[Argyris]

Quote:

If you purchase Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate, then you can install an additional 30 foreign language packs and switch seamlessly among different languages on the same computer for different users. I find this to be a key advantage because I graduated with a degree in Linguistics and I studied foreign languages.

Now if they could just come up with an easier way of generating IPA characters, we'll be in business. I know that third party solutions probably exist, but OSX has much more robust support for this sort of thing OOB than any version of Windows. Transcription is a pain, even using those web pages with all the symbols laid out. I'd much rather have a simpler method involving a keyboard than clicking around on a screen or else memorizing arcane Unicode codes.

 

[shigzeo]

Well, if they require third-party tools, it means searching for those things on internet. Imagine doing that if you don't understand the language, or cannot use, say the English language very well because your OS isn't in your language. It shouldn't require third-party tools or the ultimate version of the OS. Linux is out of box that way and so too, is OSX. Two clicks and you have another language across everything in your system. I'm not talking about language input, I'm talking about entire language for the OS.
 
7 seems okay, it's just full of too many inconsistencies in design and use to really get me excited again about windows.
 
Quote:

Well, additional languages can be installed on non-Ultimate versions of Vista/7. Third party tools make the job easy.
 
Also, there are modded drivers for Intel integrated chipsets which run quite acceptably.

 

[Roller]

Third party tools are used for some versions of Windows 7. Ultimate and Enterprise have additional languages without third party tools.
 
Windows 7 is very usable by just about any hardware. Though many netbooks might have a harder time running it, they are weaker than most mainstream 2005 mobile hardware. The main flaw I see in Windows 7 is not being made for touch-enabled devices, which for me is irrelevant as I like physical buttons

 

[LantherZero]

I use debian, netBSD, and openBSD.
 
They are all much much more secure than windows (especially openBSD), scale better, have more 64 bit applications, better hardware support (even microsoft can't lie about this one), are far more stable when properly configured, and don't need to reboot after an update. I've seen servers running debian that have well over a year of uptime with no problems.
 
The whole thing about windows having better audio software and support for better audio hardware is no longer true. Every major unixlike supports all of the headroom DACs perfectly, and all the best media players for windows have either been ported to other OSs or run flawlessly in WINE.
 
Installing software in most unixlikes is worlds easier than on windows. You know the app store for the iPhone and iPod touch? The package managers in most linux distros make that look obscenely difficult to use, and BSD has a similar system that is a slight bit less user friendly but much more powerful than all but a few linux package managers.
 
With unixlikes, you have a wide choice of desktop environments. There's the major ones, like KDE and Gnome (both of which I think look better than windows' DE) and then there's standalone window managers like openbox, fluxbox, awesomeWM, DWM, and my favorite by far, XMonad. This isn't nearly as important as the other advantage of unixlikes, but is definitely an advantage.
 
I don't want to pay a couple hundred dollars for a product that's inferior in every measurable way to one that doesn't cost a cent. To me this seems about as good a choice as buying a pair of marked up dre beats when someone is offering you an HD800 for free.

 

[Roller]

As far as I've read, WINE can't run foobar2000 with USB DACs at all. But this info might be a bit dated. And a few DJ apps run with so many bugs that renders WINE an unsuitable mean to use those apps outside native environment, Windows.
 
But of course that *nix has a huge potential to do just about anything. It just takes someone or a group of people to really put some effort in developing and supporting a distro.
 
Btw, is there any distro that handles audio hardware better?

 

[yooss]

I was pretty much satisfied with amaroK when I secretly installed Kubuntu on a dorm computer

, though I couldn't get the OS itself to work on my laptop. I'm not blaming Kubuntu, I'm blaming my laptop. AMD Mobile Duron 900MHz(my phone is 1GHz btw. what a joke) was OK. HDD maximum read speed of 9MB/s was something I couldn't bear.
 
I just quit and switched back to Windows FLP. After that I just threw it away. I'm just using the dorm computer. Using a public computer as my main machine is a pain in the a** but what can I do? I'm out of money.
 
And I just spent $350 on an IEM. I don't regret it. Yes I know I can get a decent used 14'' laptop for that money.

 

[jipan]

Right now, I'm using Linux for all my computer activities. I found it perfectly capable, and the most important is it is stable and old hardware friendly. Once I still dual-booting Linux and Windows XP (I don't like the resources-hog called vista), but now I almost completely switched to linux. I boot my windows only when there are some interesting DotA replay (I mostly retire from DotA, just watching some replay now and then). I just wish there is a software as good as foobar2000. You know, there isn't any programs comparable to foobar2000 in linux (CUE handling capability, very light, customized-able interface).
I love linux, I tweak it as much as I want and like, and it still perfectly light on hardware.
 
I've wanting to test Windows 7 for sometimes now, but my old hardware just not that powerful: a 6years PC (p4 2,6GHz processor; 865GV chipset motherboard, 512Mb ram, onboard gpu), and a 3years notebook (T3200 processor, 965G chipset 1 Gb ram).
 
Quote:

-.pub files are unopenable.

Try CALIBRE (available for Windows, Linux and Mac), a VERY VERY POWERFUL ebook management tools. If you want simplicity, try EPUBReader, a Firefox addon which enabling you open and read epub files in Firefox.

 

[Brooko]

Linux definitely isn't for everyone - but for those who are prepared to treat the OS for what it is (rather than trying to constantly compare it to Windows), and are prepared to take the time to learn, the rewards can definitely be worth it.  One of the biggest issues I've seen has been when people who are very competent with Windows (almost 'power-users') try to make the switch - but can't leave their 'windows-ways' behind.  They usually end up getting so frustrated, they often don't stay long enough to learn.  Unfortunately that's also where linux gets it's worst press - competent windows users who were unable to get linux working quickly enough.  Unfortunately a lot then unfairly slag it.
 
I advocate using the tool you are most comfortable with, or that's best for the job.  Sometimes that's Windows.  A lot of the time for me, it's Linux - and more specifically Debian (or Debian based distros).
 
A bit of background for qualification.  I'm a self taught computer user - and I'm pretty competent.  What a lot of people would call a 'power-user' with 30 years experience with Windows and DOS.  I see myself as more a hobbyist.  I build my own computers, and have got to learn a lot (or enough to get out of trouble anyway) - both on the hardware and software side.
 
I shifted to Linux (MEPIS - based on Debian & recently pure Debian) 5 years ago.  I still keep Windows for serious gaming - although most of my games apart from the newest now run extremely well on Wine.  I maybe boot into Windows once a week - the rest of the time I use Linux.
 
The unfortunate thing I think is the number of people being introduced to Linux for the first time and thinking Ubuntu = Linux.  A lot of what Ubuntu does is great - but some of the Ubuntu releases have been awful very buggy - and not ready for release.  However - same could be said for Windows as well though - eh?  Anyone remember ME .... and Vista ....   There are some very good distros out there - I'd recommend Mint, PCLinuxOS, and MEPIS for beginners - but for each, take advantage of their forums  - it's the only way to learn.
 
I started 5 years ago knowing nothing.  I ended up helping the MEPIS Community set up a software repository, compiling programs for them, and assisting in a lot of other projects.  What I got out of it was proportional to what I put in.
 
Oh - and IMHO, a lot of the available applications in Linux are as good if not better than Windows counterparts (Amarok for example is a great music manager).  Saying that though, I agree with the posters who've commented about OOo compared to MS Office.  But consider one other point though - OOo has tried to keep within international ISO standards - while MS has consistently operated outside those same standards.  They develop their own proprietary formats which the OOo coders then have to adapt their software to.  A big point there - OOo will read MS docs - but MS doesn't go the other way.  If MS did stick to standards, I think you'd see OOo gain ground.  All MS is doing is trying to protect their patch.
 
Ultimately though - I've seen open source software develop faster and become more innovative.  I really do think you'll see a massive jump in Linux adoption over the next 10 years.  It'll be interesting watching the development anyway

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Right now, I'm using Linux for all my computer activities. I found it perfectly capable, and the most important is it is stable and old hardware friendly. Once I still dual-booting Linux and Windows XP (I don't like the resources-hog called vista), but now I almost completely switched to linux. I boot my windows only when there are some interesting DotA replay (I mostly retire from DotA, just watching some replay now and then). I just wish there is a software as good as foobar2000. You know, there isn't any programs comparable to foobar2000 in linux (CUE handling capability, very light, customized-able interface).
I love linux, I tweak it as much as I want and like, and it still perfectly light on hardware.
 
I've wanting to test Windows 7 for sometimes now, but my old hardware just not that powerful: a 6years PC (p4 2,6GHz processor; 865GV chipset motherboard, 512Mb ram, onboard gpu), and a 3years notebook (T3200 processor, 965G chipset 1 Gb ram).
 
Quote:

-.pub files are unopenable.

Try CALIBRE (available for Windows, Linux and Mac), a VERY VERY POWERFUL ebook management tools. If you want simplicity, try EPUBReader, a Firefox addon which enabling you open and read epub files in Firefox.

Your desktop might struggle a bit with Windows 7, mainly due to the amount of memory you have, but your laptop will be able to handle it with ease. There are modded drivers for your onboard chipset, which do help the system to feel lighter. Btw, your chipset is 965GM, not 965G.

 

[EnOYiN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
You know, there isn't any programs comparable to foobar2000 in linux (CUE handling capability, very light, customized-able interface)..
 

Foobar is one of the reasons I'm mainly using Windows. For linux try deadbeef sometime. I kinda liked that so far.

 

[jipan]

Quote:

Your desktop might struggle a bit with Windows 7, mainly due to the amount of memory you have, but your laptop will be able to handle it with ease. There are modded drivers for your onboard chipset, which do help the system to feel lighter. Btw, your chipset is 965GM, not 965G.

Yeah, I know, I just don't bother upgrading my old pc ram, its DDR, which is obsolete anyway . I just install linux and it run like a breeze. Yes, my laptop will handle it fine, though the time needed for installing windows is really piss me off. Windows installing is so frustratingly slow! Not to mention hdd space it nedd (16gb hdd space minimum? jeeezz, my linux installation need less than 5gb --"). Ops, yes its 965GM thanks for the correction!
Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jipan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
You know, there isn't any programs comparable to foobar2000 in linux (CUE handling capability, very light, customized-able interface)..
 

Foobar is one of the reasons I'm mainly using Windows. For linux try deadbeef sometime. I kinda liked that so far.

Yes, I use deadbeef and gmusicbrowser. deadbeef for cue handling capability, while gmusicbrowser for its files management. I just wish deadbeef has file management, so I don't have to adding files manually. Sometimes I use foobnix, which is actually have all requirement I need, BUT kinda buggy sometimes and when I use it offline, it always giving error prompt (because its last.fm integration).
 

 

[Roller]

jipan, when you decide to install windows 7, pm me and I'll advise on drivers. I'm a member of a group that's dedicated to modding intel drivers. I just corrected you because it does make a difference which chipset it is, the feature sets are differente between each model. Also, you should make a usb drive bootable to install windows 7 from there, is much faster and the method I prefer as it can be tweaked to individual needs if desired.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Just installed a dual boot of windows 7 and ubuntu 10.10 on my toshiba satellite laptop. i also installed compiz fusion and enabled all the effects and i have to say i am loving the features and speed. its so fast and secure. i think i may switch to linux. i am getting more satisfied as time goes by. but i will not get rid of my installation of windows 7. as i have a legal copy and i don't want to lose it.

 

[Argyris]

Quote:

Just installed a dual boot of windows 7 and ubuntu 10.10 on my toshiba satellite laptop. i also installed compiz fusion and enabled all the effects and i have to say i am loving the features and speed. its so fast and secure. i think i may switch to linux. i am getting more satisfied as time goes by. but i will not get rid of my installation of windows 7. as i have a legal copy and i don't want to lose it.

I thought that Compiz has been a standard part of Ubuntu since around 8.10 or so.
 
I'm glad you're enjoying yourself using Linux. I flirt with various distros (usually Ubuntu) from time to time, but for some reason I never end up staying permanently. I'm still tied to Windows for specific things like audio production and such, and of course Foobar2000 hasn't been ported to Linux (and I don't count WINE as a viable solution, least of which because I could never get it to play anything). That and all the little tweaks and quirks involved in getting things to work smoothly keep sending me back to Windows.
 
I did give up MS for a quite a while before I got Windows 7. XP was getting really long in the tooth, and on my old laptop Ubuntu ran rings around any version of Windows I tried installing. For the things it did well, Ubuntu was a joy to use. I managed to knock out about half of my college output using it, and most of my day to day computing needs were well served as well. It was a snap to connect up an external monitor, too, which is something that was always fidgety for me using XP.
 
There seemed to be two distinct possibilities with any distro of Linux I tried: either something would work perfectly, or else it wouldn't work at all and would require a bunch of consulting forums, installing packages, and trial and error to get a usable (if not ideal) workaround. One such example was managing my iPod, which never worked well. Rhythmbox managed to obliterate all my album artwork and rearrange all my playlists randomly, and yet it never managed to put a single song on the iPod, it crashed frequently, and when I noticed that my iPod's metal case had become scalding hot after it had been connected to the computer for about five minutes I decided enough was enough. Songbird didn't do much better (I had to log out then log back in every time I connected the iPod in order for it to be recognized), and Banshee wouldn't even recognize the iPod. Ugh.
 
Other than that, there were a hundred little paper cuts that wore on me, and when I got my new laptop with Windows 7, I found myself suitably impressed and haven't since been back to Ubuntu except for experimentation. That and, when I want to enter the dark alleyways of the Internet, I feel the general obscurity of Linux-based OSs offers me much better protection than any anti-malware program could. Also, it's nice to have a backup just in case something goes terribly wrong on the Windows side--I've got about 20GB dedicated to Ubuntu.

 

[Shike]

I want to like Linux, I really do.  Unfortunately there are just things that I use too much to really say it's worth my time:
 
1)  Flash runs like crap.  Blame it on Adobe, but it does.
 
2)  OpenOffice is a joke compared to MS Office, especially when doing research papers.
 
3)  Driver support.  *nix users can claim they have better support, but that's mostly LEGACY hardware.  When new hardware comes out it's going to almost always be supported on Windows first, if not only on Windows, and perform better on Windows.  Once again you can stamp your feat and blame the manufacturers, but it's the way it is.
 
4)  Crap support and dismal community.  Every time I've had a Linux issue my questions get maybe one or two responses on a forum and then dies.  "Trying to transfer files from a remote desktop Windows machine to your Linux box?  Did you mount the HDD?  An error, I dunno it's probably becuz you're using Winblowz lol amirite every1?" <- summary of one of the responses
 
5)  Application support.  There's usually more choice and superior applications on Windows (kind of goes in hand with #2).  GIMP does not replace photoshop for example.  There really is no replacement for Foobar.  My father does a lot of CAD, good luck doing that on a nix box.
 
 
Like Argyris said, it's like a bunch of little paper cuts that prevent me from really going further with it.