5 ms·

Well, it is the only operating system that "just works" on a wide range of PC hardware. Pop an XP disk in any system made in the last 5 years and you're up and

Well, it is the only operating system that "just works" on a wide range of PC hardware. Pop an XP disk in any system made in the last 5 years and you're up and running in no time. People don't appreciate how big of a feat that is. If you don't want to shell out for a Mac, are wary of Vista's compatibility and resource issues, and don't want to spend the next three months installing Linux in your free time, XP is the only option.

mroman 19y ago
3 months to install Linux? You can't be serious.
- eru 19y ago
  Perhaps he's doing a stage 1 of Gentoo and wants to configure and compile everything himself.
  - mstevens 19y ago
    On a 386.
    - eru 18y ago
      With only his nose to type.
- Jesin 19y ago
  Yes, Ubuntu took I think less than an hour to install on my machine. Remember, Gentoo is not the only Linux distro.
- dhimes 19y ago
  I turned a laptop into a dual-boot machine with Fedora and it still doesn't support the wifi card, the new printer (not a fancy one, either), built-in web cam, etc. This has been since January! Yes, I know it's not Linux' fault, it's proprietary drivers for the hw that only work for MS systems. But the result is the same. I love using the Linux; wish I could use it more.
  - cstejerean 19y ago
    try Ubuntu
    - dhimes 19y ago
      It's having the same problem with this card (haven't checked on the printer, thought). But it does seem to be the distro of choice for hackers.
- Prrometheus 19y ago
  Well, you have to troubleshoot the wireless adapter, go through 3 or 4 sixteen step tutorials on how to install it, discover it's impossible with version 4 of the chipset (Linux drivers are only available for version 3 and below with the same serial number), sell the old wireless adapter on eBay, spend some time figuring out which adapters will work, check forums to find out which ones REALLY work, buy the new hardware, ship it, and follow a few more sixteen step tutorials keeping your fingers crossed that it will eventually actually work. Meanwhile, every time you ask for help you have geeks helpfully telling you that you shouldn't be using wireless anyway because it's not secure, as if I were about to drill holes through the floor of the place I am renting for a month to accommodate their sense of what I need. But I did mispeak. I managed to get Linux INSTALLED in a few minutes. It's actually getting the system to the point of usability that is the hard part.
- cglee 19y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole
ntoshev 19y ago
I couldn't install XP on a new laptop that easily (problems with SATA disks when they are set in RAID mode): http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/21/install-xp-setup-did-not-find-any-hard-disk-drives-installed-in-your-computer/ http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/21/install-xp-se...
cstejerean 19y ago
I can get a full Ubuntu distribution (64bit, dual monitor, 3D desktop, browser, media player, cd burner, flash, pdf viewer, mail client, development tools) in under an hour. With XP I need longer than that just to find and install the network drivers (and that requires cheating, as I need to use a second computer to download the drivers). Last time I tried to get a decent XP system configured it took me a whole day to get everything loaded. People still have this notion that Linux is hard to install, hard to use or that it looks ugly. As a matter of fact it's easier to install, easier to use, safer, faster and looks much better than any Windows (including Vista) on half the hardware.
- dangoldin 19y ago
  I'd have to agree with you. I bought a tablet PC that came with Vista - after a few months I couldn't handle it anymore and decided to install Ubuntu. The installation was quick and effortless and all of my hardware continued to function. Enabling the tablet functionality probably took a good 5 minutes. Don't plan on using Windows ever again - it's even easier to get software on Ubuntu - just call apt-get and you are good to go.
wanorris 19y ago
"Pop an XP disk in any system made in the last 5 years and you're up and running in no time." Actually, I had enormous problems when my wife got an unformatted replacement drive for her laptop and I tried to do just that. It was easier to wait a week for a manufacturer-specific OEM disk than to try and debug everything. Ironically (given your followup), the wireless was a huge mess. If you buy an OEM system preinstalled with Linux, it will "just work" as well. See Dell, system76.com, and the Asus EEE for examples.

mroman 19y ago

3 months to install Linux? You can't be serious.

eru 19y ago
Perhaps he's doing a stage 1 of Gentoo and wants to configure and compile everything himself.
- mstevens 19y ago
  On a 386.
  - eru 18y ago
    With only his nose to type.
Jesin 19y ago
Yes, Ubuntu took I think less than an hour to install on my machine. Remember, Gentoo is not the only Linux distro.
dhimes 19y ago
I turned a laptop into a dual-boot machine with Fedora and it still doesn't support the wifi card, the new printer (not a fancy one, either), built-in web cam, etc. This has been since January! Yes, I know it's not Linux' fault, it's proprietary drivers for the hw that only work for MS systems. But the result is the same. I love using the Linux; wish I could use it more.
- cstejerean 19y ago
  try Ubuntu
  - dhimes 19y ago
    It's having the same problem with this card (haven't checked on the printer, thought). But it does seem to be the distro of choice for hackers.
Prrometheus 19y ago
Well, you have to troubleshoot the wireless adapter, go through 3 or 4 sixteen step tutorials on how to install it, discover it's impossible with version 4 of the chipset (Linux drivers are only available for version 3 and below with the same serial number), sell the old wireless adapter on eBay, spend some time figuring out which adapters will work, check forums to find out which ones REALLY work, buy the new hardware, ship it, and follow a few more sixteen step tutorials keeping your fingers crossed that it will eventually actually work. Meanwhile, every time you ask for help you have geeks helpfully telling you that you shouldn't be using wireless anyway because it's not secure, as if I were about to drill holes through the floor of the place I am renting for a month to accommodate their sense of what I need. But I did mispeak. I managed to get Linux INSTALLED in a few minutes. It's actually getting the system to the point of usability that is the hard part.
cglee 19y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole

ntoshev 19y ago

I couldn't install XP on a new laptop that easily (problems with SATA disks when they are set in RAID mode): http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/21/install-xp-setup-did-not-find-any-hard-disk-drives-installed-in-your-computer/ http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/21/install-xp-se...

cstejerean 19y ago

I can get a full Ubuntu distribution (64bit, dual monitor, 3D desktop, browser, media player, cd burner, flash, pdf viewer, mail client, development tools) in under an hour. With XP I need longer than that just to find and install the network drivers (and that requires cheating, as I need to use a second computer to download the drivers). Last time I tried to get a decent XP system configured it took me a whole day to get everything loaded. People still have this notion that Linux is hard to install, hard to use or that it looks ugly. As a matter of fact it's easier to install, easier to use, safer, faster and looks much better than any Windows (including Vista) on half the hardware.

dangoldin 19y ago
I'd have to agree with you. I bought a tablet PC that came with Vista - after a few months I couldn't handle it anymore and decided to install Ubuntu. The installation was quick and effortless and all of my hardware continued to function. Enabling the tablet functionality probably took a good 5 minutes. Don't plan on using Windows ever again - it's even easier to get software on Ubuntu - just call apt-get and you are good to go.

wanorris 19y ago

"Pop an XP disk in any system made in the last 5 years and you're up and running in no time." Actually, I had enormous problems when my wife got an unformatted replacement drive for her laptop and I tried to do just that. It was easier to wait a week for a manufacturer-specific OEM disk than to try and debug everything. Ironically (given your followup), the wireless was a huge mess. If you buy an OEM system preinstalled with Linux, it will "just work" as well. See Dell, system76.com, and the Asus EEE for examples.