RiseAgainst said:What third option? Mac? I have used Mac before and I really don't like it.
cristo said:Pff.. seems like you don't like any operating system!
RiseAgains did you read my #4 post?RiseAgainst said:Pff.. I didn't say I didn't like Linux, and the only version of Windows that I don't like is Vista, I liked XP when I had it.
shoehorn said:If you like XP why don't you install it instead of Vista? Personally speaking I avoid Linux like the plague, preferring instead to stick with OS X or XP.
RiseAgainst said:Why avoid it, I've only heard good things about Linux.
Of course, that depends on what you mean by "regular". I've found Open Office and even Star Office (Sun's pay version of their free Open Office) to be irritating when trying to write equations. But, that might not fit with everyone's idea of how a "regular" user might use a word processor.mgb_phys said:The only important question is - what do you want to do with your computer.
If you want to browse the web, send email = Linux is easy, works and you don't have to worry about viruses anymore.
If you also need to write the odd document then Linux will also work, OpenOffice is included (with Ubuntu) and is as good as MsOffice for everything a regular user will do.
Not usually ".docx" files, however. That requires a plug-in, but is available with Ubuntu Ultimate Edition's Open Office.mgb_phys said:It can read and write office docs pretty successfully so you can handle things sent to you by windows users.
But, you have to be honest here. When you say that "Ubuntu is looking pretty good," you know that it's still not 'grandma-friendly'.mgb_phys said:Frankly for "computing for grannies" = I don't want to know anything about updates/reboots I just want to web browse, Ubuntu is looking pretty good.
heldervelez said:Another option that I like more is the opensolaris, or solaris.
The zfs (new file system), dtrace and security features are at the best.
You won't need an anti-virus, 32 and 64 bit versions, server grade solid kernel, Gnome front end, free.
The not so good features ATI native drivers are not there and only X.org driver is available. Also I've problems with wifi drivers.
When I have a hardwired connection to the net I use opensolaris.
When I need Cuda (tu explore Nvidea card GPGPU programming) I use Linux (Debian).
When I need brook++ (ATI GPGPU stream programing) I use windows XP (that is speeder than Vista and windows7 beta).
In computers exposed to kids (they click anything dangerous) I will use Linux or Opensolaris for security.
MS Word gives you more options on each version because writing a letter has become 10x more complicated over the last 5years? Or because they have to add new features to get companies to upgrade. I wonder how we managed back in the primitive days of Office2003?michinobu said:However, the fact that MS Word gives you so many options shows how superior it is to Sun's word processor.
Have you tried to get office2003 to read docx?Not usually ".docx" files, however. That requires a plug-in, but is available with Ubuntu Ultimate Edition's Open Office.
Everytime I go home I spend an hour fixing my parents windows install, it runs the virus checker and firewall that their cable company supplied. But still has a bunch of junk on it.But, you have to be honest here. When you say that "Ubuntu is looking pretty good," you know that it's still not 'grandma-friendly'.
Then don't upgrade! The nice thing about OSS is that you aren't forced to change everything so that a company can make it's quarterly sales targets. My wife's laptop runs Ubuntu 6 and has done since it came out. Other than installing a new version of Opera it doesn't change. Yes newer versions of Ubunut would do more but she doesn't care.In spite of whatever improvements that Ubuntu might've seen, it's still a pain in the *** to upgrade your OS.
I had to type in my wireless password.For example, one doesn't have to try to tinker with the system so that they can get on the internet.
I have an MSDN subscription with paid support and that even fails when asking questions about MSDN. Like why their license key generator doesn't generate valid keys for their own downloads - their suggested solution is to call the manual key verification number and explain that you have MSDN by the way.And, let's not forget that, in the event something should go wrong with Windows, the user has the option of getting help from Microsoft's paid staff available.
michinobu said:Of course, that depends on what you mean by "regular". I've found Open Office and even Star Office (Sun's pay version of their free Open Office) to be irritating when trying to write equations. But, that might not fit with everyone's idea of how a "regular" user might use a word processor.
michinobu said:But, you have to be honest here. When you say that "Ubuntu is looking pretty good," you know that it's still not 'grandma-friendly'.
mgb_phys said:MS Word gives you more options on each version because writing a letter has become 10x more complicated over the last 5years? Or because they have to add new features to get companies to upgrade.
mgb_phys said:Have you tried to get office2003 to read docx?
Granted, it's likely to be a marketing gimmeck from Microsoft, I still feel that MS Word is better than Sun's Open Office. Maybe the features that I like having with MS Word 2007 aren't necessary for most people, but being able to put equations into a document faster is a little nice to have because getting work done faster is always plus.mgb_phys said:MS Word gives you more options on each version because writing a letter has become 10x more complicated over the last 5years? Or because they have to add new features to get companies to upgrade. I wonder how we managed back in the primitive days of Office2003?
No, but I wasn't talking about office 2003.mgb_phys said:Have you tried to get office2003 to read docx?
Maybe because those ".exe" attachments were intended to be used on Windows? But, better security doesn't equate to easier use. There's a reason why your parents uses Windows, right?mgb_phys said:Everytime I go home I spend an hour fixing my parents windows install, it runs the virus checker and firewall that their cable company supplied. But still has a bunch of junk on it.
With linux even if they did click on every .exe email attachment they aren't going to do any harm.
But, I want to upgrade. Like, if I want to get the latest ATI drivers for Linux (which never come with the live-disk download), there's no reason that I should fear something going wrong in my OS from downloading the latest drivers for my OS.mgb_phys said:Then don't upgrade! The nice thing about OSS is that you aren't forced to change everything so that a company can make it's quarterly sales targets. My wife's laptop runs Ubuntu 6 and has done since it came out. Other than installing a new version of Opera it doesn't change. Yes newer versions of Ubunut would do more but she doesn't care.
But, I don't think that you honestly thought that that's what I meant by "tinker[ing]" with the OS. Typing a password when using your wic on Windows is nothing compared to discovering that your wireless card's manufacturer doesn't support Linux or any UNIX system and that the only hope you have of getting your card to work on Linux is to download some free, generic driver that may or may not work with your card.mgb_phys said:I had to type in my wireless password.
But, even poor service is better than no service. I understand that it's expected with an OS that is given out for free, but having tech support is still better than the absence of there being one.mgb_phys said:I have an MSDN subscription with paid support and that even fails when asking questions about MSDN. Like why their license key generator doesn't generate valid keys for their own downloads - their suggested solution is to call the manual key verification number and explain that you have MSDN by the way.
I suppose that there's a chance that, when calling Microsoft's live tech support, you'll encounter someone who knows less about computers than you do. But, for those who don't even care about why brand X computer and device Y don't get along and so on, they might find Microsoft's tech support helpful. These people probably wouldn't like Linux because Linux has no support and its distributors provide it to people "as is", with no obligation to help you if their own software causes you trouble.mgb_phys said:Getting support from microsoft for why your brand X computer doesn't connect to your brand Y cable service isn't going to happen unless your name is Balmer and you are holding a chair.
shoehorn said:On the other hand, I've never had XP/OS X die due to an update. Make of that what you will.
Ben Niehoff said:3. It also has stuff that Windows ain't got! Text editors with a wide array of useful features that MS thought were too complicated to put into any of their software. Have you ever tried to highlight and copy a column of text in Notepad? Good luck. There are some other neat things, too, but I haven't explored this very much yet.
I’m pretty sure these technologies are available for windows. As for windows being batched oriented. Look up windows power shell. You can pipe entire objects from one app to another.4. If you like to code and tinker, it's very easy to do in Linux. C, Python, Perl, PHP, MySQL, Apache, Lisp, LaTeX, you name it: there are high-quality, free compilers, etc., for Linux that you can download and install easily from a unified GUI interface. It is also VERY easy to write scripts for doing things on the command line, such as manipulating large collections of files, or what-have you. Microsoft is limited to vastly-outdated Batch scripts; in Linux it is quick and easy to use the full power of Perl and Python, with regular expressions that make text processing a breeze. Say you want to reorganize your entire music collection based on certain keywords in the title, filename, or ID3 tags? Imagine the headache in Microsoft Windows! But it takes less than 100 lines in Perl.
5. If you need any help with anything, there is a large community of Linux fans on various messageboards who will have free, easy solutions. Whenever I get stuck, I just put some stuff into Google, and I usually find step-by-step instructions to do exactly what I want. The help available is usually better than what you find on Microsoft's website if you ever need to know how to do some obscure thing in Windows.
Ben Niehoff said:1. You have control over your computer, rather than the other way around. It feels really great not to be pushed around by the Man.
Ben Niehoff said:2. It can do almost anything Windows can do--there are tons of great programs you can download and install instantly for free. Even some really fun and beautiful games! And you also have the GIMP, which is a graphics program to rival Photoshop (and quite powerful).
Ben Niehoff said:3. It also has stuff that Windows ain't got! Text editors with a wide array of useful features that MS thought were too complicated to put into any of their software. Have you ever tried to highlight and copy a column of text in Notepad? Good luck. There are some other neat things, too, but I haven't explored this very much yet.?
Ben Niehoff said:4. If you like to code and tinker, it's very easy to do in Linux. C, Python, Perl, PHP, MySQL, Apache, Lisp, LaTeX, you name it: there are high-quality, free compilers, etc., for Linux that you can download and install easily from a unified GUI interface.
Ben Niehoff said:Microsoft is limited to vastly-outdated Batch scripts; in Linux it is quick and easy to use the full power of Perl and Python, with regular expressions that make text processing a breeze. Say you want to reorganize your entire music collection based on certain keywords in the title, filename, or ID3 tags? Imagine the headache in Microsoft Windows! But it takes less than 100 lines in Perl.
Ben Niehoff said:5. If you need any help with anything, there is a large community of Linux fans on various messageboards who will have free, easy solutions. Whenever I get stuck, I just put some stuff into Google, and I usually find step-by-step instructions to do exactly what I want. The help available is usually better than what you find on Microsoft's website if you ever need to know how to do some obscure thing in Windows.
Ben Niehoff said:1. No workable substitute for Microsoft OneNote, with tablet features. There are a few attempts at imitation, but I don't think the developers on the project really understand what OneNote is for and how to use it.
2. You can't play most mainstream games, except by using Wine (a Windows emulator). I haven't tried that, so I can't say how good it is. I boot into XP if I want to play games.
Ben Niehoff said:3. There are a few multimedia software publishers who do not produce Linux versions: Adobe Photoshop, Finale, etc. (Both Mathematica and Maple DO produce Linux versions; I have them both installed and they work great).
John Creighto said:How well does Microsoft office run on Lunix and does Open office have the same macro functionality as Microsoft office?