Just when you finally thought your Windows XP settings were just right, here comes Windows Vista. Fear not: PC Magazine has teamed up with Wiley Books to bring you Windows Vista Solutions to guide you through the ins and outs of your new OS. This week’s excerpt helps you navigate the control panel to make your computer fit you. Personalize your computer with new themes, wallpaper, sounds, menu options and more. Here’s how.
To customise Vista.
Insert, Ubuntu disc, reboot PC, follow the menus.
Lighten up…
fuuny, or:
insert freeBSD disk follow menus…
or to custmise Ubuntu:
instert Vista CD follow menus…
hehe
-Nex6
or to custmise Ubuntu:
instert Vista CD follow menus…
But the point of customizing is to make things better so I wouldn’t recommend this…
or to custmise Ubuntu:
instert Vista CD follow menus…
But the point of customizing is to make things better so I wouldn’t recommend this…
I’d recommend this exactly for that reason…
or to custmise Ubuntu:
instert Vista CD follow menus…
But the point of customizing is to make things better so I wouldn’t recommend this…
I’d recommend this exactly for that reason…
Me too but only for my worst enemies. This is “better” you know…
But the point of customizing is to make things better so I wouldn’t recommend this…
I’d recommend this exactly for that reason…
I do not think you understand the meaning of that word “better” when you use it that way…
–bornagainpenguin
or to custmise Ubuntu:
instert Vista CD follow menus…
But the point of customizing is to make things better so I wouldn’t recommend this…
I’d recommend this exactly for that reason…
I recommend this for the same reson:
http://www.daemonology.net/depenguinator/
Having used both Vista and Ubuntu, I’d actually say Vista was better (and that’s coming from a *nix fanboy)
Edited 2007-03-28 10:24
Having used both Vista and Ubuntu, I’d actually say Vista was better (and that’s coming from a *nix fanboy)
How exactly is Vista better than Ubuntu? Is it the DRM, WGA, Activation or the incredible system requirements?
Please, enlighten us. I for one can’t even imagine what you are talking about.
If you were talking about about the lack of commercial applications I would understand, but then again this is the fault of software vendors not Linux.
Most of the stuff you described can turned off with a little know-how. Just like to get the best of out Ubuntu requires a little know how.
Vista is hardly the best Windows system (2000 would get my vote) but then in my honest opinion Ubuntu is hardly the best Linux system either. One thing Windows does very well is it’s a well rounded system with specialist support (ie Cubase: Music production) – however loads of people use Ubuntu so it obviously apeals to an audience.
My suggestion is rather than arguing that x system is better then y system (which i’m guilty of as well), you guys should accept that x system does some things better than y system and equally y system does some things better than x.
Edited 2007-03-28 13:40
Most of the stuff you described can turned off with a little know-how. Just like to get the best of out Ubuntu requires a little know how.
Well Ubuntu may not yet work perfectly out of the box for everybody, but that sure as hell is the goal (of Ubuntu and many other distros).
In Vista you need knowledge to turn off stuff that does not improve the user experience in any way. This will never be the case with Linux distros (hopefully at least).
And how do you turn off unwanted bloat in Vista? In Linux it’s just the matter of uninstalling the apps you don’t need.
Vista is hardly the best Windows system (2000 would get my vote)
At last we agree on something
1) Just as it is the goal for Windows Vista as well as every other OS other designed. 😉
Also bare in mind that Vista is still an infant. It maybe another Windows system, but new drivers still have to be written et al
2) I had to turn off automatic initiation of the xwindows system in Ubuntu as I like to choose when to start X as and when I need to.
Besides, Vista’s target audience is as much at novices as it is for experienced users like ourselves. Novices need the extra sh*t that we don’t. Taking that into account, it would make more sense for the experienced users to turn the settings off, than the novices to turn it on.
3) It’s exactly the same on Vista 😉
Edited 2007-03-28 15:40
1) Just as it is the goal for Windows Vista as well as every other OS other designed. 😉
No, the goal of Vista is to make more money for Microsoft and its share holders, plain and simple.
If they find things that can make money without benefiting the customer they’ll do it. Prime example of this is would be the ridiculuos system requirements which help their partners make more money by selling more hardware.
2) I had to turn off automatic initiation of the xwindows system in Ubuntu as I like to choose when to start X as and when I need to.
Oh my.. now THAT will bother oh so many regular Desktop users… not!
Quite the contrary actually, since this is something you CAN do with Linux, if you need to, but NOT with Windows.
3) It’s exactly the same on Vista 😉
No it actually is not. Can you easily remove IE, Windows Mail, Messenger etc. from Vista? You can’t? I thought so…
And even if you could, how much more disk space would you regain by removing these relatively small apps anyway? Not much naturally… So why, and for what purpose, Vista needs all that disk space? Nobody seems to really know.
Edited 2007-03-29 02:48
Some good points there. I’m not arguing in favour of Windows specifically, but there are a few point’s i’d like to address:
Maybe, but they wont sell copies of Vista if the hardware didn’t support it in the 1st place so their goal (if only by proxy) is to support as many desktops as possible.
It does bother regular desktop users if the default graphics card drivers don’t work thus needing to install new ones with X off, however you can’t because X starts by default. This was actually the main reason I ditched Ubuntu for Slackware funny enough.
A couple of fair points there but you did start to undo your argument within your argument (ie Why would you want to remove IE when it takes so little space?)
To analyze the IE point closer though – both KDE and Gnome have their default web-browser integrated into the file manager in exactly the same way that Windows does with IE and file explorer – so to take the IE point literally, Windows and Linux aren’t that different.
However I do understand your point and actually agree with you on that particular point. My biggest gripe with Windows and OSX is the way how software is locked in. But then they’re commercial packages and, as such, are on the market to make money. If Linux wasn’t open source then I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if some packages were locked in as well. Like it or not, that’s how business works.
Maybe, but they wont sell copies of Vista if the hardware didn’t support it in the 1st place so their goal (if only by proxy) is to support as many desktops as possible.
Really? Everybody knows that the vast majority of Windows copies are sold preinstalled on new computers.
It does bother regular desktop users if the default graphics card drivers don’t work thus needing to install new ones with X off, however you can’t because X starts by default.
That is so not true. AFAIK, you can install new drivers while X is running.
This was actually the main reason I ditched Ubuntu for Slackware funny enough.
Yes, that is a really funny reason to ditch a distro…
A couple of fair points there but you did start to undo your argument within your argument (ie Why would you want to remove IE when it takes so little space?)
Let’s say you try out some small shareware program, but then realize that it is only malware, or that you don’t simply need it. Would you leave it in your system just because it’s so small?
To analyze the IE point closer though – both KDE and Gnome have their default web-browser integrated into the file manager in exactly the same way that Windows does with IE and file explorer – so to take the IE point literally, Windows and Linux aren’t that different.
Check your facts. That’s only true with KDE but not with Gnome. This will also change in KDE4 since Konqueror (as a file manager) will be replaced by Dolphin. And unlike IE, these CAN be uninstalled if so desired.
—
Can we please end this debate now? I’m getting a bit tired of this… Thanks for your insightful comments though
PS. I want to clarify that even though I’ve mentioned Ubuntu many times in this thread, I’ve mostly used Kubuntu myself, as I prefer KDE over Gnome in many ways.
Edited 2007-03-29 17:36
Paint a Penguin on Vista Box and throw it away. Then put Suse Linux on the computer.
Seriously now:
Insert Ubundu DVD….
Edited 2007-03-27 20:07
Do we really need dumb comments like this on every damn thread?
You like Linux/BSD/BeOS/Amiga/VIC-20/Eniac, whoopdef–kingdoo, shut up about it already. Especially on news items that has nothing whatever to do with your choice.
“Insert, Ubuntu disc, reboot PC, follow the menus.”
Additional install beryl,emerald,heliodor and so forth.
insert Sun Solaris 10 DVD, reboot pc ….
I fail to see the point of this article appearing on OSNews. Alright, I guess way too many people here would like to know that they can switch the Control Panel to “Classic” mode or I dunno… customize desktop background or read a list of default screensavers? Hmm…
Apparently everytime the word Vista is used in an article it has to be on osnews.
While it is obviously only advertisement for a book.
Ad clicks for the PC Magazine shills, no doubt.
10 pages of content that would fit onto one, maybe two if their fixed width design wasn’t so thin and wasn’t stuffed to the gills with ads and other invariably useless elements.
When tweaking Windows was cool for me. I remember TweakUI, Powertoys, Salamander, etc. After many years in the Linux world, the amount of “tweaks” I can do in the Windows world seems absolutley trivial compared to the level of tweaking I can do in the Linux world. The closest I can come to this in the Windows world is Litestep (and some similar shell replacements), but it just doesn’t seem the same to me.
bleh – I was hoping this article would give me information on vista MUIs 🙂 I would prefer my UI in Greek (or italian, or german, or russian so that coworkers can keep their noseyness out of my computer :p)
“bleh – I was hoping this article would give me information on vista MUIs 🙂 I would prefer my UI in Greek (or italian, or german, or russian so that coworkers can keep their noseyness out of my computer :p)”
Or just have your screen turned like a mirror, makes it hard for others to read. HY nOrOgN, OKHO BNCTA! 🙂
Apparently everytime a vista article is listed on OSNews, the Anti-MS crowd has to pipe up and ruin the discussion.
I’m sorry “BluenoseJake” but in previous 15 post I still haven’t seen a single PRO-MS guy!
So, where’s Pro-MS crowd?
Looking for part-time job to get some money to buy new operating system just to start tweaking its GUI? No?
Or they simply don’t want add more expense ( buying Visa GUI how to book from failed publisher ) after all.
Or they’re just ignorant?
So, where’s Pro-MS crowd?
Hi.
Wow. I said all of one syllable pro-Microsoft (“Hi.”) and it got modded down…
better now? ;D
[a windows, solaris, bsd/linux user]
I don’t hate Microsoft per se, (however I do hate XP for the most part – but my reasons for this are too long to get into now).
Microsoft make straightforward systems for the home user and while I may not recommend Windows as a server platform, lots of companies have built very stable networking systems using Windows.
The biggest problem with Windows is that they’re a victim of their own success. It suffers from lot’s of malware in the wild, unstable 3rd party software and bloated default install, but then Linux suffers from much the same when you look at some of the more popular distros and I would put money on OSX going exactly the same way as more users turn to Macs.
So if you guys really think you’re better than Windows, why do you use the biggest, most bloated and simplified distro of Linux? surely if you _are_ too good for Windows then you should be running a smaller, niche system?
Edited 2007-03-28 10:47
It suffers from lot’s of malware in the wild, unstable 3rd party software and bloated default install, but then Linux suffers from much the same when you look at some of the more popular distros
The default install of Vista takes about 15GB.
The default install of Ubuntu takes under 2GB.
Now tell me, which one of these is truly bloated?
If by bloat you mean the number of useful applications that are included in the Ubuntu install (that cover just about all the basic Desktop needs for productivity and networking), then yes, Ubuntu is “bloated”.
Even a more “bloated” distro, like Sabayon, that includes _a_lot_ more software in the default install, takes only about 8GB!
So if you guys really think you’re better than Windows, why do you use the biggest, most bloated and simplified distro of Linux? surely if you _are_ too good for Windows then you should be running a smaller, niche system?
I fail to see any logic here. First of all Ubuntu is not “the most bloated distro”. Second, why would somebody run Linux just for the sake of more complexity? Third, there are many more reasons for running Linux, like Free Software, better stability etc.
It’s not about us being too good for Windows, it’s about Windows not being good enough for us.
Edited 2007-03-28 12:42
1) Ubuntu is bloated when compared to distro’s like Slackware..
2) I know of loads of people who would run a Linux system just because they can. It’s typical g33k mentality to run an anti-MS OS. I’d be very supprised if yourself (obviously learned in IT) doesn’t have at least one friend who doesn’t use Linux just for that reason alone.
3) Plus I’ve found Ubuntu to be less stable as both Slackware and Vista and by default install, supports less hardware as both the other systems. Plus, as Slackware and Vistas default packages have all been tried and thoroughly tested – you know they have been included because they work. Compare that to other, more bloated distros of Linux which throw packages together willy-nilly, leads to a more stable default system on Vistas part. Gone are the days of Windows 9x when the system used to crash for the sake of. NT systems these days (assuming you set them up right, but then that’s applicable on any platform) are pretty stable.
As I said before, I am a *nix fanboy. I love slackware and FreeBSD far more than I could ever tollerate
Windows, however I find half the arguments pro-Ubuntu can also either be made pro-Windows (ease of use, etc), or Ubuntu does worse than most other *nix distros (networking (falls behind FreeBSD systems), configuration (slackware) etc).
Edited 2007-03-28 13:38
1) Ubuntu is bloated when compared to distro’s like Slackware..
Yes, but if you wan’t to advocate Linux for newbies you don’t recommend Slackware, no matter if that’s what you run yourself.
The target audience for Ubuntu is new Linux users, but even techies sometimes appreciate convenience.
2) I know of loads of people who would run a Linux system just because they can. It’s typical g33k mentality to run an anti-MS OS.
Yes, but it only means that we are more aware of the many problems associated with monopolistic Microsoft and it’s products.
I’d be very supprised if yourself (obviously learned in IT) doesn’t have at least one friend who doesn’t use Linux just for that reason alone.
I’ve run Gentoo myself but not “just because I can”, but for it’s (albeit geeky and often controversial) advantages over other distros.
Lately I’ve been running Ubuntu, mostly for convenience. I miss Gentoo though…
3) Plus I’ve found Ubuntu to be less stable as both Slackware and Vista and by default install, supports less hardware as both the other systems.
I don’t believe that, actually…
Plus, as Slackware and Vistas default packages have all been tried and thoroughly tested – you know they have been included because they work.
You are kidding right? I’ve read so many complaints about Vista that I don’t believe this for a second.
You can read about people having problems with Vista here, for example: http://aspnetresources.com/blog/vista_sucks.aspx
Edited 2007-03-28 14:44
That’s complete rubbish. A true techie will be ‘much more aware’ of the many problems each operating system offers (and Linux, just like Windows, does offer as many problems as it offers solutions)
You’re still avoiding the point that i made that some people (not all! but a sizable margin non-the-less) run Linux simply out of spite against MS. that’s not undermining Linux or their users, it’s just a fact.
I’ll have a read of the link later, but going by my friends and my own personal experience alone – i’ve had far fewer problems with a default ‘Ultimate’ install of Vista than I have with a default install of Ubuntu. I don’t doubt others have have problems with Vista, but i’m sure others have had problems with Ubuntu as well.
At the end of the day I can’t afford to replace Windows entirely as I can’t afford a Mac and I’ve tried music production on a *nix system and quite frankly it didn’t even come close to Cubase on Windows or Logic on a Mac. You can argue the *nix is better than NTx until you’re blue in the face but until Rosegarden catches up with Cubase, better *nix soft-synths are programmed and faster drivers are programmed for specialist studio equipment, I will continue to maintain that Windows still has it’s place on a competitive market.
I love trying out other operating systems (theres few I haven’t had running for any length of time), but quite frankly as a music producer, I can’t afford to ignore Windows and OSX – in fact I’d be stupid to spite them for the sake of.
That’s complete rubbish. A true techie will be ‘much more aware’ of the many problems each operating system offers (and Linux, just like Windows, does offer as many problems as it offers solutions)
But I wasn’t talking about OS problems. I was talking about problems with Microsoft and its business practices.
You’re still avoiding the point that i made that some people (not all! but a sizable margin non-the-less) run Linux simply out of spite against MS. that’s not undermining Linux or their users, it’s just a fact.
But what’s wrong with it actually? Do you think we all should just bend over and say “thank you, Microsoft”?
No not at all. I just hate the anal anti-Windows bias that’s been posted on this thread.
Surely on a forum like this we should be crediting Windows for it’s posative points as well as pulling it up for it’s short comings? After all, other, more minor systems are given a balanced review.
Personally I’m not the biggest fan of Microsoft either. I just find it’s fasionable to bash Windows when in reality it does do some jobs extreamly well (Just as teh various different distros of Linux does some jobs well).
Surely on a forum like this we should be crediting Windows for it’s posative points as well as pulling it up for it’s short comings?
Yes, but the thing with Windows, or more precisely with Microsoft, is that the negative points tend to cancel the positive points.
Personally I’m not the biggest fan of Microsoft either.
Judging by your comments, one would think just the opposite. Actually, I strongly suspect that you’re one of the many Microsoft astroturfers… just a bit more clever one than the others.
I actually find that a little offensive.
Since when has having a balanced view equalled being a Microsoft fan? It’s absolutely ludicrous!
Maybe if you guys actually tried to use Linux as a professional music studio, or tried to train up your grandparents how to recompile the kernel because their graphics card wasn’t supported by default by their chosen Linux distro, then you might understand that Windows DOES have it’s positive points and it’s positive points are just as valid as any other OS on the market despite being coded by software Nazi’s.
If you really want to get into a personal debate about what OSs I’m running, then here is the lowdown:
* Windows XP – a dedicated machine for music production
* Linux (Slackware 11) – web development, typing up office documents and surfing the web (etc).
* Zeta 1.2 – Only set this up last night. Ideally I’d have SkyOS on it but I’m reluctant to buy the beta system before trying. This will eventually be my media server.
* FreeBSD 5.x – dedicated fileserver and network server.
* and a PPC running some custom Linux build I forget the name of.
Do those stats look like a Microsoft fanboy?
Does “Microsoft astroturfers” typically run BSD file systems and BeOS media centres?
Isn’t Microsoft fans supposed to run Windows Mobile on their PPCs?
And I’m clearly no simpleton if I prefer to set up systems through a command prompt (Slackware / FreeBSD) rather than the ‘point-and-click’ interface Windows or Ubuntu offers by default.
The only reason I’m arguing in MS’s favour is /simply/ because this thread is, in my opinion, disproportionately biased against Windows. I would just as equally be making pro-Linux arguments if 90% of the posts in this thread was a pro-MS posse attacking Linux.
So in short – just because *YOU* find Linux solves more problems than it creates, it doesn’t necessarily mean Linux is the best solution for /every/ desktop PC and /every/ desktop user (who, quite frankly, are usually too technologically stupid to handle Linux).
I actually find that a little offensive.
Yeah, that’s understandable… sorry about that, I should have phrased it differently.
However, the fact that Microsoft has astroturfers, makes me a bit suspicious of pro-MS people. I might be a little paranoid about this, though
Since when has having a balanced view equalled being a Microsoft fan?
I’m sorry, but other than claiming of being a *nix fanboy you seem to have a misbalanced view in favor of Microsoft.
Maybe if you guys actually tried to use Linux as a professional music studio
Once again, the lack of commercial software is not the fault of Linux. It’s the fault of MS monopoly and ISVs.
I’m pretty sure that Linux as a platform would not suck for this purpose.
or tried to train up your grandparents how to recompile the kernel because their graphics card wasn’t supported by default by their chosen Linux distro
Nobody in their right mind would do that. They would do it for their grandparents.
BTW, there are not many regular people who can fix Windows problems either.
then you might understand that Windows DOES have it’s positive points and it’s positive points are just as valid as any other OS on the market despite being coded by software Nazi’s.
Like I said, the positive points that “Windows DOES have” are usually canceled by negative points like “being coded by software Nazi’s”.
Do those stats look like a Microsoft fanboy?
Does “Microsoft astroturfers” typically run BSD file systems and BeOS media centres?
That’s why I said that you are more clever than other astroturfers…
Just think about it: wouldn’t it be clever to come of as a *nix fanboy on a site like OSNews that is full of other *nix fanboys, as that would give much more credibility and weight for the “MS is good” claims…
In other words it would be a great cover story for an undercover astroturfer
it doesn’t necessarily mean Linux is the best solution for /every/ desktop PC
You’re right about that. I never made that kind of claim either.
/every/ desktop user (who, quite frankly, are usually too technologically stupid to handle Linux).
Most of those users are technologically too stupid to handle Windows as well.
Most users would handle a Linux Desktop just as well as Windows if it were their first Computer experience and it would come preinstalled with their new computer (like Windows).
“So, where’s Pro-MS crowd? ”
Maybe they’re busy actually reading the article and not feeding the trolls.
“Or they’re just ignorant?”
Yeah, it’s the Pro-MS crowd that has a corner on the “ignorant” market. Thanks for making my point
Apparently everytime a vista article is listed on OSNews, the Anti-MS crowd has to pipe up and ruin the discussion.
Well, ya know .. they have to spread their religion somehow, and what better way to do that than to post a bunch of irrelavent comments on every MS or Windows-related article they can find? Too bad the only people they manage to impress are their fellow cult members.
Just remember that by definition the only difference between a religion and a cult is the number of their members.
Pro-Microsoft people would in this case be a religion, because of their monopoly, and Anti-MS would be a cult that is slowly becoming a religion.
I guess if you wanted to go down this path, you could also say that Microsoft would be a monotheistic religion and the alternative operating systems would be classified as polytheistic.
Much like any monotheistic religion, they tend to think that they are it, there is nothing outside of their beliefs and that anyone who believes differently is inherently evil.
On the other hand, most polytheistic religions are far more forgiving of others belief systems. Look at the Romans, they basically accepted whatever religion you wanted to be, as long as you weren’t off killing a bunch of people.
There are many reasons to bash Windows Vista though, and none of them are religious. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more people that used to be Pro-MS suddenly stop being as such due to Vista’s enormous requirements and overall unimpressive upgrade from XP.
Much like any monotheistic religion, they tend to think that they are it, there is nothing outside of their beliefs and that anyone who believes differently is inherently evil.
On the other hand, most polytheistic religions are far more forgiving of others belief systems.
LOL, you’ve got to be shitting m, right? I’m probably about as close to a ‘pro MS guy’ as you’ll find on this site, and I don’t go around to every Linux/Mac article I can find and spam a bunch of pro MS stuff. Moreover, I really don’t care what you use, be it Linux, Mac, Amiga, typewriter, or whatever. I guess you could say taht pro MS people are more like athiests who say subscribe to whatever religion you want, just keep it to yourself
Well, ya know .. they have to spread their religion somehow
Well, I was a member of the Mac religion, but they wanted me to sacrifice by newest XP laptop, so I said no way! Then I converted to NetBSD. I didn’t mind having to install it on my remote control, but my TV kept blue-screening on MSNBC. Finally, I converted to the one true religion of Ubuntu. Except for the dancing around naked in a circle, it’s a pretty nice bunch.
Is it Friday yet??
Or maybe Vista just makes it TOO easy?
–bornagainpenguin (who has actively used every release of Windows since Win3.x but refuses to upgrade beyond XP and regrets doing that)
Now, if we had some good articles on ways to modify Windows’ registry for fun and profit, that would be handy…
yeah, nothing really spectacular. although, i didnt know you could do the whole categorized classic view thing for the control panel before reading this
Member since:
2007-02-22 Now, if we had some good articles on ways to modify Windows’ registry for fun and profit
If editing the registry is your idea of fun, remind me not to come to your house for a party.
As for the profit part, a lot of these articles are in Russian ;}
Having used pretty much every major OS / distro every released (and a great number of the minor ones too), I’ve never understood how people get almost religious about their OS choice.
Surely members of a forum dedicated to OSs should be much more open minded about other members preferences?
Oh well i rather like these articles.Good for feeding noscript and or ablock:-)
Why has a ‘my OS is better than yours’ war started in this thread, its got nothing to do with which is better.
If you don’t like Vista, fine. Don’t buy it. Don’t use it. Not hard really. If you do however, buy it, use it and maybe the thread’s actual article will be of use.
People who buy Vista arent buying it because of how they can hack it to bits and modify it to do whatever they want (use Linux if you want that), they’re buying it because its a new (and in a lot of respects improved) version of what they already use; Windows.
I havent done much extra config on my Vista install (I quite like most of the defaults), but then again when XP came out I didnt then. But the more time I use the OS, the more stuff I find out I can change if I want to. Plus, most of the commands under XP like mmc work under Vista too.
Why has a ‘my OS is better than yours’ war started in this thread, its got nothing to do with which is better.
more why pay a lot of money for a fraction of themes you can install for free with beryl,xgl,emerald,heliodor etc..
I can’t speak for Vista (as i’ve never bothered to skin it) but pre-Vista systems are just as skinable as Linux if you start looking into 3rd party shells and what not.
I’ve never understood the point of skins personally, but then I’m at my happiest when i’m roaming a DOS/*nix command prompt.
I see what youre getting at but people dont buy an OS for its themes. It is part of a bigger picture though. Beryl, xgl etc are downloads you can do after the OS install. I’m not sure what the situation is with Vistas theme support (XP only allowed official themes to be installed, which I agree is rubbish).. Hopefully MS has given UI designers more freedom to work with themes this time round. So when (if) more Vista themes come out I’ll get them for free (Royale and Zune XP themes were free). I quite like Aero though so I’m not too fussed as yet.
This brings me back in the day before Linux when Anti-MS people would use Macs, and Windows users would call Mac-users babies because their OS was so basic, where as Windows, wow you could edit the config.sys file and do all that other garbage to impress your friends. What has changed…really. Now you have people downloading Ubuntu thinking something they are not, using something it really is not. I am not anti-*nix, I just find these religious arguments to be asinine and childish. Fact of the matter is is that Linux is STILL NOT for everyone. The geeks simply fail to realize that the average CONSUMER, not geek, wants something completely different. When a consumer buys a computer from HP with Vista, they have an assurance that Aero and other features are simply just going to work. This is not the case with similar offerings. Server software aside, I can not think of a single desktop Linux program that is a must, or even comes close to competing with Apple/Microsoft software. And most of the fault lies with the developer community who basically release a lot of software that lacks features that users expect. Another aspect that the Linux zealots (not part of the overall Linux community) fail to comprehend is that the average consumer has no interest in tweaking and re-configuring their OS as much as they like to do. At most people like to change their wallpaper, or maybe add Windows Blinds for a new theme. Right or wrong, for whatever reasons, you simply can not replace Windows with Ubuntu for many consumers. Plain and simple. Even more, in a sense the market has spoken. People do prefer to pay for an OS over a free one. I recently had the task of installing Vista along side XP and OpenSuse 10.2. Many of the features that people are griping about just are not reality. Even more I see that a lot of people are simply ignorant to what DRM is actually going to do in Vista. Now make no mistake about it, I despise the entire idea of DRM, but with that said when I went out to see what it was actually going to do I was a bit more informed than what I thought beforehand. I do not think this is necessarily any reason to say that DRM is just fine and dandy, but at least understand what it is going to do when playing back certain media.
Frankly I think certain zealots also fail to see that they behave actually worse than their hated enemy. By screaming, ranting, and attacking people for NOT using their OS of choice is simply ridiculous. And quite frankly is one of the worst selling tactics to use. I have no problem introducing companies to Linux simply because what I propose to them is withing the realm of reality, these people are not. Ubuntu may make a cheap desktop alternative for a temp worker, but it is NOT a Windows replacement, plain and simple. Now Apple on the other hand……
Ubuntu may make a cheap desktop alternative for a temp worker, but it is NOT a Windows replacement, plain and simple. Now Apple on the other hand……
Personally Ubuntu was and still is a windows alternative for me.The total cost of ownership is a lot less so i can spend more money on hardware