Windows trashed

[chrisr]

I am a 'NEWBIE' to this site and have been using windows for the last 10 years, and mac OSs for who knows how long since I have been doing this computer ****. I don't want to get everyone's sphincter in a bunch BUT I see a lot of flaming of Windows on this site. Is Unix/Linux that much better, or is it just a way for all the anti-Bill Gates folks to get their rocks off with each other? I hate the fact that one company has such massive control over the mass market in operating systems but there is no question that, at this point, there is little alternative to MSWIN (or MAC OS as a second) unless you want to settle for half-ass, limited software. I am praying for the day another OS is as functional and has the variety of development.

[Joey_Batch_File]

Personally everyone has their own opinion on which operating systems they like to run. I personally have a fondness to the Windows2K/IcePack combo. As far as Windows bashing goes. It will always happen no matter which operating system the basher uses. As far as linux goes. I can say... Linux is not for everyone, but if computers is your hobby, I would suggest picking it up and playing with it.

[jarhead]

from this newbies point of view m$ should try to release software that works not after all these patches and sr's should i get a os that might work i am new to linux but at least i got a stable platform that has been twisted and tweeked be other users not just tossed on the market to meet a deadline.

imagine what the recall/ ramifications would be like if ford or boeing produced a product with these kinds of massive falures.

it would make me change my travel habits

just my opinion

[Tedob1]

unix and unix flavors are more powerful than windows. it s the os of choice for scientific and graphics work. which is why OS 10 has a unix back end. linux takes a far greater knowledge of the OS to run it with any degree of efficiency than windows does. windows is designed to do everything for you if you don't really know what your doing, which is a really nice feature in a work environment where time saved really gives you more time, even if you know what your doing. i guess it just depends on what you want out of your os
there’s allot of linux users who bash windows just to say to the world they think their superior for taking the time to learn something others don't really care about. i don't get that at all. Linux at one time was real egghead ****. now anyone with half a brain, the penchant to learn it and the time to do it, can. most serious computing minds like linux, all linux users do not have serious computing minds.
The best thing about linux is that its free. people freely contribute to its growth. it belongs to the internet. unlike ms who's software costs to much, is made by people doing a job and wants the internet to belong to it.
my main box is win2k, i like windows, its ms that sucks.

[allenb1963]

I rather prefer to think we pick on all OS's equally here. The reason you see more about M$ is because the OS's released by M$ are inherently less secure than the other OS's on the market, and the end consumer ranks very near the bottom of M$'s priorities where it's products are concerned. I've worked for M$ via subcontractors, and I have some dear friends who work at M$ who are really great people. M$ as a company, however, is actually clueless about what consumers want and need due to their narrow vision that focuses only on revenue streams, henceforth producing programs that do not live up to their full potential.

[Alt+F4]

actually there is nothing wrong with MS, ppl dislike it because they care about the security, and windows are famous for their buys and constant updates. but Ms is originally designed for average computer users, ppl who don't care how computer works, they just want to use it, like Tebod said. even now i use linux, i still keep two other my pc loaded with windows, so i can relax with them after i am tired of playing with linux.

[linuxelite]

Seriously, windows is absolutely great. Everything is so simple, setup, running programs, configuration, installation. Everything is great. You only need linux if you want more power and more direct access to your OS, or if you plan on running a server or network. Linux systems are much more stable then windows, even win2k, (I tested my 2 systems, they're both the exact same) and that if for quite a few reasons. Plus, it is much more configurable, and there is a nice scripting language that you have access to as soon as you install (perl). You can do things like exceed the ping limit you get in windows, you can modify the kernel to do certain things, and that is awesome because as soon as somebody makes changes (which happens often) you can update your kernel, instead of having to wait for an MS upgrade, and spending lots of money. You have access to the best compilers for c++. Most software is free. Servers running under linux can run for along times without need for a reboot or shutdown, and can be better secured, because the user has access to everything, instead of having to get a program to secure everything (windows). With linux, you rarely crash, and even if the GUI does, (x-windows) often the OS will not, because the OS and x-windows are 2 seperate entities. You also get to pick between GUIs, KDE or GNOME, both have their pros and cons, its nice to have a choice. You can download linux for free from tons and tons of sites, mostly ftps. Lots of good things about linux, but windows has tons of great features as well. Its a tough choice.

[avdven]

I have a Windows 2000/NT-based network, as well as a AIX UNIX server administrating over an AIX workstation, a Free BSD workstation, and a few Red Hat boxes. Although I am an avid fan of UNIX (and therefore, to a certain extent, Linux), I still prefer Windows for a variety of reasons. As others have stated, it's simple to use and setup, etc. But, after having worked from MS-DOS 3.0 all the way through Windows .NET Server, I have learned many of the ins and outs of Windows. I do agree that *nix has many more options which can be changed, but everything I could possibly need in a workstation or a server is provided through Microsoft Windows, MS Server products and various other third-party Windows applications. Also, many people state that *nix is inherently more secure than Windows, but, in that, I beg to differ. I'm not sure how many of you have worked with the new .NET Server RC, but nearly everything is in a locked-down state, where they must be specifically activated in order to work. Any OS (be it *nix, MacOS or Windows) can be very secure or very insecure, depending on how it's configured. Many people, for instance, do a typical install of Linux, leaving many features wide open for exploitation. The reason we don't hear about all of the exploits is because 1) *nix OS's are not as widespread as Windows, 2) they're not as notorious as Microsoft and 3) because many people simply don't care or are knowledgable enough to patch the exploit themselves, keeping the distributers from having to worry about it. I'm very happy with both my Windows machines and my UNIX/Linux machines, but I will personally to use Windows for the majority of my applications. My uses for *nix are generally only for development, security testing, and a few temporary servers once in a while when I take my Windows servers down for maintenance, upgrades or replacement.

AJ

[retoor]

I prefer Linux since it gives you free control of what you are doing, it is so much more versatile!

[ashbourn]

I use both alot and I love linux but am in bed with windows (I do not think that makes sence) Windows has tons more support for games and hardware by far, but linux is stable EZ to program for a bit harder to learn but it is great for hosting any thing games, webpages, servers, and it is much much much more secure.