Computer questions and solutions....thereof...

[Kibagari]

Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.

Stick that up your Microsoft-loving arse!

[MrShake]

Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.

Stick that up your Microsoft-loving arse!

Your not helping... I wholeheartedly agree, but still not helping.. hahaahaha

[jonnythan]

[Nalian]

Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.

Stick that up your Microsoft-loving arse!

Dude, I love ubuntu as much as the next linux geek (it's my distro of choice for non-servers) - but to say it's ready as a full windows replacement is just not true. For those who are technically-abled and willing to muddle through documentation..sure. For 'everyone' - f no. The only *nix that is ready for that is OS X, because Apple has figured out how to make the complicated things easy for people who don't need to waste time figuring out how computers work, and just need them to do what they're supposed to.

Playing games under windows emulators sucks donkey balls, too.

Maybe in another year or two when they have a lot of the quirks ironed out. But until then, you still have to go digging into the guts of the OS to fix what should be relatively minor things.

That being said you can absolutely view DVDs natively on linux without breaking any legality laws. I do it all the time.

[MrShake]

Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.

Stick that up your Microsoft-loving arse!

Dude, I love ubuntu as much as the next linux geek (it's my distro of choice for non-servers) - but to say it's ready as a full windows replacement is just not true. For those who are technically-abled and willing to muddle through documentation..sure. For 'everyone' - f no. The only *nix that is ready for that is OS X, because Apple has figured out how to make the complicated things easy for people who don't need to waste time figuring out how computers work, and just need them to do what they're supposed to.

Playing games under windows emulators sucks donkey balls, too.

Maybe in another year or two when they have a lot of the quirks ironed out. But until then, you still have to go digging into the guts of the OS to fix what should be relatively minor things.

That being said you can absolutely view DVDs natively on linux without breaking any legality laws. I do it all the time.

Do you really want to start that argument again? I've spent the last 4 or 5 days disproving exactly this. Ubuntu is more than ready for the mainstream. If it wasn't you wouldn't be able to buy a OEM installed machine from a Tier 1 company.


I think we need to let this subject die.

[Nalian]

Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.

Stick that up your Microsoft-loving arse!

Dude, I love ubuntu as much as the next linux geek (it's my distro of choice for non-servers) - but to say it's ready as a full windows replacement is just not true. For those who are technically-abled and willing to muddle through documentation..sure. For 'everyone' - f no. The only *nix that is ready for that is OS X, because Apple has figured out how to make the complicated things easy for people who don't need to waste time figuring out how computers work, and just need them to do what they're supposed to.

Playing games under windows emulators sucks donkey balls, too.

Maybe in another year or two when they have a lot of the quirks ironed out. But until then, you still have to go digging into the guts of the OS to fix what should be relatively minor things.

That being said you can absolutely view DVDs natively on linux without breaking any legality laws. I do it all the time.

Do you really want to start that argument again? I've spent the last 4 or 5 days disproving exactly this. Ubuntu is more than ready for the mainstream. If it wasn't you wouldn't be able to buy a OEM installed machine from a Tier 1 company.


I think we need to let this subject die.

Do I want to start an agrument? Absolutely not. The biggest problem the linux vs windows world seems to have is the people who use either distro. Rather than having a civil conversation in the thread, it denigrated into an argument, and that's sad because in the end all we're talking about is computers and their capabilities. No one should get upset or mad about that.

What I have said is not untrue. Show me a person who prefers playing games on Linux and is happy about how it performs. Are you right that ubuntu is easy to install and that a lot of things work well out of the box? Absolutely! Does that mean that there aren't major issues that will prevent lots of people from being able to "just switch" - nope.

I think linux will get there - ubuntu is likely to be that distro given the support from Dell. However just because a major vendor offers it, doesn't mean that it is "there" yet.

The DNS/resolvconf issues, the wireless networking issues, compiz still has issues that can cause your screens to go wonky, your windows to lose the ability to move them (thanks for the consistency, emerald/beryl and awn..hah...don't get me started). Open office will do the basics, but that doesn't mean it's ready as a full MS Office replacement - you lose a lot of functionality in moving to it.

Printing under Linux can really suck as well. When it just works and CUPS isn't being a dogs, it can be serviceable.

Minor issues that happen with things like thunderbird can be a nightmare to the typical user once they have to go to the command line to fix things. Can users be taught to do this? Absolutely. If they're committed to trying and reading and learning.

Going it alone, for the average home user, will not be an easy experience beyond the basics.

I'm not saying that Windows > Linux or Linux > Windows - I'm saying lets be realistic about computer users and the issues that still plague the Linux world from breaking through completely. No one should be berated for picking the OS that works best for them, even if their choice is Windows. I've been using both for a long time, and both have their upshots and downsides.

All that said..if you perceive this as an argument rather than a discussion, I'll happily agree to disagree with you, as there's no point in wasting time talking with someone who is angry over stuff like this.

[blues2cruise]

Can we please move on?

OS or cars or bikes.....we all have our likes and dislikes.

Now.....
I need to start saving up for a new system. My system has only 512 of RAM and it has become apparent to me that it is not enough for the work I do. I use the computer for woking on my photographs and making photoshows., etc.
When I am working on the photos in photoshop, it uses a lot of RAM and consequently my computer gets hung up frequently.
So-o-o-o, I need a system with more RAM. The hard drive on this thing is still almost 80% empty.

What would be a good amount of RAM to have so that I can work happily without the constant slow downs?

[MrShake]

Well bluez, theres a lot of factors involved with that question. I think the best answer is a Gig or more of RAM, get as MUCH as you can.

I think, currently its a GREAT time to buy a computer. I've been seeing deals on woot.com and slickdeals.net constantly for GREAT computers at amazing prices.







Now.. I will make one last comment on the linux vs windows debate in this thread. Nalian and Jonythan, you guys are missing the forest for the trees, you guys are stuck in a place that is clouding your vision of what linux really is. I would be happy to continue discussing it in another thread, or via another channel, but no more here, its not fair to people who don't care.

[Nalian]

Mr Shake: given that I use linux for 90% of my personal computing time and 100% of my work time..I don't think I'm missing anything. I'm fortunate enough to be in a linux only shop and I'm thankful for that every day. By all means, though - feel however you want. I certainly don't care!

Can we please move on?

OS or cars or bikes.....we all have our likes and dislikes.

Now.....
I need to start saving up for a new system. My system has only 512 of RAM and it has become apparent to me that it is not enough for the work I do. I use the computer for woking on my photographs and making photoshows., etc.
When I am working on the photos in photoshop, it uses a lot of RAM and consequently my computer gets hung up frequently.
So-o-o-o, I need a system with more RAM. The hard drive on this thing is still almost 80% empty.

What would be a good amount of RAM to have so that I can work happily without the constant slow downs?

What are the stats on your current system? It may be worth upgrading just the memory if the rest of it suits your needs fine. If you know the processor and motherboard information, I (or others) can even point you at a site to tell you the exact type you need to buy so you can price shop it.

[jonnythan]

Mr Shake: given that I use linux for 90% of my personal computing time and 100% of my work time..I don't think I'm missing anything.

Shake's fanboyism is clouding HIS judgment.

My personal server has run OpenBSD, FreeBSD, or Ubuntu for the past 7 years. I admin Solaris machines and run Ubuntu desktop at work. I am tech support for my gf's dad's Caldera and Mandrake installations. I've been using Linux on a daily basis for years. It's insulting, to say the least, when Shake claims that I "don't know what I'm missing" or some such.

Walking a 60 year old man through the process of unmounting a drive via CLI is a huge pain in the butt. Having to compile source code drivers and edit text configuration files just to get sound to work is a huge pain in the butt.

This is my last word on the subject. When it "just works," and all your hardware is supported out of the box, and all the software you may ever need is listed in the package manager, then, yes, Linux works great, despite the fact that X and most window managers aren't quite as stable as Windows + Explorer. Linux greatly outclasses Windows as a server OS, and Linux is highly serviceable and usable as a desktop OS for the user who wants to invest a lot of time and energy into learning the system, but Linux offers typical users absolutely nothing over Windows and typical problems that users run into are much more difficult to solve in Linux than Windows.