I think we all need to rethink windows as an operating system for the PC

[Karadjgne]

We have a universal remote, attached to the TV is a wii and a brplayer and cable box. You have no idea how many times I'm called and handed the remote because there is something wrong with the TV. It's simple hunny, push cable button, turn the cable box back on. Or sorry hunny, push the source button cuz the little one was on the wii earlier....

Trying to justify spending money on something that confuses and irritates the wife is a serious undertaking. Windows may not be all its cracked up to be, but at least it's familiar. I had a solid year of complaints about a p.o.s phone that didn't do as she wanted and could barely figure out after my oldest talked her into switching from Android to iPhone. Not going Linux any time soon..

 

[Shalmaneser]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of Microsoft and its poor products we are forced to use because of a software company's decision to not make a Linux version.

All of my machines are getting wiped. at my house, and at the computer store.

Every dell, hp, and acer I sell, I'm opening up the boxes, dumping their installs for Linux.

No more Microsoft.

The ONLY reason I keep windows around is to play the occasional game. My professional life is corporate RDBMS on UNIX systems. Cellphones are beginning to have enough interesting games on them that I see a time when I simply stop using Windows gaming.

 

[punkncat]

I used Ubuntu for a while in some 'behind the curve' AMD hardware I had at the time. Really made those systems shine. However, the lack of software support and the learning curve were a bit much for me coming off always using and being used to finding software for the Microsoft world. In my own experience I couldn't really suggest it to the uninitiated.

 

[Michael Piazza]

I switched all my PC's to Linux. Learning curve for most isn't much to overcome. For some it could be quite a daunting task. It has come a long way in the last few years. I like Manjaro because of it's roots in Arch. If you like a challenge it's well worth it.

There is a very large body of people that are used to the user interface "standards" created by Apple and Microsoft that Unix/Linux has yet to meet. For example, the most common menu items people use with Windows are New, Open, Save and Save As. As common sense would dictate those should be at the top of the menu pull down and on Windows machines they are. In Open Office some bright spark decided that they should be at or near the bottom so there is extra work the User has to do to access those commands every time they need them. Its a little thing, granted, but if you are constantly using that application and having to deal with that it becomes a real irritant. Until Linux developers stop doing stupid things like that Linux will never hit the mainstream office worker.

I have been using Unix since the early 80's and Linux since it came out off and on and only because I've had to. In some scenarios it makes sense on the server side though I would still prefer using VMS. I always found Unix/Linux to suffer from the "not invented here" syndrome. Instead of fixing a shell to add the capability needed they created a new one so now we almost have a different shell for every day of the week. There never has been any consistency in the way applications are named. In some cases its the initials of the programmer(s). In others its an acronym of the functionality. OMG, lest I forget, that prize of all prizes, VI. A line editor masquerading as a text editor. In the IT community we haven't had to switch modes in an editor for 40 years and yet VI/VIM continues to carry on that ludicrous tradition together with the most obtuse keyboard commands ever invented.

It was my impression back then and in all these years since I have yet to see anything to change my mind but I've always felt that Unix and C were viruses that should never have been allowed to escape from Bell Labs.

 

[ghostdogtree]

Yes Mint is a great start , very good OS.

Well I'm a middle aged old bird who managed to install Mint four years ago and it wasn't too hard. Sure I had to read up on how to install an OS but I would have had to do that for any OS I installed. After that initial bit it has been easy going and the best part is that I don't spend all my time cursing MS - I got my peace of mind back!

 

[Peter Martin]

This is just a rant thread. Lol. Always be haters. I just wish they would switch to linux and stop yelling about it like annoying vegans

All the * about linux being faster is pure unadulterated BS. Even VMs of linux are slower

you guys have fun living in the 60s

Deny your customers windows and watch your business fail

 

[Traditore]

This is just a rant thread. Lol. Always be haters. I just wish they would switch to linux and stop yelling about it like annoying vegans

All the * about linux being faster is pure unadulterated BS. Even VMs of linux are slower

you guys have fun living in the 60s

Deny your customers windows and watch your business fail

This. I am a happy Windows user for decades, work in IT with servers running Windows Server (now 2019), been Windows tester=insider since W10 beta, been MVP. Sure, Windows has its problems, simply because it's a huge all-purpose machine with billions of parts to attend to, and because it's always going forward, shaping better experience and more functionality. No photoshop, etc., no decent gaming on linux, many streaming services aren't available, good luck with iOS devices on your Linux, and this list goes on forever.

Linux is simple and it's the only PRO against all CONs.

 

[USAFRet]

Let's watch the language here...OK?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Linux distros aren't a bunch of bloatware , and spying telemetry.
Also it's nice that you can basically choose what you want installed in your OS.

 

[audiospecaccts]

This is just a rant thread. Lol. Always be haters. I just wish they would switch to linux and stop yelling about it like annoying vegans

All the * about linux being faster is pure unadulterated BS. Even VMs of linux are slower

you guys have fun living in the 60s

Deny your customers windows and watch your business fail

This. I am a happy Windows user for decades, work in IT with servers running Windows Server (now 2019), been Windows tester=insider since W10 beta, been MVP. Sure, Windows has its problems, simply because it's a huge all-purpose machine with billions of parts to attend to, and because it's always going forward, shaping better experience and more functionality. No photoshop, etc., no decent gaming on linux, many streaming services aren't available, good luck with iOS devices on your Linux, and this list goes on forever.

Linux is simple and it's the only PRO against all CONs.

There are several photoshop, office, and desk publishing apps there. Some software companies have direct ports to linux too. There is only a small handfull of software that isn't available as a direct port, (like Sage50) but there is shims for those access/msql based programs like that. Is Windows is so paranoid of itself it has to force people to change the user agent to a Linux base machine so someone can download Windows 10? Hmmmm.

The reason why some of the online streaming server services don't work is because it allows unknown third party servers direct access to the hard drive. Which is a security issue. So only VPS based streaming is allowed (and preferred).

 

[Jubbs]

My father-in-law worked for Lucas Powertran as a research/developer and Unix was their software of choice, not that there was a lot around in the 70's.

He told me that in all the time they used computers for work, Unix never bugged out unless it was a inhouse bespoke coded program. That Linux is based on Unix it has a great pedigree and the fact that unix was modular, in that you added a module to perform "other" applications rather than change the base code like msdos makes it very stable. One major difference is that Linux (and AmigaOS) do not have a registry and librarys only get loaded when needed and so it is massively faster in a lot of respects.

Even with a "major" rewrite, there is still code in Win10 from msdos 5 (yes, before windows) and still has the antiquated registry and still requires a section of your harddrive as immovable. Its a Frankenstien monster alright. I cant think what Win11 is going to bring apart from some bells and whistles but the novelty value will wear off just as quick as usual.

As someone has mentioned earlier, if Steam gets a Linux support then I may be a convert.

 

[Karadjgne]

Steam getting full Linux support is a dream. Partial support a possibility. Problem lies in the game itself, not in the OS. You'd have to convert every game to Linux compatible or make your personal copy of Linux fully windows compatible cuz there's far too many of those steam games written specifically for windows.

 

[G4nd4lf]

Is there any paid linux support that i can get here in Melbourne Australia???

 

[Traditore]

There are several photoshop, office, and desk publishing apps there. Some software companies have direct ports to linux too. There is only a small handfull of software that isn't available as a direct port, (like Sage50) but there is shims for those access/msql based programs like that.

every of them being subpar.

Is Windows is so paranoid of itself it has to force people to change the user agent to a Linux base machine so someone can download Windows 10? Hmmmm.

please elaborate on that ^^^ false statement

 

[audiospecaccts]

There are several photoshop, office, and desk publishing apps there. Some software companies have direct ports to linux too. There is only a small handfull of software that isn't available as a direct port, (like Sage50) but there is shims for those access/msql based programs like that.

every of them being subpar.

Is Windows is so paranoid of itself it has to force people to change the user agent to a Linux base machine so someone can download Windows 10? Hmmmm.

please elaborate on that ^^^ false statement

Subpar? I'm thinking not, its the same thing if its written the same way. Gimp, audacity, firefox, chrome, you name it. Just because the gui object database is different doesn't really mean anything. There are free ones in the software repository that are junk, but just like any one else's freeware, its not going to be as good as a paid software. The paid software I've seen running on linux works wonderful. I don't understand your bias against it, but maybe after dealing with Microsoft for the past 30 years left me with nothing but bad impressions. It was quite amazing and how ripped off I felt when I installed linux on a machine that chokes under windows and everything is as snappy as a machine ten years newer.


LOL

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/how-to-download-official-windows-10-iso-files/35cde7ec-5b6f-481c-a02d-dadf465df326

 

[LordVile]

It’s only bugs.

I’m annoyed af the office 365 subscription but that’s about it.

 

[AllanGH]

...need to convince the software companies to make a Linux version...

I used to think/say this a lot, back in the early-mid-'90's. Change comes slowly because it is in the OEMs interest to use ms. They have been well-trained by per-processor licensing and cliff pricing--the normal way ms used to do business back then.

The problem with ms is that they interfere with consumer choice--probably because ms would be a shadow of what they are, today, if they hadn't early-on.

On the other hand, if you, as a business owner, do the same thing, you will probably find yourself out of business because of an unreasonable idealistic stance on OS installations.

You may want to do something that I used to do on my system builds:
Develop two pricing sheets--one for a ms installation, and the other for a Linux-based installation--for each hardware configuration you sell. Include the cost of the ms OS in the pricing for ms builds, and discount the cost of the ms OS installation from the Linux builds.

Let the customer decide, having been informed of the cost differential involved. Some will insist on ms, and that's their right. Others will save the money, and go with a Linux installation. Again, their right.

You? Just keep depositing the money in the bank.

 

[brannsiu]

It's not only about the software, engineering and programming, marketing and reliability are also very important. People trust Microsoft, they have a strong team (and a lot of teams in fact) every day to focus on doing this job and updating things. You can say Linux is very very good but you cannot persuade the large public because who is responsible for Linux in case of serious problems? I also do not believe that Microsoft will compensate for their large amount of customers in the world in case of serious problems like system failure (very often) or leaking out personal information (maybe less often), but if our information is dealt by large entruapxxxx (I don't know how to spell) like Microsoft we'll likely be safe and even if it's stolen by hackers, when millions and millions of information are also stolen at the same time, we still feel safe.

 

[AllanGH]

There is a very large body of people that are used to the user interface "standards" created by Apple and Microsoft that Unix/Linux has yet to meet. For example, the most common menu items people use with Windows are New, Open, Save and Save As. As common sense would dictate those should be at the top of the menu pull down and on Windows machines they are. In Open Office some bright spark decided that they should be at or near the bottom so there is extra work the User has to do to access those commands every time they need them. Its a little thing, granted, but if you are constantly using that application and having to deal with that it becomes a real irritant. Until Linux developers stop doing stupid things like that Linux will never hit the mainstream office worker.

IMHO, Open Source developers should continue doing "stupid" things like this:

https://imgur.com/a/oX9X1ZD

View: https://imgur.com/a/oX9X1ZD


As far back as StarOffice, through OpenOffice and LibreOffice, users have been able to modify the menus, placing the entries in whatever order they like. So, the criticism of menu ordering is a less than legitimate objection.

People trust Microsoft.....we still feel safe.

Given ms's performance, lack of comparative security (yes, they have improved over the years, but at no small cost to consumers, and certainly not easily), and lack of accountability to its userbase, I would say that this "trust" is seriously misplaced.