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[kedawa]

Why would any one ever install windows with anything other than the most current install disc?

[bloodline]

Why would any one ever install windows with anything other than the most current install disc?

The last Windows I bought was XP... I have no desire to buy a newer version as I only use it to run legacy software in Bootcamp.

[persia]

Microsoft's share of all "personal devices" -- which include PCs, smartphones, and tablets -- is only around 30 per cent.

[Thorham]

Why would any one ever install windows with anything other than the most current install disc?

Perhaps because someone doesn't have the latest version, but only the one with service pack 2 :rolleyes:

[Duce]

Always baffled me why people don't use slipstreamed versions for installs.

I've been using nLite for years and can't imagine not using it.

[TCMSLP]

Wow, there seems to be heaps of hate and misinformation here about Linux.  

I run Linux almost exclusively.  The only app I lack under Windows is Cubase.  I have a lot of history, investment and time/experience tied up in Cubase.

Photoshop?  For what most of us do, GIMP is actually more than sufficient.   I know many professional photographers who do the majority of their post processing in GIMP.   I personally use Darktable (an Adobe Lightroom clone) as my only RAW image converter/processor.    I also do video editing using OpenShot and 3D modelling/rendering (again for video) using Blender.

These are fantastic software packages, not half-arsed buggy 'compile from source', 'lib dependency hell' packages.   Most software you could ever want is available in standard (or extended) repos.  It just works.

As for drivers, I've not had any driver issues for years.   This isn't even true of Windows, which still seems to require additional drivers for basic things like printers, some USB chipsets (USB3?), any even slightly unusual soundcards etc.

Window managers - how can choice be a bad thing?  People love OSX because it's different.  People also love KDE, Gnome, Xfce etc - different solutions for different people.  Some like the window manager to hide in the background, others like gadgets and interactive toys to brighten up their desktop experience.

There seems to be a huge amount of hate for Unity but ... you know what?  It's mostly just a launcher;   It launches apps.  I spend most of my time actually using applications - not bitching about the lack of some wizzy composite effect, or the fact I now have to right click whereas before I could left click.  

Check out these packages, then their windows (or OSX) equivalents (and their costs) and you may find yourself reconsidering Linux.

Darktable: http://www.darktable.org/ (Canon/Nikon/Pentax/Sony etc RAW editor)
OpenShot: http://www.openshotvideo.com/
Blender: http://www.blender.org/
GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/
Libre Office: http://www.libreoffice.org/

Linux *is* now a mature OS with mature applications.  Your decade (or more) worth of Windows experience may not be easily transferable, but then this would be equally true if you moved to OSX (which is also rock solid with superb applications), or any other desktop OS.

It's sad that I feel the need to defend Linux on an Amiga forum.  You guys are dismissing a whole world of quality free software - you're seriously missing out.

Seriously, I can't give enough thanks to the developers of Darktable, Openshot, Blender and GIMP plus Linux / OSS in general.   Having such amazing software available for free is just incredible.

[Iggy]

Perhaps because someone doesn't have the latest version, but only the one with service pack 2 :rolleyes:

 
Thank you!
Virtually all commercial WinXP CDs are SP2 or earlier.
Win Vista came out before Win XP SP3.
 
The XP Media Center CDs I have (XP SP2) came with free upgrade offers for Vista.
 
"Why would any one ever install windows with anything other than the most current install disc? "
 
Because some of us actually pay for our install media.

[Iggy]

Thanks TCMSLP,
I wholly agree that Linux is a mature and complete useful alternative to commercial, closed OS'.

[TheBilgeRat]

Why would any one ever install windows with anything other than the most current install disc?

If you aren't pirating it, you get the one that came on your purchase disk?  That may not be current or service packed.

EDIT: Iggy beat me to it

[persia]

Never heard of slipstreaming?

http://lifehacker.com/386526/slipstream-service-pack-3-into-your-windows-xp-installation-cd

If you aren't pirating it, you get the one that came on your purchase disk?  That may not be current or service packed.

EDIT: Iggy beat me to it

[commodorejohn]

Photoshop?  For what most of us do, GIMP is actually more than sufficient.   I know many professional photographers who do the majority of their post processing in GIMP.

GIMP's functionality is aces, but its interface sucks. It's a halfway clone of Photoshop that doesn't actually finish the cloning and is thus not nearly as usable. I haven't gotten a chance to try "single-window mode" in GIMP, but I would be very surprised if it was much better, given how braindead the UI was before - though at least it shouldn't be spraying windows all over creation and not even showing enough intelligence to keep its own document windows from overlapping its tool palettes, anymore.

These are fantastic software packages, not half-arsed buggy 'compile from source', 'lib dependency hell' packages.   Most software you could ever want is available in standard (or extended) repos.  It just works.

And as long as "most software you could ever want" (read: whatever software the maintainers have felt like adding) is good enough, then you only have to worry about the baffling number of packages that, say, Synaptic concludes are mutually exclusive even though they have nothing to do with each other, or that depend on libraries that will muck up existing libraries that other applications depend on (yay, PulseAudio!)

And when the program you want isn't in the repository, well, it isn't. You get to build it from source anyway, because the developer might have one old compile for one of the eleventy billion deprecated ABI versions on whichever architecture they happen to use, which is invariably different from whatever your setup is. And of course you'll have to install all the prerequisite libraries, hopefully they're in the repository, and in versions that are compatible with the program you're trying to build!

As for drivers, I've not had any driver issues for years.

Why is it that so many people think "well I've never had any trouble!" is a meaningful response to the people who have?

Check out these packages, then their windows (or OSX) equivalents (and their costs) and you may find yourself reconsidering Linux.

GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/

GIMP is the last straw that drove me away from Linux.

Your decade (or more) worth of Windows experience may not be easily transferable, but then this would be equally true if you moved to OSX (which is also rock solid with superb applications), or any other desktop OS.

Actually, I've had a much easier time of it acclimating to OSX merely on a hobby basis when using my PowerBook for writing purposes than I did in my multiple attempts to fully switch over to Linux on a daily-driver basis.

[TheBilgeRat]

GIMP's functionality is aces, but its interface sucks.

I love linux, but I have to agree here.  I dislike gimp as well.

[partycentralpartygirl]

I love linux, but I have to agree here.  I dislike gimp as well.

I love PAINT.NET it's perfect for small jobs. Though it's not available for linux. I tried gimp as well and wasn't a big fan either.

[psxphill]

It's sad that I feel the need to defend Linux on an Amiga forum.

How does Linux have any relationship at all to the Amiga?

[TheBilgeRat]

How does Linux have any relationship at all to the Amiga?

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/03/17/why-linux-is-the-new-amiga/

[PanterHZ]

Funny, but I don' find that much difference between 98 and ME, except that ME has more drivers built in and requires the CD less often when adding hardware.

Then again, people gave Vista a bad rap, and it might deserve it more in that it is more crash prone then its predecessor (ME is not, in fact its pretty much a polished version of '98).

I've been using Windows since version 3.0 and each time a new version comes out there's always some part of the market that dislikes the new version. Then, eventually, enough people adopt it (or wait) that it becomes a hit (or a miss).

A lot of software for Windows 9x (especially games) simply refused to work with ME, while the same software could be made to work with XP by configuring the compatibility settings. All of this left ME stuck in the middle, where it's usefulness got seriously limited.

What I find funny is how quickly some people forget the past. Because what happened when Vista was launched, is exactly what happened when XP was launched as well. As a matter of fact, the issues with no longer working drivers was much worse with the switch from 98 to XP.