Linux vs Windows

gunslinger said:
No, what I said was that without hacking and tinkering (something the average consumer should not have to do) off the rack software would not work with Linux. So you are admitting that I'm right. Point proven time to move on.


I use Linux. In fact I'm playing around with a few distros right now. Would I ever support it on a customers system? Not a chance. As I said, In 11 years I have had one customer who had Linux and she wanted it replaced with Windows but If I should ever see another one in the wild I'll be glad to send them your way. :)
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Gimme the source and I'll do it.
 
gunslinger said:
No, what I said was that without hacking and tinkering (something the average consumer should not have to do) off the rack software would not work with Linux. So you are admitting that I'm right. Point proven time to move on.
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I have admitted no such thing. You see this is what has dragged this thread on so far. You keep making things up to prove your point. For the last time there are MANY windows applications that can run seamlessly under crossover with absolutely no hacking or tinkering.

This thread has completely fallen away from the constructive discussion it could have been. Thats the feasibility of a home user to use Linux. Its honestly people like you that create this awrah of myth surrounding Linux. This is no longer 1995 According to internetworldstats.com there are 1,966,514,816 Internet users in the world. Because its hard to tell exact stats because Linux is not an operating system that requires registration the market share of Linux is between 1% to 5%, the 5% is based on user agent browser identification. However, as we have already discussed in this thread many people using Linux change there browser agent because websites are prejudice of Linux so this number could be way higher. Because of controversy lets just put that stat at 1.5% which I believe to be a very low estimate. That means there is 29,497,722.2 Linux users right now using there computers as a desktop operating system. That isn't even taking in to account that Linux still holds 25% of the netbook market. So by saying that Linux is not ready for the desktop market I think there are 30 million users that disagree. Most people don't even know what Windows is. Its just what came on there computer. Those same people honestly would not know the difference if they had Linux and not windows.

So the feasibility of Linux as a desktop OS is absolutely without question a possibility and this feasibility will grow every year until the day comes when people still can't tell you what operating system there using. All they know is they don't get any viruses. :rolleyes:
 
vdub12 said:
Most people don't even know what Windows is. Its just what came on there computer.
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This is funny because I can't count how many people think that their OS if 'office'. And your right, most of my customers can't tell me what version of Windows they are running. Most call it Windows 99 or Windows 2001, 2003, or 2010. Even though they were all xp.
 
NeutronTech said:
This is funny because I can't count how many people think that their OS if 'office'. And your right, most of my customers can't tell me what version of Windows they are running. Most call it Windows 99 or Windows 2001, 2003, or 2010. Even though they were all xp.
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I had a guy the other day call me about troubles with AOL on windows 98. I told him that Windows 98 wasn't supported by MS anymore and its not safe using it online. I told him maybe we should be talking about building a new computer. He said all he knew was thats what his computer came with when he got it in 2002. I replied with Windows XP came out in 2002. Thats when he said O yeah its Windows XP. lol :rolleyes:
 
vdub12 said:
I had a guy the other day call me about troubles in windows 98. I told him that Windows 98 wasn't supported by MS anymore and maybe we should be talking about building him a new computer. He said all he knew was thats what his computer came with when he got it in 2002. I replied with Windows XP came out in 2002. Thats when he said O yeah its Windows XP. lol :rolleyes:
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To be honest, a lot of my customers don't know what they have installed. They use mostly websites and whatever came preinstalled on their computer. If they had gotten a linux machine instead, they wouldn't have known any different. Usually if my clients need new software, they call me, they don't run to walmart and buy it on their own.
 
NeutronTech said:
To be honest, a lot of my customers don't know what they have installed. They use mostly websites and whatever came preinstalled on their computer. If they had gotten a linux machine instead, they wouldn't have known any different. Usually if my clients need new software, they call me, they don't run to walmart and buy it on their own.
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Very true, I go out on service calls all the time just to install software. Most of those customer call me first before they buy it and then once they get it they have me install it for them.
 
Ok back to the thread topic: What do we encourage customers to have - Linux or windows?

Windows for the most part and OS X. They both work without having to fiddle with them. Most software makers make versions of their software for these two OSs. Most computer techies know how to work on them.


So as a professional, what do you recommend to customers?
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OS X for home. Windows for business. My recommendations are grounded in reality and not an ideal of what I would like to see do well.
 
To be honest I always recommed the lastest version of Windows that their machine will run, but on that note I have never really been a Linux fan; but if I am to recommend a Linux Distro it would be OpenSUSE as whenever I use it, there hasn't been one occasion, or problem finding a driver.
 
Linux isn't that bad

gunslinger said:
I would and have recommended a Mac before any Lunix distro.
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Why they are both Unix based. And some distros are more stable than OSX.

Also MAC OS can only be used on an Apple computer. It's a violation of their EULA if it's on anything else. So your customer has to go drop a grand to buy a new system when they could resurrect an old system with a linux distro.

Plus Ubuntu and Mint are really easy and user-friendly.

Just remind customer's not to uncheck/unistall anything in the Software manager/Package Manager unless they are 100% sure it isn't needed.

No AV/AS software.

Also if something fouls up Type "XKILL" in terminal. And click on the window you are trying close.
 
Quickbooks

NeutronTech said:
I was using Linux on my office computer up until a few months ago. No matter what browser I tried, Quickbooks Online wouldn't work or run properly. If I can find a solution to this problem, I may go back to using it.
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That's strange. I used quickbooks online on my machine and I run Linux Mint 9. I was using Firefox.

Were you using another browser? I've noticed some issues with sites when using Sea Monkey and Chromium.

In fact I'm using it now. :-)
 
Computer_Jester said:
That's strange. I used quickbooks online on my machine and I run Linux Mint 9. I was using Firefox.

Were you using another browser? I've noticed some issues with sites when using Sea Monkey and Chromium.

In fact I'm using it now. :-)
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It's been a few months since I've tried, but I was running Ubuntu and tried Firefox and Chrome.
 
Computer_Jester said:
Why they are both Unix based. And some distros are more stable than OSX.

Also MAC OS can only be used on an Apple computer. It's a violation of their EULA if it's on anything else. So your customer has to go drop a grand to buy a new system when they could resurrect an old system with a linux distro.

Plus Ubuntu and Mint are really easy and user-friendly.

Just remind customer's not to uncheck/unistall anything in the Software manager/Package Manager unless they are 100% sure it isn't needed.

No AV/AS software.

Also if something fouls up Type "XKILL" in terminal. And click on the window you are trying close.
Click to expand...

I have never seen a Linux version or anything else more stable than OS X.

OS X is the most user friendly OS X I have seen.

One of the reasons why OS X has so few problem is because the OS is paired to the hardware.

No AV software is necessary for the Mac either.

I agree that Linux is good for resurrecting an old systems. I got new life into an old system with puppy a few times. Would make a good child's internet browser.
 
I find OSX not being allowed to be installed on another brand's hardware to be the furthest from user friendly. Linux, on the other hand, can be adapted to darn near anything. I personally won't recommend an Apple product to my customer until they open up a bit.

Oh, I don't know what you would consider "stable", but the entire time I ran Linux I didn't have a single error. Kind of hard to beat that unless the computer becomes self healing from physical damage.
 
OSX is stable. They have a great OS and I am positive that they would take a lot more market share if they would let everyone use there OS. However, thats never going to happen. The problem with Apple is if you want to use a MAC you are looking at a minimum of $1000 to buy a computer that is the hardware equivalent to a $400 wallmart notebook. I am running OSX on my Dell Mini10v and I like it. But I don't see them ever taking market share from Microsoft because they just charge to much for there systems. I see a better chance of Linux taking the market then I do MAC.
 
vdub12 said:
OSX is stable. They have a great OS and I am positive that they would take a lot more market share if they would let everyone use there OS. However, thats never going to happen. The problem with Apple is if you want to use a MAC you are looking at a minimum of $1000 to buy a computer that is the hardware equivalent to a $400 wallmart notebook. I am running OSX on my Dell Mini10v and I like it. But I don't see them ever taking market share from Microsoft because they just charge to much for there systems. I see a better chance of Linux taking the market then I do MAC.
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A few points: I'm glad we agree OS X is a great OS. You are most likely right that they will never open up the OS. That being said their market share is still 5-10 times bigger than Linux (depending on what you think the Linux share actually is) and growing more by the year. I'm seeing more and more Macs in the home than ever before. Go to any university and watch people take out their laptops in class and about half are Macs. So, that being said you have to wonder, why is it they have Linux beat on market share? Their systems are expensive, their OS proprietary , while Linux is free and works on everything. So why is Mac and OS X many times more popular?

The short answer? Most popular software including industry standard software is made for Mac. It requires no fiddling or tweaking to make things work, just plug and go.

About your pricing and hardware. To start with I have a Macbook I got back in 2008 for around $900. I buy refurb when I get a Mac and Max out the specs myself. Do you really want to compare the build quality of a Mac to a $400 walmart computer? Same specs, maybe but a far better quality product and it comes with a better more secure, more user friendly OS.
 
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