I throw down the gauntlet to the "real" geeks.

[Xander]

If it's any consolation, I'm not as into Linux now that I know how most of it works and have done most of the things I wanted to know I could do in it... and now mostly use Windows again, simply for the applications available. I just happen to use it still.

Reducing down to a nice tache are we

Vista seems to be perfectly fine under the hood I just hate what MS has done to the interface. I don't like having it rendered by the GPU, Windows Classic in Vista looks like ass, the menu bar belongs above the tool bar and the tool bar is now static and unchangeable. The Control Panel is completely disorganized and requires more clicks to do things than in XP. Aero looks like foggy plastic rather than glass and Segoe UI is illegible to my eyes, Tahoma or MS Sans Serif is ideal. The new icons are very pretty though.

Should you ever get stuck with it, consult the wizard that runs tweakguides. His guide should be able to lead you through some registry fixes if it's too bad as is.

I guess that's the Linux route coming in. Mind you least with Windows it's usually in the vein of making it look nice or work better rather than foundation stuff like network cards....

I kind of like the way KDE, Gnome, X11 and the other window managers look, my beef is more with the silly Open Source ideology and it's irrational hatred of commercial software. The best open source application available is Firefox and its code base is derived from Netscape which was commercially developed. I pirate Windows, MS Office and Photoshop so I could give a shit if my programs are "free as in speech."

Nooooooooo don't think like that!! I like the whole KDE environment and it's that son of a two headed muppet that keeps tempting me back to try again and again to get it to work!!! Don't do it!!! The dark side it is!!!

[Either that or grab a C book with it ]

 

[sassafrassquatch]

Should you ever get stuck with it, consult the wizard that runs tweakguides. His guide should be able to lead you through some registry fixes if it's too bad as is.

I actually bought Vista a few months ago. I liked it at first but after a while it started grating on me. I tried messing with everything but I still hated it. Most of the things I have a problem with, like the organization of the control panel, are unchangeable. I also had a problem with my video card, it's a Radeon 9700 Pro which won't run if I use drivers newer than Catalyst 4.11. The Vista drivers are obviously newer so I bought a Radeon X1650 Pro AGP but when I try to play a game my computer crashes hard and reboots. I don't know if it's a defective card or what, though if it were defective I would expect it to not work at all.

XP 4 Life *throws gang signs*

 

[Xander]

I actually bought Vista a few months ago. I liked it at first but after a while it started grating on me. I tried messing with everything but I still hated it. Most of the things I have a problem with, like the organization of the control panel, are unchangeable.

XP 4 Life *throws gang signs*

64 or 32? I bet you're on 32bit... so old school. You'd best get some guys called something "dog" in that gang






64bit 4 eva!!!


That reminds me... 64 bit has been around for ages..... where the hell is 128bit or 256bit???

 

[spirilis]

64bit 4 eva!!!


That reminds me... 64 bit has been around for ages..... where the hell is 128bit or 256bit???

It's in your butt!

Nah I'm pretty sure we'll be OK with 64-bit for a long, long time.

I'm personally thankful that AMD cooked up a reasonably cool 64-bit implementation (which Intel, of course, copied as EM64t since they weren't about to be shut out of the game...) and managed to toss in a marginal performance increase alongside it (in the form of larger and more plentiful registers).

Intel & HP's original idea, IA64 (Intel Itanium), SUCKED hard donkey bytes. Emphasis on the "SUCKED", "HARD", "DONKEY" and "BYTES." We still have three Dell PowerEdge 3250 Itanium boxes down at my workplace's datacenter and I feel like going all Office Space on them every time I see them. Thank god they're sitting on the floor unpowered.

 

[millerm277]

First, insight into me: I do some programming (I know VB6/VB.NET, Java, and C/C++.), and I've used all of the operating systems mentioned except OSX.

Linux (well, Ubuntu, SUSE and the like), takes a bit of getting used to how things work (For example: Packages/installing things, and the file system), however, most tasks aren't any more difficult than in Windows or the like. The issue comes when you get into some of the issues that require Terminal (like some free apps and such), then things get confusing, although if you follow directions it's not hard, just "scary".

Vista: Like XP, but shinier....and with a couple annoying problems, like the slowest file transfers I've seen, and some driver issues. Also, moving everything in the control panel around for no reason is annoying, as is having to go manually enable the real Admin account.

64-Bit: XP-64 is horrible, Vista-64, in the short time I used it, seemed fine. Support for it is still lacking though, and until it starts actually coming installed on machines, that won't change.

 

[Xander]

It's in your butt!

Nah I'm pretty sure we'll be OK with 64-bit for a long, long time.

I'm personally thankful that AMD cooked up a reasonably cool 64-bit implementation (which Intel, of course, copied as EM64t since they weren't about to be shut out of the game...) and managed to toss in a marginal performance increase alongside it (in the form of larger and more plentiful registers).

That's the annoying thing in my book... 64bit... supposed to be a large improvement. The only large improvement I've noticed is I can have more than 4Gb of memory plugged in and showing.... however since nothing uses that much on home computing (bar a few programs) what's the point?

Intel & HP's original idea, IA64 (Intel Itanium), SUCKED hard donkey bytes. Emphasis on the "SUCKED", "HARD", "DONKEY" and "BYTES."

That's okay.... just don't crunch them. Takes your teef out!!

We still have three Dell PowerEdge 3250 Itanium boxes down at my workplace's datacenter and I feel like going all Office Space on them every time I see them. Thank god they're sitting on the floor unpowered.

Ah the server side is something I've yet to sharpen my teeth on much. Maybe soon though... small crashes to big BOOMS!!!

They did call me Sirus for a while at work..

First, insight into me: I do some programming (I know VB6/VB.NET, Java, and C/C++.), and I've used all of the operating systems mentioned except OSX.

Linux (well, Ubuntu, SUSE and the like), takes a bit of getting used to how things work (For example: Packages/installing things, and the file system), however, most tasks aren't any more difficult than in Windows or the like. The issue comes when you get into some of the issues that require Terminal (like some free apps and such), then things get confusing, although if you follow directions it's not hard, just "scary".

True... tried to install flash player like a million times.... used the terminal...followed the instructions... nadda.

That's the crux of my issue with Linux... too many things are processed without adequate feedback.

Vista: Like XP, but shinier....and with a couple annoying problems, like the slowest file transfers I've seen, and some driver issues. Also, moving everything in the control panel around for no reason is annoying, as is having to go manually enable the real Admin account.

That's the most useful trick I ever picked up for Vista... they totally frown on how it undermines their security scheme but I am always of the opinion that security on my PC should be at my own damn option.

Personally I consider Vista to be enthusiasts software. You have to have the patience and some considerable knowledge to make it comfy as an OS... either that or not knowing the difference...

64-Bit: XP-64 is horrible, Vista-64, in the short time I used it, seemed fine. Support for it is still lacking though, and until it starts actually coming installed on machines, that won't change.

*Presses button marked "Nuclear attack" repeatedly....*

*...nothing happens*

*Camera switch to sticker saying "Powered by Vista"*


Well I accept that you have the right to your opinion about XP64.. you are entitled to have a different opinion to the facts and I shall restrain myself from becoming all high and mighty and correcting you...


You're just wrong.






(Oh and as a note, the laptop I bought in the states comes preinstalled with Vista x64 Home Premium... perhaps the future is coming???



about frickin time!!!!)

 

[spirilis]

That's the annoying thing in my book... 64bit... supposed to be a large improvement. The only large improvement I've noticed is I can have more than 4Gb of memory plugged in and showing.... however since nothing uses that much on home computing (bar a few programs) what's the point?

64-bit is a little ahead of its time on the desktop right now but with a lot of folks buying desktops with 4GB RAM nowadays, that "time" is coming very soon. Once apps start using more than 4GB RAM, and folks buy 8+GB footprints, 64-bit will show its worth.

On the server-side, 64-bit is a freakin' godsend. I can't tell you how many apps we have at work which mysteriously stopped working, only to find out after some quick troubleshooting that the apps ran afoul of the 3GB per-process address space limit. Answer? Upgrade to 64-bit systems/OS.

I'm happy Linux got on the x86_64 64-bit bandwagon very early on, because it's given them more time to iron out some of the compatibility problems with having 32-bit and 64-bit apps coexist. Still not perfect, but recent versions of Linux make it mostly seamless.

 

[Xander]

64-bit is a little ahead of its time on the desktop right now but with a lot of folks buying desktops with 4GB RAM nowadays, that "time" is coming very soon. Once apps start using more than 4GB RAM, and folks buy 8+GB footprints, 64-bit will show its worth.

On the server-side, 64-bit is a freakin' godsend. I can't tell you how many apps we have at work which mysteriously stopped working, only to find out after some quick troubleshooting that the apps ran afoul of the 3GB per-process address space limit. Answer? Upgrade to 64-bit systems/OS.

I'm happy Linux got on the x86_64 64-bit bandwagon very early on, because it's given them more time to iron out some of the compatibility problems with having 32-bit and 64-bit apps coexist. Still not perfect, but recent versions of Linux make it mostly seamless.

Well oddly enough I find XP64 better not only because it is slightly quicker (my 3DMark rises slightly under XP64) but also because half of the programs which usually find their way onto my system and slow the computer down, don't work on XP64

That was the idea with Linux actually. To have a computer pretty much naked of rubbish just for reliable email and internet with none of the slow downs.

Oh and as a side point I see that on the Windows 7 blog there's a few people asking for options in Windows 7 so it doesn't have to be bloatware... that I'd love to see happen.

 

[spirilis]

Well oddly enough I find XP64 better not only because it is slightly quicker (my 3DMark rises slightly under XP64) but also because half of the programs which usually find their way onto my system and slow the computer down, don't work on XP64

That was the idea with Linux actually. To have a computer pretty much naked of rubbish just for reliable email and internet with none of the slow downs.

Oh and as a side point I see that on the Windows 7 blog there's a few people asking for options in Windows 7 so it doesn't have to be bloatware... that I'd love to see happen.

haha, nice

Speaking of Linux and "lack of Windows", I enjoyed this article that's made its way through the geek sites yesterday-- PC World - Vendors Rally While Windows Sleeps

The Latitude On feature uses a low-power Intel ARM processor, flash storage and Linux (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10) separate from the laptop's main CPU, hard drive and Windows operating system

Very interesting, this is also a tribute to the miniaturization going on with a lot of the "embedded" market nowadays--they were able to stuff an ARM proc and flash drive, along with the integration electronics, into a laptop alongside the host x86 CPU and hardware.

 

[Xander]

^^ Oddly Spirillis the more people move away from Microsoft and the more Microsoft start to listen, the more I like them...

I think I'll be one of the old bastion in the end. Still using windows when everyone else has gone over to linux.

 

[millerm277]

True... tried to install flash player like a million times.... used the terminal...followed the instructions... nadda.

What Linux Distro were you using? (OS). Although it's not officially supported, and has recieved some criticism, Automatix/Ultamatix can make installing all the codecs/plugins you need much easier.

That's the most useful trick I ever picked up for Vista... they totally frown on how it undermines their security scheme but I am always of the opinion that security on my PC should be at my own damn option.

Yup, I agree, considering my track record of zero malicious software, ever, I'm not too concerned about it.

Personally I consider Vista to be enthusiasts software. You have to have the patience and some considerable knowledge to make it comfy as an OS... either that or not knowing the difference...

Yeah, I ripped everything out of it I don't want, and made an unattended boot disk. If I want to install it, I just pop it in, select the partition, and come back in 45 minutes to it fully loaded. Next task is to intergrate some applications into the install.

Well I accept that you have the right to your opinion about XP64.. you are entitled to have a different opinion to the facts and I shall restrain myself from becoming all high and mighty and correcting you...

I haven't used it since it was first released. From the way you're sounding, I think I'll go give it a try again.

 

[Xander]

What Linux Distro were you using? (OS). Although it's not officially supported, and has recieved some criticism, Automatix/Ultamatix can make installing all the codecs/plugins you need much easier.

I believe that particular install was Xandros. All instances of Linux are currently removed however. I'm thinking that next time I'll try the virtual machine route and quit stuffing up windows.

Yup, I agree, considering my track record of zero malicious software, ever, I'm not too concerned about it.

Me neither.

Mind you I don't by Norton.

Yeah, I ripped everything out of it I don't want, and made an unattended boot disk. If I want to install it, I just pop it in, select the partition, and come back in 45 minutes to it fully loaded. Next task is to intergrate some applications into the install.

I do believe I may have found someone who reinstalls more often than I do....

I'll have to write this down so people quit teasing me!!

Btw, how come you install so many times to make such things worthwhile?

I haven't used it since it was first released. From the way you're sounding, I think I'll go give it a try again.

I prefer it to 32bit. Somehow it seems cleaner. Oh and I think it's up to SP2 now.... it runs the same schedule as Server 2003... 64bit explorer still doesn't seem to run windows update though

 

[spirilis]

^^ Oddly Spirillis the more people move away from Microsoft and the more Microsoft start to listen, the more I like them...

I think I'll be one of the old bastion in the end. Still using windows when everyone else has gone over to linux.

The competition, at least, has been SORELY needed for over a decade. The free/open source software paradigm was exactly what we needed to rustle Microsoft's feathers, as Microsoft itself has proven itself time and time again that it can steamroll any capitalism-inspired threat. I believe I read that Bill Gates was a likely ENTJ; his company's cutthroat precise business strategy would certainly corroborate that.

 

[millerm277]

Btw, how come you install so many times to make such things worthwhile?

There are currently 13 computers hooked up in this house, 6 of which run 24/7. So, take however many reinstalls you do, and multiply it by at least 6. (Especially since some of the other members of this household DO manage to get a lot of malicious software.)

In addition, I'm constantly messing around with things on my machines, and inevtiably, at some point, something breaks. (That doesn't happen very often anymore, when I first got into computers 8 years ago it did.) Plus, I don't keep any data on the partition the OS is on, so it isn't a big deal.

 

[Xander]

The competition, at least, has been SORELY needed for over a decade. The free/open source software paradigm was exactly what we needed to rustle Microsoft's feathers, as Microsoft itself has proven itself time and time again that it can steamroll any capitalism-inspired threat. I believe I read that Bill Gates was a likely ENTJ; his company's cutthroat precise business strategy would certainly corroborate that.

Oh hell no... your not getting away with besmirching that type with THAT brush!!! Bill Gates is untypable except as an ass.

(See.. now no one get's hurt)


Still reading through the Windows 7 blog makes me think this competition may yet bring out the best in MS, whatever that turns out to be.

There are currently 13 computers hooked up in this house, 6 of which run 24/7. So, take however many reinstalls you do, and multiply it by at least 6. (Especially since some of the other members of this household DO manage to get a lot of malicious software.)

In addition, I'm constantly messing around with things on my machines, and inevtiably, at some point, something breaks. (That doesn't happen very often anymore, when I first got into computers 8 years ago it did.) Plus, I don't keep any data on the partition the OS is on, so it isn't a big deal.

Well I only keep reinstalling cause I tinker.. too many optimisation programs and small tweaks..

Oh and I'm only on 10 years since my first PC. I still break them as often (if not more) it's just I know more about fixing them now