InTheSand wrote:
My 2c worth:
XP will do just fine until Microsoft stops releasing fixes for it - this is probably the OS to stick with for now if you've already bought and paid for it (though if you're stuck at SP1, I wonder!!!)
It seems the PC I'm using now (old P3) doesn't like anything over SP1. My friend tried SP2 on it before he gave it to me and it apparently just ran sluggish on everything.
SP1 seems to work fine. I just make sure to set up the firewall properly before connecting to the net for the first time and I also disable Java in Firefox. I don't appear to get Viruses. I do a spyware scan now and then though.
AndrewBell wrote:
Yes, XP has a few more years yet. Many people still use 98, and the signs are that XP could keep going for just as long.
Hi Andrew.
Yeh I was using 98 myself for ages after I gave up with Amiga. In-fact, I only ever really went to XP on a whim.
I tried XP out "for the heck of it". I don't think I realised at the time that it would be the OS so many people are having trouble breaking free from. I personally thought 98 did everything it needed to when I had it - the same way people think about XP now I guess.
benJamin wrote:
Personally, when running older games, Linux with Wine is compatible with more games than Windows. Most of the focus of Wine is making the new Windows games work on Linux (esp. WoW, etc.).
I have a quad-boot (Fedora, Windows, AROS and Amiga Forever(KX Light), and I almost NEVER boot directly into the other partitions. If I really need to use Windows, I boot it in the VM.
I don't think people realise exactly how much can be done without using Windows. The belief of the situation that Linux doesn't play PC games is also nowhere near as vast as some make out.
I like a lot of old games myself, so Wine sounds excellent.
Belial6 wrote:
The one thing I would suggest if you decide to dual boot is to get a second hard drive.
You can then use the BIOS boot selector to pick which drive you want to boot to.
The only real thing that I'm worried about is something I came across once when trying Ubuntu:
Whenever I had a SATA and a PATA HDD in at the same time it basically refused to make the GRUB boot area thingy on the SATA drive (which was naturally where I wanted the OS installed).
Not that huge a deal - I could just s*d IDE – kinda hoping they've fixed the bug by now though. If not I'll prolly do it your way. Cheers!
da9000 wrote:
Fixer dude, your whole conversation is speculation. I don't even see the complication in decision making:
If you've got the computer and you want or feel like installing/running Linux, AROS, or whatever other OS and you CAN, I say do it, just because you CAN.
Thinking about the argument I had with him again, in retrospect, I should have just said that sentence of yours I've highlighted (bold) straight after he went mad at me for mentioning Linux.
It would have saved a lot of time. Unfortunately I have this bad habit of getting into the most stupid of conversations and arguments with my brothers. You know how it is...
Not trying it, well then, I can see a lot of harm: lost opportunity to learn and expand your knowledge and experience (even negative experiences are helpful: they tell you what not to try next time, or what to improve yourself in next time)
Oh I definitely plan to try it. I ain't going the Vista route and what's the point of having a 64bit machine without a 64bit OS?
It's pretty much a deciding factor for me now I think. Compare the next-gen OSes, and Vista just doesn't quite make the cut.
Chubbyrain wrote:
I'd stay well away from Vista, which was essentially forced on a user base who didn't want it. Typical Microsoft really. We'll only make DX10 for Vista so in three years you HAVE to buy our product if you want to play games.
Yeh I heard about this; disgusting really.
Still, another reason for me not to migrate to that OS. Not that I would anyway, when navigating Vista there's something about it that I just can't stand!
koaftder wrote:
Don't worry about what your brother or anybody else has to say about OS choice. People for the most part learn how to use one thing and pretty much stick with it. If somebody who uses windows all the time and doesn't have specific computing needs, linux will probably piss them off even if everything works. My girlfriend has used windows her whole life, and when she for some odd reason runs into a situation where she has to use one of my macs, it buggs her.
She gets caught up on stupid stuff like location of icons and keyboard short cuts. Oh well.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there as far as my brother is concerned.
When someone says I've been taught how to use the computer or know how to use one, what they really mean is they know how to operate Windows. If kids grow up with them, casually using them, then anything else would be like learning a new language I guess.
I still don't understand why most schools and things (in this country) force you to use a commercial OS and office software.
