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I do. I like Windows a lot. I'm completely platform agnostic and I've used all 3 major platforms at various times but I always come back to Windows. I think th

by halo 18y ago

I do. I like Windows a lot. I'm completely platform agnostic and I've used all 3 major platforms at various times but I always come back to Windows. I think there's a quiet majority of people out there who are perfectly happy with Windows but they don't tend to talk about it, whereas you do tend to get a lot of outspoken Mac and Linux users who are willing to both champion their platform as well as bash Windows at any given opportunity.

mseebach 18y ago
> I think there's a quiet majority of people out there who are perfectly happy with Windows I think there's a quiet majority out there who's never tried anything but Windows, and think of their computer as nothing more than a tool, completely oblivious to such abstractions as operating systems.
- access_denied 18y ago
  I think there's a big majority of computer users, quietly suffering under Windows and simply having no idea that there even exists an alternative.
  - derwiki 18y ago
    I installed Ubuntu on a laptop I gave to my father a few weeks ago, and he's been using it exclusively. I don't think he can tell the difference between Ubuntu and Windows.
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
    - dinkumthinkum 18y ago
      You know, I'm not one of those weirdos that think desktop applications are going away. But I'd say most people who keep up with software development believe that's the case. <rant>I think that would be pretty bad if the best we'll ever be able to do is Javascript.</rant> Anyway, IF most apps people are using are Web based and compatible with Firefox or a Flash version supported in Ubuntu ... it seems less and less like there would be much point in paying for, using, and dealing with Windows. I think most seniors can just about already switch fine to Ubuntu.
      - ido 18y ago
        Or Java. Applets - they don't suck as badly anymore!
  - anigbrowl 18y ago
    That's who all those 'Hi! I'm a Mac' commercials are aimed at, I guess. Those who are suffering in ignorance are not power-users-in-waiting.
    - dinkumthinkum 18y ago
      I thought those were just aimed at Hipsters and people who drink Pabst Blue Ribbon?
  - jodrellblank 18y ago
    I suffer every time I'm faced with Yet Another *nix Package Manager, another mess of /usr /usr/local /opt /var inconsistencies as well as every time I have to remote to a Windows machine and can't use SSH. There is an alternative, but it's not all sunshine and green grass either side.
    - nailer 18y ago
      /var is pretty consistently used for variable files on all Linux distros. Solaris and other proprietary Unix puts all kinds of other shit there. /opt and /usr/local are generally unpackaged guff.
  - thras 18y ago
    Suffering? It runs more than one application at once. You don't get viruses if you keep it up to date (unless you're an idiot). Copy and Paste works. There is nothing else out there that I need an OS to do for me. Everything else is in application land, where Mac and Linux sometimes fall flat. I use Linux/Mac/Windows every day and have no trouble switching between them. If you are suffering under either Mac or Windows, it's your fault, not the OS's fault. If you're suffering under Linux, it's because you aren't enough of a moron to be a full time computer geek like me.
- RossM 18y ago
  I've used Windows pretty much all my life, but started out with Linux (Ubuntu, briefly openSUSe and back to Ubuntu again) a couple of months back. I don't see many problems with Windows apart from it doesn't like moving User documents/data to another drive. The resulting clutter from that is all down to me though. I haven't had an complaints with Vista. I'm warming more to Ubuntu now (although I only use it as a development platform on a laptop, I'd probably prefer it even more on the desktop) but I really don't see the "horrors" in Windows.
  - krschultz 18y ago
    Blue screen of death at an inoppertune moment - then what? If the equivalent happens in Linux you put in a live CD and get that all important presentation off of it and go on your way. Not to mention that I can install Ubuntu freshly in under and hour, windows takes several times that by the time you install 4 drivers and reboot after each one, install a half dozen apps that aren't included by default etc. That was pretty much what sold me, I was 30 something hours into a Solidworks project that forced me to use Windows, and the machine BSOD me at 4am the day it was due. If you rely on a machine you have to have faith it will work during crunch time.
    - thm 18y ago
      You can put a Linux Live CD in a Windows computer and still get at your data, and I haven't seen Windows crash that often recently. I'm using Mac and sometimes Linux and have seen Mac OS crash more often that Windows. I feel more comfortable in Mac OS, though. I've used Ubuntu a few years back and prefer that over Windows as well.
      - krschultz 18y ago
        Agreed, thats what I did, but at the end of the day now I have my unfinished project on a flash drive and no functioning computer to fix it - not all that useful unless you have another Windows machine with Solidworks installed ready to go - and at a few thousand bucks a seat not many people do. I don't think Windows crashes any more frequently than Linux but it is more catastrophic I feel.
- raquo 18y ago
  I don't think there is anything noobish or wrong in thinking of your computer as just a tool (not that you said that directly, but it could be inferenced). What is it, in the end? A tool for communication, development, research, whatever. Some people just resist any kind of change - they're used to Windows, they aren't going to try anything else, because they think (and they might be right in theory) that they don't need anything else.
sant0sk1 18y ago
> I'm completely platform agnostic That means you don't know anything about platforms (agnostic = no (a) knowledge (gnosis)). I think you meant: indifferent =)
- briansmith 18y ago
  "One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something"
dinkumthinkum 18y ago
I love the phrase "platform agnostic." Does that mean that one doesn't think it is possible to know whether there are platforms or not?

by halo 18y ago

mseebach 18y ago

> I think there's a quiet majority of people out there who are perfectly happy with Windows I think there's a quiet majority out there who's never tried anything but Windows, and think of their computer as nothing more than a tool, completely oblivious to such abstractions as operating systems.

access_denied 18y ago
I think there's a big majority of computer users, quietly suffering under Windows and simply having no idea that there even exists an alternative.
- derwiki 18y ago
  I installed Ubuntu on a laptop I gave to my father a few weeks ago, and he's been using it exclusively. I don't think he can tell the difference between Ubuntu and Windows.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - dinkumthinkum 18y ago
    You know, I'm not one of those weirdos that think desktop applications are going away. But I'd say most people who keep up with software development believe that's the case. <rant>I think that would be pretty bad if the best we'll ever be able to do is Javascript.</rant> Anyway, IF most apps people are using are Web based and compatible with Firefox or a Flash version supported in Ubuntu ... it seems less and less like there would be much point in paying for, using, and dealing with Windows. I think most seniors can just about already switch fine to Ubuntu.
    - ido 18y ago
      Or Java. Applets - they don't suck as badly anymore!
- anigbrowl 18y ago
  That's who all those 'Hi! I'm a Mac' commercials are aimed at, I guess. Those who are suffering in ignorance are not power-users-in-waiting.
  - dinkumthinkum 18y ago
    I thought those were just aimed at Hipsters and people who drink Pabst Blue Ribbon?
- jodrellblank 18y ago
  I suffer every time I'm faced with Yet Another *nix Package Manager, another mess of /usr /usr/local /opt /var inconsistencies as well as every time I have to remote to a Windows machine and can't use SSH. There is an alternative, but it's not all sunshine and green grass either side.
  - nailer 18y ago
    /var is pretty consistently used for variable files on all Linux distros. Solaris and other proprietary Unix puts all kinds of other shit there. /opt and /usr/local are generally unpackaged guff.
- thras 18y ago
  Suffering? It runs more than one application at once. You don't get viruses if you keep it up to date (unless you're an idiot). Copy and Paste works. There is nothing else out there that I need an OS to do for me. Everything else is in application land, where Mac and Linux sometimes fall flat. I use Linux/Mac/Windows every day and have no trouble switching between them. If you are suffering under either Mac or Windows, it's your fault, not the OS's fault. If you're suffering under Linux, it's because you aren't enough of a moron to be a full time computer geek like me.
RossM 18y ago
I've used Windows pretty much all my life, but started out with Linux (Ubuntu, briefly openSUSe and back to Ubuntu again) a couple of months back. I don't see many problems with Windows apart from it doesn't like moving User documents/data to another drive. The resulting clutter from that is all down to me though. I haven't had an complaints with Vista. I'm warming more to Ubuntu now (although I only use it as a development platform on a laptop, I'd probably prefer it even more on the desktop) but I really don't see the "horrors" in Windows.
- krschultz 18y ago
  Blue screen of death at an inoppertune moment - then what? If the equivalent happens in Linux you put in a live CD and get that all important presentation off of it and go on your way. Not to mention that I can install Ubuntu freshly in under and hour, windows takes several times that by the time you install 4 drivers and reboot after each one, install a half dozen apps that aren't included by default etc. That was pretty much what sold me, I was 30 something hours into a Solidworks project that forced me to use Windows, and the machine BSOD me at 4am the day it was due. If you rely on a machine you have to have faith it will work during crunch time.
  - thm 18y ago
    You can put a Linux Live CD in a Windows computer and still get at your data, and I haven't seen Windows crash that often recently. I'm using Mac and sometimes Linux and have seen Mac OS crash more often that Windows. I feel more comfortable in Mac OS, though. I've used Ubuntu a few years back and prefer that over Windows as well.
    - krschultz 18y ago
      Agreed, thats what I did, but at the end of the day now I have my unfinished project on a flash drive and no functioning computer to fix it - not all that useful unless you have another Windows machine with Solidworks installed ready to go - and at a few thousand bucks a seat not many people do. I don't think Windows crashes any more frequently than Linux but it is more catastrophic I feel.
raquo 18y ago
I don't think there is anything noobish or wrong in thinking of your computer as just a tool (not that you said that directly, but it could be inferenced). What is it, in the end? A tool for communication, development, research, whatever. Some people just resist any kind of change - they're used to Windows, they aren't going to try anything else, because they think (and they might be right in theory) that they don't need anything else.

sant0sk1 18y ago

> I'm completely platform agnostic That means you don't know anything about platforms (agnostic = no (a) knowledge (gnosis)). I think you meant: indifferent =)

briansmith 18y ago
"One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something"

dinkumthinkum 18y ago

I love the phrase "platform agnostic." Does that mean that one doesn't think it is possible to know whether there are platforms or not?