Windows, Mac, or Linux?

[Phil]

I'm a little curious as to what operating system people prefer in the lounge. Personally, I am a Windows man. I like to be able to have a user friendly operating system that I can also have complete controll over, The best part of windows is DOS. If you know how to work it right, you can have a nice, fast computer. But, I want to hear what everyone else prefers.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Mac osX, whichever is the latest version is, is what I use, and I couldn't be happier. It is so user friendly, never crashes, and does what I want it to do whenever I want it to. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to windows.

 

[Phil]

Well, it would seem that Mac is getting better. I used to have an iMac and all it would do was crash. Some days I could get a paper or two done, but I could never get on the internet and I could never play any games...well... there never were many games anyways. I love Windows though because there's the task manager, better known as Ctrl-Alt-Del, and the command prompt and the real life saver, DOS. MAC just doesn't have thatm abd frankly, I can't live without them.

 

[scotrace]

There are a lot of Mac folk here

Frankly, if you haven't used a Mac with OSX, there's no discussion. And if you had one that crashed (you were doing something very wrong in any case to make that happen), you didn't have a finished version of OSX.

 

[harmonslide]

Windows irritates me a lot, and is noticeably less reliable than the Mac and Linux systems I've used... however, it's the thing I use anyway. Although I've been tempted to switch to a Mac, I don't have the patience with technology to give a go at Linux.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Well, it would seem that Mac is getting better. I used to have an iMac and all it would do was crash. Some days I could get a paper or two done, but I could never get on the internet and I could never play any games...well... there never were many games anyways. I love Windows though because there's the task manager, better known as Ctrl-Alt-Del, and the command prompt and the real life saver, DOS. MAC just doesn't have thatm abd frankly, I can't live without them.

I may be wrong, but doesn't ctrl-alt-dlt re-boot the computer, or does it just shut down the program one is running? Mac doesn't have that because they don't need it, they never freeze up, never crash. They do have a "force quit" option, just in case, and very rarely, one of the programs you are running doesn't respond. I'm impressed with the speed of the internet. It doesn't matter how many programs I have open, it's still quite fast. My laptop has been running without shutting it down for weeks now, and I can't remember the last time I shut down my desk top. As for the limited amount of games, there is a much bigger selection now.

 

[Twitch]

I don't know about "prefer" but I have XP on my machine. I've been messing with PCs since when DOS 1.0 was around and can say my installation of XP home edition is the most bullet proof Windows version I've had yet. Only like 5-6 freeze ups in 4 1/2 years.[huh]

 

[Phil]

You are somewhat right about Ctrl-Alt-Del, the old programming used to stop whatever program you were engaged in. The recent Ctrl-Alt-Del just shows what processes are running. It will restart the computer if you go nuts and keep hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del more than three times. My computer rarely freezes up, but I will admit I am cheating because my processor is overclocked. But that's more for the video games than anything.
I don't think Linux is bad overall, I just think in the wrong hands it's bad. Since it is open to user change and customization, there's also a large chance that something is going to break. I mean, if someone out there has the knowledge and patience to use Linux, more power to you, but I like Windows because it's simple, I can't screw up anyhting that bad, no one else can screw anything up for me, and I have had bad experiences with MAC.

 

[Andykev]

XP Pro for me

My desktop SONY Viao is great with Windows XP Professional. Never a problem. And it is very smart with plug in devices, ie cameras, scanners....I am very happy. I don't like Micosoft's practices, but they are in a business to make money and have done well. and the piracy and THIEVES out there have forced Microsoft to make things tough for honest people. Like all the "product codes" and "warning your version if windows is not valid"...hummm it was last time I logged on, something change?

However. my LAPTOP, the HP Pavilion, originally shipped with Windows ME. This is the "miserable edition".... the WORST. I upgraded my laptop to XP Pro. but many of the components don't like working with XP. I have avoided doing a complete format of the laptop. So what I have is XP on top of ME as an upgrade. I hear that is the less desirable way to do it. But for what I use it for, the laptop only freezes up on occasion, and I suspect it is due to getting warm when used in the car.

 

[Rosie]

Mac OS X, that's it, forever. (well at least until they come up with whatever they will come up with next)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Never used anything but a Mac -- started with OS7.5, went thru all the variations of 8 and 9, and have 10.4 on my laptop. (Still have 9.2 on my desktop machine, though -- it's seven years old, and well on its way to becoming "vintage" by computer standards...)

 

[Pilgrim]

I started using an IBM Displaywriter (featuring 8" floppy drives) in about 1983 - soon went to early PCs. Started creating my own web pages about 1990. I've been through DOS starting about DOS 5, and now use XP and XP Pro at work. Knowing simple DOS commands like the wild card character * is very helpful at times.

I've used Mac OS machines only occasionally, and only to attempt to do graphics or audio/video editing. Most of the time, this has resulted in my spending 90% of the time trying to navigate a system which seems to have been written using terms found in pidgin Swahili, and 10% actually doing work. I confess that I don't understand:

• The Mac OS commands terminology (finder???? Wotinheck is a "finder"???)
• The program structure
• The icons

As a result, I am completely frustrated when trying to use a Mac. The terms mean nothing to me, I can't find my way around, and I simply can't use the thing.

However, I DO understand terms like:

• Drive
• Find
• Directory / folder
• File
• Search

...all of which to me are perfectly logical metaphors and directions for operating a computer.

In other words, I have been trained to operate in Windows system terminology and process, and I find the Mac terminology extremely obscure and confusing. That's my problem, not Apple's, but I have no reason to even consider buying one of their machines. Also, you can buy so much more computer for your $$ in the PC world that there is no financial prompt for me to consider Mac.

YMMV and it often does.

 

[Briscoeteque]

I'm a Mac person all the way, and have been since I peaced out from DOS. It is way more expensive, but so much more intuitive and reliable. I have had one massive error in my 14 years on the Mac, and it was on my Perfoma 630CD. Whatever it was fixed itself after I booted from the CD a couple of times. Beyond that, Never a problem with Apple Softwere or Hardwere. Some things are annoying, like sometimes my laptop feels like ignoring my external monitor, but I would be really surprised if that was the biggest PC problem on the Other side. Also, my Wireless mouse has kind of a short battery life when not using lithium batteries, and it takes a few tries to start it up with new batteries. That's really it. There aren't too many games, but most games are horrible today anyway. The only one I wish I had was Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and I just want them to make another Escape Velocity and Fallout any time soon. I have had some amazing gaming experiences, being a mean China in C&C, Generals, showing that Terran was worth something in Starcraft, and laughing hystarically at No One Lives Forever.

Windows is getting better, and now that Macs will be able to run both Windows and Mac means I'll get everything. Though my Powerbook G4 named Irina is still doing everything I need it to do.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

A lot of opinions are right here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=10356

 

[J. M. Stovall]

We've been down this road before. Mac people are Mac people, PC people are PC people, and you'll never* be able to convince the other to switch.

*Well, almost never.

 

[Pilgrim]

Y'know, I think it boils down to two things:

1) All people's brains are different. We've all encountered software that made sense to us, and other software that we canNOT understand. I think that the Mac and PC operating systems are good examples of this. Some people's wiring makes them more pre-disposed to one of the two systems.

2) What we're trained to use tends to be what we prefer. Yes, there are lots of people who have moved from A to B, or B to A, or who use A at work and B at home. But for most people, once they're comfortable with an OS, they'd like to stay with it. This is why Apple's decision to support computing at the K-12 level was SO smart - they introduce kids to their OS early. It's why they're still around.

Both work fine, but your pre-dispositions and experiences with factors #1 and #2 above probably have the most to do with which OS you prefer.

 

[Phil]

Well put. That sould be a quote somewhere. But it is true, very well said.

 

[Godfrey]

Old thread - but worth an update!

iPad! Very easy and simple way to browse the Lounge. Gave up on trying to controlling everything in windows and never looked back.

Looking forward to the Fedora lounge app!:eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

A decade ago, I badly wanted a Mac. Microsoft were the Big Bad then. Now, I've completely reversed. I've never fond anything on a Mac that was superior in any way for my purposes (I know they're great for certain design issues, video editing and some other things - none of which I use). They're also typically twice the price of a PC which more than does my job. Now that Microsoft have been snipped and they are obliged to facilitate other browsers and media players, and they have provided a stable OS (I have had very positive experiences with both XP and Windows 7), I have no problem with them. I have, on the other hand, a profound dislike for Apple's attempts to box the user in to an 'all-Apple' environment. To be honest, though, the thing I dislike most about Apple, and the truest reason I will never again buy anything from them other than an iPod, is their smug lifestyle-marketing. Massive turnoff. I love the idea of a tablet, but I'm waiting for one at half the price with twice the spec of the iPad. Going by the development of the iPhone, that's about a year away now.

 

[tonyb]

I got a Mac mostly because Mac is the standard in the industry I was working in back when I had to finally buy myself a home computer, and I've stuck with them ever since. I couldn't agree more with Edward's observation on Apple's marketing strategies, though. I can't help but feel like a bit of a chump whenever I send money their way.

Truth is, I know (and care to know) about as much about digital technology as a typical 16-year-old girl knows about automobiles -- we both just want the thing to work. To Apple's credit, most everything with their logo affixed that I've bought over the years has done just that, quite reliably, with one irritatingly memorable exception. It was a G4 iMac (the bowling ball iMac) that had major problems (failed hard drives and the like) repeatedly from the moment it came out of the box. My dealings with Apple had me pulling out what remained of my hair. I all but begged them to just swap it with an identical machine, as I wanted a computer that spent more time on my desktop than in the repair shop. They wouldn't do it. Fortunately, the retailer (a small chain out here in the Northwest, then called the Computer Store and the Mac Store now) agreed to do the swap. They won my loyalty.

Just a few weeks ago my wife and I bought her iPad from that independent retailer. The gizmo is, for her purposes, actually superior to a "full-blown" computer. She just loves the thing.