7 ways to bring back the PC: Fix or dump Windows 8

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Problems come after installing

You didn't even seem to understand that Unity isn't a Mint thing. You don't seem very qualified to talk about the issue.

 

[Dragonfly]

Open Office and Libre Office work great.

PLUS - IT'S ALL FREE !!!!!!

I don't care if you don't like any Linux stuff personally - I'm just saying some of the stuff you're saying is incorrect.

 

[PeteEU]

You didn't even seem to understand that Unity isn't a Mint thing. You don't seem very qualified to talk about the issue.

Err yes I did.. it is you that has miss-understood something.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

My Windows 8 took under 10 minutes to install. My Windows 7 machine took the same amount. In fact Windows Xp takes considerably longer. Linux Mint takes 10-15 minutes yes, depending on if you understand the whole partition crap... no I dont want to wipe my disk!

Lol. A slider is beyond you? Really?

Oh? Spotify? How about Microsoft Office? and so on

Wow, dude. Spotify for Linux came out three years ago.

Why the hell would someone on Linux want Microsoft Office? But for the record, Microsoft refuses to release it, so you can hardly blame Linux for that.

Steam for Linux is already a major flop. There are no games and no games are being developed for Linux. Game developers have a hard time justifying developing for Mac and Mac has over 5% of the world market.. with Linux not even hitting 1% I believe. Look at Simcity 5.. one of the most anticipated games of the year.. and only after the fact are they making a Mac version..

Dude, most of it hasn't even been released yet. :lol: What are you talking about?

I disagree.. critical bugs are often ignored because the security risks are minimal because of the lack of users. Only place bugs are fixed fast is in the server software.

You don't even seem to know the basics about what Linux is or what's going on with it. I honestly just don't believe you have experience with it.

 

[Dragonfly]

I'm guessing PeteEU has issues with Linux because he's trying to force it to BE windows.

Since he's stated he's a gamer there's no wonder he doesn't like it. Many of us don't game on our computers.

But I'm thrilled to have the vast majority of people using Windows. Keep using it.

I'll stick to the "better for my needs" alternative. :2wave:

 

[PeteEU]

Lol. A slider is beyond you? Really?

Nothing to do with that.. it has to do with trust. Both Linux Mint and Ubuntu have the same problem when it comes to partitioning. I have some other OS installed.. fine, I want to install Mint or Ubuntu, but that means I have to find room for this. Okay I expect the partition manager to be easy and informative to do this.. they are not, not even for me who does it for a living. Going in and doing it manually is not easy to say the least.. it is not just move slider, free up space and press install. And the automatic way is... "hmm where is it going to put it and take space from?"

Wow, dude. Spotify for Linux came out three years ago.

Oh interesting, was not in the Mint when I looked ...

Why the hell would someone on Linux want Microsoft Office? But for the record, Microsoft refuses to release it, so you can hardly blame Linux for that.

Because it is a superior product... and yes I know it is Microsoft.

Let me ask you this.. what is the nr. 1 question you will get if someone asks about an iPad or tablet computer? "Does it run word?" Like it or not, Microsoft Office is the defacto leader of word-processing and so on in the world and that is what people want. And that is from a guy who wishes that Word Perfect was around still... man WP 5 was cool.. ahh the memories.

Dude, most of it hasn't even been released yet. :lol: What are you talking about?

It is out of beta, and pretty much the only games there, are ones Steam have made. None of the major titles have committed or are planing to release a Linux version. Steam for Linux is a childish attempt by the owners to protest that Microsoft has made an App store and hence threaten their business model. They also complain about EA's Origin store btw.. because it is a competitor!

Oh and btw.. Steam blows and is some seriously bad programming. Having to force it to work off-line because of no internet connection is.. not cool.

You don't even seem to know the basics about what Linux is or what's going on with it. I honestly just don't believe you have experience with it.

Oh my experience is limited.. I have never denied that at all. But every time I attempt to use it in longer periods.. I always have the same problems and spend long time "googling" for simple solutions that should be clear from the start. Take a background picture switcher... a simple thing that has existed in Windows since Vista and before via 3rd party program. It is not standard as far as I can see in Linux Mint MATE.. but you can get it to work after googling and installing stuff. Cinnamon does have it I believe, but since MATE is first on the list of download on their page, most people download MATE.

 

[PeteEU]

I'm guessing PeteEU has issues with Linux because he's trying to force it to BE windows.

Since he's stated he's a gamer there's no wonder he doesn't like it. Many of us don't game on our computers.

But I'm thrilled to have the vast majority of people using Windows. Keep using it.

I'll stick to the "better for my needs" alternative. :2wave:

The only way Linux can be successful is to BE like Windows. Did you ever play with Linux say 10 years ago? The install process was not exactly... easy. But Linux has evolved and now it is almost as easy as Windows... go figure!

 

[Helix]

whatever comes after 8 will probably rock. i'm still on 7, and after their vista flop, they knocked it out of the park. the operating system is flawless, and i see no reason to upgrade at this point.

i do agree with the article on one point : preload the damned machine with office. there is no way i'm paying a ton for a ****ing spreadsheet and a word processor no matter how much i need it for work. it took me about a minute to download and install open office. ninety nine bucks a year? :lol::lol::lol: **** you.

also, put a decent image manipulation program on the machine. paint looks almost the same as it did in 1991. does anybody use that for anything?

 

[Oberon]

One of these days, my box will crash, and I truly dread having to move to another OS because my Win98 won't support a lot of the new hardware and they no longer support device driver development for 98SE.

I used to be a geek a couple of decades ago, played with all the Linux flavors and all that, but I built the box I use now around 2000 or so and it's been stable ever since, and has everything I need. The Open software has its glitches, but I've been happy with Open Office and some of the other MS copy cat software overall.

I don't miss screwing around with Linux; it was blow ware then, and I doubt much has changed, and all the documentation problems and 749 trillion or so 'FAQs' on the numerous 'issues' it has isn't a shining endorsement for it.

Dragonfly

Re: 7 ways to bring back the PC: Fix or dump Windows 8
I'm guessing PeteEU has issues with Linux because he's trying to force it to BE windows.

I see it as being Linux that is trying to be Windows, and have some success on some fronts, and not on others, so it's a chicken or egg type thing.

The only way Linux can be successful is to BE like Windows. Did you ever play with Linux say 10 years ago? The install process was not exactly... easy. But Linux has evolved and now it is almost as easy as Windows... go figure!

lollerz ... quoted for truth.

Linux was a quasi-religious cult back then, and it apparently still is.

 

[Muhammed]

I really miss windows 98.

 

[Oberon]

Did you ever play with Linux say 10 years ago? The install process was not exactly... easy.

System Commander worked well; it was written for Windows, ironically.

Linux never functioned properly for me unless I manually assigned cylinder and head numbers to my partitions when using the partition managers provided with some flavors of Linux; the 'quick install', 'easy set up', and 'dual booting' software sucked big time, imo, as well as some of the device driver code.

Many of th issues with Linux had as much to do with the Intel chip architecture itself and BIOS complications. I don't know about today but then the Intel designs really sucked from a programming view compared to the Motorola and Zilog microprocessors. I did a lot of assembly language programming for controllers and the like, and we stayed away from Intel microprocessors altogether; the cheaper hardware price was far more costly in time than it saved in chip prices. Linux had issues with Intel's cache handling algorithms, for one thing; many Linux glitches would go away when you went into the BIOS setup and disabled the L2 cache on the early Pentiums, for instance. I'm not familiar with high level languages, tried C and C++ for a while but it was excruciatingly boring compared to assembly and machine coding. I moved on to another field entirely in 1998 and have never looked back to programming, or geek cults, so I can't speak for what's going on with chips and MBs these days, and don't care to find out.

 

[Dragonfly]

It's probably best if more people DON'T start using Linux... best for us Linux users that is.:mrgreen:

 

[sangha]

It's probably best if more people DON'T start using Linux... best for us Linux users that is.:mrgreen:

Then you have no worries. There's no danger of corporate America moving their desktops and the apps they run from Windows to Linux

 

[longview]

My Wife had to get the new Windows 8 machine. The Jury is still out.
The touch screen is nice, but stops working often.
We still do not have a working laser printer driver, but HP says soon.
( My confidence would be higher if the "soon" message was not dated last November.)
So far everything works, but there is now a extra layer to the OS(like Mac)

 

[Fiddytree]

It's probably best if more people DON'T start using Linux... best for us Linux users that is.:mrgreen:

Security flaws? Perhaps will be exposed.

A better operating environment would probably result if there was more demand for Linux.

 

[Mycroft]

All this talk of Linux is academic. It will never rise to the level of usage that Windows has...even if MS doesn't make changes to Win8. But since MS IS making changes to Win8, you can rest assured the world will keep on using it.

Linux will forever be a niche OS.

 

[MoSurveyor]

All this talk of Linux is academic. It will never rise to the level of usage that Windows has...even if MS doesn't make changes to Win8. But since MS IS making changes to Win8, you can rest assured the world will keep on using it.

Linux will forever be a niche OS.

That's what IBM thought about DOS, which is why they let M$ keep the copyright.

 

[Mycroft]

That's what IBM thought about DOS, which is why they let M$ keep the copyright.

Ummmm...

Okay....good point. I'll reconsider my opinion when I see someone acquire the copyright to Linux.

 

[fmw]

That's what IBM thought about DOS, which is why they let M$ keep the copyright.

The way it went down is that Microsoft (which owned DOS) licensed it cost free to IBM while reserving its right to sell it to others. IBM never owned DOS.

 

[sangha]

That's what IBM thought about DOS, which is why they let M$ keep the copyright.

That was a completely different time and situation. It was the beginning of the computer "revolution".

Now, businesses have trillions of dollars invested in software that took them years and years to develop. They're not going to toss all that software and infrastructure because Win8 doesn't have a start button.

 

[MoSurveyor]

The way it went down is that Microsoft (which owned DOS) licensed it cost free to IBM while reserving its right to sell it to others. IBM never owned DOS.

I know, that was the point. I'm sure IBM could have bought Gates out but they didn't think it important enough.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Ummmm...

Okay....good point. I'll reconsider my opinion when I see someone acquire the copyright to Linux.

There are a few proprietary Linux OS's out there but they mostly service business. Who in their right mind would pay for Linux unless they needed very specific programming or a lot of tech support?

 

[Mycroft]

There are a few proprietary Linux OS's out there but they mostly service business. Who in their right mind would pay for Linux unless they needed very specific programming or a lot of tech support?

Yes...and that's why I don't think Linux will ever be much more than a niche OS. People want a general purpose OS that doesn't require a lot of work to use...and they will be willing to pay for it. That's what MS provides. Linux doesn't. (at least, that's the way I see it from my limited exposure to Linux)

 

[MoSurveyor]

That was a completely different time and situation. It was the beginning of the computer "revolution".

Now, businesses have trillions of dollars invested in software that took them years and years to develop. They're not going to toss all that software and infrastructure because Win8 doesn't have a start button.

And the ones required to use fancy software will be the last to switch. But most offices don't need anything more than the basic package with e-mail and Office, which Open Office replaces fairly well, IMO.

Businesses like H&R Block, for example, that have their own software could probably save quite a bit switching to Linux. Seriously, how much do you think it would cost them to re-write their software that no one else uses compared to what they'd save on M$ licensing in a couple of years? I'd think their biggest problem would be finding IT people to trouble-shoot Linux, which could be why they haven't done it. I know I couldn't but I didn't have any problem with Windows even though I had no formal training.

However, I don't expect any of it to happen soon. Windows has a LOT of momentum. The next "PC" OS is going to be the one that interfaces best with mobile devices. It may not be Linux but at the rate M$ is going, it isn't going to be them, either.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Yes...and that's why I don't think Linux will ever be much more than a niche OS. People want a general purpose OS that doesn't require a lot of work to use...and they will be willing to pay for it. That's what MS provides. Linux doesn't. (at least, that's the way I see it from my limited exposure to Linux)

More and more in business, control of the PC is being taken out of "local" hands and is controlled by the IT department. IT might have to adjust but they shouldn't have any long-term issues over changing.

Linux is getting more user friendly, as you should note from posts in this thread. I'm not some Linux nut, I've only used it on one system for a specific task, but I can see where more people who are disgruntled with M$ will start thinking about it. I also see a whole generation of people coming up who have never been without computer and programs their phones in their sleep. I don't see Linux being an issue for them, either. It's just a matter of us Old Fogey's getting out of the way.