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 This comp was designed for win98there's a new one :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyv Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Linux sucks and windows sucks, for me Linux sucks less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvc Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Linux sucks and windows sucks, for me Linux sucks less. then I want the OS you're developing and will pay $500 for it....let me know when you need testers ...oh and the $500 will be after the testers discount....regulars will be charged $700. Sound good? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyv Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Linux sucks and windows sucks, for me Linux sucks less. then I want the OS you're developing and will pay $500 for it....let me know when you need testers ...oh and the $500 will be after the testers discount....regulars will be charged $700. Sound good? :lol: Ummm what i would develop would suck more than windows! There isn't a perfect os, not by a long way, but i have found linux to be the least bad that i have played with for my requirements. Oh and i am refering to suck in a bad way, not the good way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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