Boys, Girls and Unicorns,

I am thinking of switching to Linux, because I am sick of Vista.  It takes up memory and downloading is a joke. 

If you have a preference or any suggestions, feel free to chime in.

This poll will last for 7 Days.




Thank You All For Your Input,
Janet

Lala, I'm stuck with Vista right now >.>, and my laptop isn't working with Windows XP too well when I tried it out with it, since there's lack of proper driver support for my video card in it. I know some people that use Ubuntu and I hear it works pretty well and a lot faster and more efficient than Vista ever could be.

If you want to try linux without making permanent changes, I recommend you try a live-cd first.

my *personal* fave is slax (fits on a mini-cd or mini-dvd)
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=slax

Buy an iMac and all your troubles will disappear

Mac OS 10.6.2 Snow Leopard.
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz
2 GB 667 MHz SD Ram



-={LR}=-

A very easy-to-use linux is Ubuntu. You can download and burn your own (or order) a live-cd, just like with slax.

I love linux because I can break it, I can fix it, I can change it, and it's free. 

Janet, if you are going to scrape off your hard drive, yes go to linux.

There are a myriad of types and most of them are a snap to install these days.  Plus they have a *HUGE* selection of free software to choose from.  Many, if not most, are equal or superior to equivalent proprietary software.

The only reason to maintain the window$ monopoly would be because of dependence on a windows version of software that is not available elsewhere.

-Sandy

I'm currently on XP.  I'll probably wait a year to see if Windows 7 is as bad as Vista was.  If it is...I may just have to give the Mac a try again.

Because of work issues I have a few computers with different OS. Vista is possibly the worst OS that has been written (IMO). I'm on XP on this laptop. I like Linux but I need to use Microsoft programs and I don't seem to get them to be compatible. I like the MAC systems but my work IT people don't support MACS very well.

Shouldn't really complain I remember starting on DOS 1.2 or something. That was fun. You youngsters don't know how easy you have it. My first computer was a cardboard box with a thing inside that went beep. (sorry having a Monty Python Attack).

Let us know what you decided Janet.

Cindy

Quote from: CindyJames on November 22, 2009, 01:30:26 AM
Shouldn't really complain I remember starting on DOS 1.2 or something. That was fun.

@ECHO OFF
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H5 P330 T3
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001
LH C:\MOUSE.COM
WIN

@ECHO OFF
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H5 P330 T3
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001
LH C:\MOUSE.COM
WIN

YO

But I didn't have a mouse, but i did have 7.5 discs and I think their capacity was either 5 or 10 KB

Windows Vista 


Jay

I can't answer that poll cause I'd have to do multiple choices.

We have four machines.
1 - Ubuntu storage space
1 - Mac OSX Tiger - School/Art - Laptop (black macbook)
and 2 - Windows Vista playthings.

Now, the only reason we have Windows on the playthings is because they are playthings. They are for games.
Only reason we have 2 is so we can play with each other.

The Vista machines have given us nothing but grief. In the (almost) 2 years since we bought the first one, it's broken down five times! The other one is barely 6 months old and has been in for repairs once and now has a new problem (turns itself off at random).
The playthings are Acer machines.

We are currently "obtaining" Windows 7 for one of the vista machines in order to repair it's latest vista related death. We have heard good things of it, stability wise, but I haven't got "high" hopes for it's stability.

So it comes down to "what do you want to do with the computer?"

If "games" are on the list, you might need windows, in which case I suggest getting XP or 7 instead of Vista, which is the worst thing since 3.1's "keyboard not detected, press F1 to continue"...
If they aren't, then you're just as well off with Linux or a Mac, functionality wise. (Stability wise you're way better off.)

That's my advice anyways..

Quote from: Miniar on November 22, 2009, 08:36:46 AMThe other one is barely 6 months old and has been in for repairs once and now has a new problem (turns itself off at random).

It's probably over heating from dust in the cpu..both computers in the house do that

Canned air/vaccume attachment can fix that

Quote from: CindyJames on November 22, 2009, 02:05:42 AM
@ECHO OFF
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H5 P330 T3
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001
LH C:\MOUSE.COM
WIN

YO

But I didn't have a mouse, but i did have 7.5 discs and I think their capacity was either 5 or 10 KB

I remember that from my old 386.

I also remember only being able to dial in once a day to the local BBS for a half hour session.

Quote from: insanitylives on November 22, 2009, 08:56:46 AM
It's probably over heating from dust in the cpu..both computers in the house do that

Canned air/vaccume attachment can fix that

Yeah well, if I open it up and clean it then I "might" loose the warranty.

Quote from: Miniar on November 22, 2009, 09:01:56 AM
Yeah well, if I open it up and clean it then I "might" loose the warranty.

How does maintaining a computer void a warranty?

Quote from: insanitylives on November 22, 2009, 02:20:40 PM
How does maintaining a computer void a warranty?

Some companies are still evil enough to use "warranty void if tampered/removed" stickers presuming the end user is too stupid to upgrade or maintain their system.

Yup, what Flan said.

And at the same time, the warranty doesn't cover this, so...

If I take it in for repairs, it'll cost me..
If I fix it myself, it'll cost me...

It's frustrating really.

While I agree with Sandi when she says to each his own, I've installed and used pretty well every OS out there and I must say that when I switched to Mac OS two years ago, computer life has been a dream since.

My 24" iMac has been running 24/7 for almost 9 months now and hasn't crashed yet.

-={LR}=-

As someone who was a developer on the kernel & OS for a major operating system brand, I'm pretty much immune to the advocacy wars as I've had my "hand up the skirt" of all of them at one point - they all have good & bad aspects.  The biggest problem for most folks is familiarity - if one is unfamiliar with something, it's going to seem alien and difficult to use (especially if you have to do something more complex than just fire up your mail or browser).

Quote from: Ladyrider on November 22, 2009, 04:43:58 PM
My 24" iMac has been running 24/7 for almost 9 months now and hasn't crashed yet.

Ooh an uptime compare? Ok, 1 machine has 1244 days, 12 hours, 17 minutes so far, the other has 1333 days, 17 hours, 1 minute. (Both are Solaris).