Get rid of Microsoft Windows - use Ubuntu!
July 11th 2007 03:31
I've grown up on Windows, and MS-DOS before it, so I feel as if I've been there the whole time Microsoft has ruled the PC world with a spiked, iron fist. Sure, Windows 3.1 was slick when it came out (though, not to Mac users), and Windows 95 was a further improvement. Somewhere along the line, though, Microsoft stopped pushing the cutting-edge, and sat back on it's bloated hindlegs, stopping only to sniff at its own mess.
I can't begin to tell you all the things I dislike about Microsoft software: from the general look (sterile greys and blues), to the annoying popup 'assistant', to the embedding sales pitch in Word, to the automatic 'updates', to the irritating DRM schemes.
More? Ok: the bloat of Office, the haphazard organization of the files and directories, the vulnerability to security issues, the stagnation of Explorer until Firefox came along, the horrible math equations, the nasty looking charts, the patches, etc, etc, over and over...!
So, what? Well, Windows costs you about $200, if you bought it straight out.
'Ha! You fool! Windows comes FREE when you buy a computer!' you're snortling right now.
Well, no. The cost of the computer is increased by $100-$200 depending on the Microsoft packages that come with the computer. It's a money-making scheme that would make Rockafeller insanely jealous.
So, what? What can an average person like me do?
I'll tell you what: I went open-source. Instead of battling with commercial software, feeling angry after paying for software, I realized that I didn't need to pay anymore.
I'm not a designer, or an artist, or a musician. Pretty much, I use the computer for the Internet, to write documents, send emails, watch movies and play games.
I installed Ubuntu.
Ubuntu belongs to the Linux family - now, wait, don't get scared... Linux used to be the operating system of hardcore computer nerds that tell jokes in binary, but it's come a long way, baby.
As much as Windows has evolved to keeping you from doing the things that you want to do, Ubuntu has moved in the other direction, making a total user experience.
It's not perfect, which is why it's constantly being updated. I have released 7.04, and 7.10 is coming out pretty soon.
The first thing that you'll notice when you install Ubuntu is that it looks and feels better... with human shades of brown and beige, it's warm and compelling, instead of strict.
The second thing you'll realize is that it's totally free, and so are most of the applications. Download it here, or request a free CD in the mail here.
Use it as many times as you like. Pass it around like a 'Piccadilly whore'.
Now, getting to work. Ubuntu comes pre-installed with a movie player, an internet browser, an email client, a messenger tool and OpenOffice. OpenOffice replaces Microsoft Office, and reads Office's files, so you can begin to make the steps towards a Microsoft-free existence.
Missing something? Click on Add/Remove and a list of available software will come up. Here's the brilliant part... in Windows, you'd have to download an installer, click it, install it and hope it works. If it needs an additional package, you'd have to go and find that before you could use the app.
In Ubuntu, it's much easier... just click on the app that you'd like to install and Ubuntu will download it for you, install it, and install any needed files to go along with it. It's seemless and is a real joy to use.
Of course, there are some downsides... it's run by a community, so in order to fix something, or do something different, you have to go on the net and browse through forums to find hints on how to get something working.
But it's worth it. Take back your desktop!
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Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
They don't meet needs, Microsoft does, and does it very well, you don't get a fancy UI from MS, but you get a robust operating system. People can go on and on about how Windows crashes though it doesn't crash no more than Ubuntu or OS X but can run far more software than either.
Microsoft, for instance, moved for the win32 kernel to the NT kernel when it jumped from windows 98 to windows XP, they retained backwards compatibility, up to 99% I think, and then some. The Mac OS lost all backwards compatibility when it went to OS X, and even now backwards compatbility isn't retained with every new iteration of the OS to the same degree as Windows.
So what can the open source community do to really move in on Microsofts terrirtory? Start thinkingi n terms of needs, not wants, start treating what they do as work, not some pansy community get together, do boring stuff like implementing efficient and robust windows emulators.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
That and maybe you had a bit too much crapware installed on your computer.
Comment by Damo
Unfortunately I am still tethered due to the applications I use. Also in business you cannot just walk in with a linux built product and expect it to perform the same in windows. In short: I use it because I am forced to.
C:\Dos\Run
Run Dos run.
I remember those deadly day so well.
Microsoft still have not address it basic flaws.
1-The inability to directly allocate a block of memory to a program.
2-It terrible way of leaking memory that causes errors over time.
These problems still exist today in Microsoft and are the cause of most of its inherent errors and need to reboot.
Linux and OSX have addressed those issues years ago when Unix was a pup. That is why Linux became the prefered low budget internet server it just stayed up for months without needing a reboot.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
I'd like to see a source on the memory leaks on Windows XP.
Comment by Damo
The technical documentation is buried under the other 15 years technical documentation I have collected and in many cases written.
It is well know thing in the professional IT world and I have done plenty of bench testing to display it.
The problem occur when MS takes some of the ram to run a program then does not release it all when the program closes. This leave non contigous gaps in the ram that another program must spread it self across. Performance of the computer declines over time.
Reboot the box every few days and hey presto good as new.
I could go into the technical reasons why this fixes the problem but I don't want to fill up Cibuannos post with technical jargon.
If Microsoft Vista has fixed that problem then I would be excited.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Comment by Damo
So far I have no reason to upgrade.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks