Should You Declare Windependence? I Switched to Linux to Find Out.

[mitch074]

GIMP does not have separate windows for all controls anymore! It's been a single window for quite some time already, and I think that it's even the default option now.

It was still multiple Windows for me when I installed it in Mint.

This may depend on the script used by the package manager to build the packages: Mint may have retained the packaging script used for older versions of Gimp - including its default multiple window configuration.
And, Mint seems to have shoddy package management.
Thus, if you want to try your hand at Linux, try the distro with the most support: Ubuntu. I don't recommend it for everything, but for beginners and intermediate level users, it's good.

 

[emeraldsmines1990]

Why is Open Suse Linux not popular here ? I find it far better than Mint/Ubuintu

 

[The Paladin]

well in America OpenSuse (and this is my impression) tried their hand at retail (as in selling in stores in the early 2000, and it was a huge failure when people could get Linux for free from numerous sources, also it changed hands and owners ALOT. even recently.)

I am not saying it is a bad distribution, but not commonly used in America from what I see, if you say to someone I use OpenSUSE, you will get a nod and a smile... I think it is more from not knowing it well, people prefer Debian Based Linux in the Usa (Ubuntu, Q4OS, Manjaro, MX Linux, and many more are all Debian Based for example).

OpenSUSE remains on the distro list in the top ten for a few years now... just has a lower profile in the USA I think, Much like SOLUS does, could be because of its "self birth" and not based on other linux distributions preceding it.

I have use it in the past (as few years ago, I did not like the interface and how it worked, felt sluggish, and when other, clearly out performed it at the time, I simply tested other and never revisited it. I have put it back on my need to check it out once again list, thank you for the reminder.

 

[henrygates3]

"for reasons I don't understand"

Because Windows locked you down with EFI certificate system.

 

[mitch074]

well to add/ correct your conclusion, you can find windows 10 pro official cd key on webshops for 10$, why bother with all the linux hassles for 10$ when you just spent hundreds building your computer?

Because you don't want:

• 
  ■ unrequited apps to install themselves on each update
  ■ to be unceasingly hassled to "create a Microsoft account to get a better experience"
  ■ to waste resources on a resident antivirus
  ■ to be monitored 24/7
  ■ to upgrade your whole fine-tuned system every 6 months (okay, once a year if you manage your thing correctly)
  ■ to update all your apps one after the other, preferring a complete system update whenever you have to do it
  ■ to be forced to install a Pro version and a Server version to create a home network.

That's my own personal list of reasons why Windows 10 is a hassle. Now, the reasons why I prefer Linux:

• 
  ■ I can still use very old hardware that Windows 10 has no driver for: flatbed scanner, webcam, wi-fi dongle etc.
  ■ I can run very old games more easily on Wine than on Windows (even GOG-ported games may work better under Wine than under Win7/8/8.1/10)
  ■ I can boot it from a USB key and use it fully before I install it for good
  ■ the disk space used by Windows 10 alone (compact install, 32-bit mode, all cruft removed) is bigger than a complete Linux install: I like free space (and 64-bit OS) on my SSD.
  ■ when something craps out on a Linux system, you can solve it with a text editor and a command line. When Win10 craps out, you must reset your system.
  ■ when I move my Linux user profile from one machine to another, I just need to copy a folder. When I move my Windows profile from one machine to another, more often than not registry settings are corrupted and I need to start anew.

So... Yeah. I'd rather save 10 bucks.

 

[DGurney]

Why are you using USB to transmit video, instead of a monitor port? USB is not for video, as you found.

 

[alextheblue]

Google (obviously) don't enforce their anti-competitive restrictions against companies if that company generates enough revenue. You can buy plenty of Chinese Android phones without Google services pre-installed, yet they're not banning those companies from Google Play access in other markets.
Anyways, the whole point of making a Google-free device is to get the Play services out.

I was referring to Western markets. In Western nations, nobody is going to buy an Android phone that doesn't have Play. They want all their apps. You can't get Play without GMS. That's why it hasn't happened, and that's why it won't happen. In China there are popular third party stores that have everything they need/want. Not so, over here. The "must have" apps aren't all available on Amazon's store, let alone a new contender. So you're not going to get Google or their services out of Android and still have a successful device.

 

[emeraldsmines1990]

PS: bdd1040, Microsoft still allows piracy. It makes absolutely no effort to stop pirates from getting full, updateable copies, I'd guess mainly because they'd rather have one non-paying-but-captive user instead of a non-paying linux user.

Actually I like what MS is doing regarding protecting their OS , OS protection should never be complicated or it will be very hard to install in the business where you have tens of thousands of copies that you want to install and administrate.

I prefer Open non protected System , and to monitor pirates using their IP addresses and then give the IP addresses to the police to track them down.

and I Think it is very easy to stop piracy altogether by making a deal with motherboards makers to include the Windows Key inside the bios (the same they did with notebooks) and add some $10-$20 to the price of the motherboard for Microsoft . and the Whole Piracy problem is solved . Any one who buys a Motherboard will have a working windows Key in the Bios.

 

[USAFRet]

and I Think it is very easy to stop piracy altogether by making a deal with motherboards makers to include the Windows Key inside the bios (the same they did with notebooks) and add some $10-$20 to the price of the motherboard for Microsoft . and the Whole Piracy problem is solved . Any one who buys a Motherboard will have a working windows Key in the Bios.

But what if I don't want to use Windows with this motherboard I'm buying?
For instance, if I were building up a Linux based server.
Why should I be forced to pay $20 for something I'd never use with that board?

 

[Colif]

Then there are those of us who updated from 7 or 8 to 10, and are able to swap the license onto a new PC. I don't think a lot of us would be happy to find they need a new licence now, after MS changed the way licensing works to allow the free upgrade. What happens to them if licence is located on bios, who owns it if they sell PC? Allowing licenses to move is much easier than trying to track who really owns a motherboard if two people use same motherboard over time.

What about those people who get bad motherboards, do they have to reinstall win 10 just to register a new licence again?

There is no perfect solution. Matching licensing to motherboard might have worked had MS not allowed Win 7 & 8 people to upgrade or move license to an entirely new PC, but that genie is out of the bottle now. If they wanted more to use Linux, all they need to do is change that back to how it was.

 

[emeraldsmines1990]

and I Think it is very easy to stop piracy altogether by making a deal with motherboards makers to include the Windows Key inside the bios (the same they did with notebooks) and add some $10-$20 to the price of the motherboard for Microsoft . and the Whole Piracy problem is solved . Any one who buys a Motherboard will have a working windows Key in the Bios.

But what if I don't want to use Windows with this motherboard I'm buying?
For instance, if I were building up a Linux based server.
Why should I be forced to pay $20 for something I'd never use with that board?

Nice thoughts , can be solved I think by selling both versions , with or without System. Same like in notebooks.

Also I think If it becomes more widespread , you will not notice the extra $20 and people will look at it as a part of the motherboard price.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

and I Think it is very easy to stop piracy altogether by making a deal with motherboards makers to include the Windows Key inside the bios (the same they did with notebooks) and add some $10-$20 to the price of the motherboard for Microsoft . and the Whole Piracy problem is solved . Any one who buys a Motherboard will have a working windows Key in the Bios.

But what if I don't want to use Windows with this motherboard I'm buying?
For instance, if I were building up a Linux based server.
Why should I be forced to pay $20 for something I'd never use with that board?

Nice thoughts , can be solved I think by selling both versions , with or without System. Same like in notebooks.

Also I think If it becomes more widespread , you will not notice the extra $20 and people will look at it as a part of the motherboard price.

Didn't Microsoft get in trouble once for "encouraging" system sellers to NOT EVER sell a system with any other (or no) OS than their own?

 

[USAFRet]

and I Think it is very easy to stop piracy altogether by making a deal with motherboards makers to include the Windows Key inside the bios (the same they did with notebooks) and add some $10-$20 to the price of the motherboard for Microsoft . and the Whole Piracy problem is solved . Any one who buys a Motherboard will have a working windows Key in the Bios.

But what if I don't want to use Windows with this motherboard I'm buying?
For instance, if I were building up a Linux based server.
Why should I be forced to pay $20 for something I'd never use with that board?

Nice thoughts , can be solved I think by selling both versions , with or without System. Same like in notebooks.

Also I think If it becomes more widespread , you will not notice the extra $20 and people will look at it as a part of the motherboard price.

Didn't Microsoft get in trouble once for "encouraging" system sellers to NOT EVER sell a system with any other (or no) OS than their own?

Yes they did.