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alright you computer geeks.................

  • Thread starter rattler
  • Start date
who is running Linux......why do you like it..........ive got a new laptop and am considering partitioning the hard drive and giving Linux a whirl.......damn windows in Vista constantly asking me "are you sure you want to do that" are starting to really torque me off......of course i wanted to open Photoshop, i wouldnt have clicked it if i didnt.............
 
The only thing I know about Linux is that it displays the date according to the Discordian calendar or "D.Date". I find it funny the developers would include a program dating system of a calendar from a religion based on stand-up philosophy (comedy) and the five precepts of: chaos, confusion, discord, bureaucracy and international relations. Their sacred Icon is the Pentagon (the building). Discordianism was started by a guy (Kerry Thornley AKA Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst) who was accused by the CIA and prosecutor Jim Garrison of being "a possible shooter" or "in conspiracy with Oswalt" in the JFK assassination... LOL!

From Wikipedia:
"ddate, a program that prints the current date in the Discordian calendar, is part of the util-linux package of basic system utilities. As such, it is included in nearly all Linux distributions.[1"

Sorry, that's all I know about Linux! LOL! :D

My Vista laptop is quite irritating as well - they must be made that way! Every time I open my synth software I get the message "Windows Vista's basic color scheme has been changed, do you want to accept?"

Can you still get a "downgrade" of XP installed or has MS ended the licensing of XP? All the techies at my job in programming swear XP (32 bit) is still their best to date.
 
The appeal of Linux is that with a modest amount of basic skills, some patience and the good sense to get online and ask for help, you can get all of your computer software needs for free. And if you're really good, you can maintain a working system for a decade or more without spending money on hardware upgrades. For someone that does stuff like typography, Linux is a goldmine. There are a bevy of extremely capable layout, publishing and design programs available under open source licenses.
A good example would be the difference between hiring a contractor and doing your own home repair; you can pay to get it done right, or do it yourself. If you don't know what you're doing, it'll end up being a pain in the rear and a general disaster. But if you take the time to learn the actual trades, then you'll save yourself a lot of cash, and if you're sharp you'll probably learn to do some pretty impressive things as well.
~Joe

PS - swords, I feel like you need to know about NetHack.
 
who is running Linux......why do you like it..........ive got a new laptop and am considering partitioning the hard drive and giving Linux a whirl.......damn windows in Vista constantly asking me "are you sure you want to do that" are starting to really torque me off......of course i wanted to open Photoshop, i wouldnt have clicked it if i didnt.............

I should be installing Ubuntu Linux soon on my new computer. I'll tell you then.
 
These days it's pretty easy to download your flavor of choice and get running. For any difficulties you run into, there's a lot of documentation, forums, and other support available. It'd be helpful if you know somebody who knows what's going on, as with all things, but it's not a requirement.

Once you've got things set up, it's all pretty darn easy. In fact, for the general user, things really aren't that different. When you want to go on the web, you start up firefox. When you want to make a spreadsheet, write a document, you use open office (which you should be doing in windows, too!) And then there's thousands of free, fun, open source programs out there to play with. There's everything you could imagine, a lot of it comparable to or better than it's commercial counterparts.

Me, I have my dad to help me when I get stuck, but general operations are all pretty straightforward. Further, I've frozen mac OS, I've frozen every windows edition, but I've yet to freeze my computer while using linux. :p

Can you still get a "downgrade" of XP installed or has MS ended the licensing of XP? All the techies at my job in programming swear XP (32 bit) is still their best to date.

I believe that they recently dramatically raised the price of "downgrading" vista systems to XP. Or at least it was the case for one of the major companies... Dell maybe.

damn windows in Vista constantly asking me "are you sure you want to do that" are starting to really torque me off

I hear that! I like my OS to be transparent, not a system resource hog that'll actually prevent me from performing desired operations.
 
Further, I've frozen mac OS, I've frozen every windows edition, but I've yet to freeze my computer while using linux. :p

Haha, a frozen computer should be the least of your worries with Linux. :p
(But really it's good, use it. Just be ready for the occasional headscratcher.)
~Joe
 
(But really it's good, use it. Just be ready for the occasional headscratcher.)

Headscratchers do happen, definitely. But at least they're not from the operating system actively working against you. :D
 
Hehe. That's always nice, isn't it?
~Joe
 
The great thing about Linux these days is that its not just for geeks anymore. I find that setting up a Linux machine is actually easier and quicker than installing windows. I only use windows for a handful of applications these days, one of those being the occasional game (which is an area linux is lacking in at the moment). If you want to try a very user friendly distro, you can't go wrong with ubuntu. Once you're up and running you can pretty much customize it to look any way that you want. And if you do run into a problem, there is plenty of support to be found on the internet.

-CB
 
  • #10
who is running Linux......why do you like it..........ive got a new laptop and am considering partitioning the hard drive and giving Linux a whirl.......damn windows in Vista constantly asking me "are you sure you want to do that" are starting to really torque me off......of course i wanted to open Photoshop, i wouldnt have clicked it if i didnt.............

"are you sure you want to do that"
First thing I noticed when I started using Vista.
You can turn this annoying feature off.
I think it's under Windows Security Center / User Account Control and turn it Off.
 
  • #11
The sad thing is, there's actually a good reason for it to be on.
~Joe
 
  • #12
the concept is fine, the execution sucks cause by having it pop up for each and every lil thing most ppl just start ignoring it anyway...............
 
  • #13
On the other forums I frequent, XP 32 is generally considered to be the best choice of op system. Vista is bloatware designed to meet the needs of msft and not the users. Open source software is great unless you have a specific program that does not have the drivers required (which is the case for many of my software aps).

If you can get by with the general-use software programs like open office & have a streak for problem-solving, open-source software would be great.

Since Vista was so poorly received, msft seems to be in hurry-up mode for the next iteration of op system. Initial reports have been fairly positive - we'll see if they've learned their lesson (I doubt it).
 
  • #14
all the computers at the office are XP and the old laptop is XP, the new one i bought off Dell's site, it was a as new customer return for alot less than had i built it myself.....was a good buy but Vista was part of the package.....basically all i run are Firefox and Photoshop CS4 but its my understanding photoshop will run fine on Linux if i install WINE
 
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