Thread: "Windows Sucks". Discuss. (AKA Why do you like your OS?)

I'm not going to go into any great detail, seeing as I could write pages on this stuff.
But the jist of it is I'm fine with WinXP, because, well, it works. I'm also a gamer, so I need at least WinXP for DirectX. The one thing that really gets me about WinXP (or any other NT kernel) is how much they love to use services, and the sheer amount of useless ones that are enabled by default.

The problem with every MS OS before it was that they all sucked... hard. The 9x kernels were all complete trash, and NT4 was a pain. Now adays things are abit different. Vista I'm not touching until at least service pack 1, and only will I get it when I really want to play some DirectX 10 based games. I wouldn't have done it a few years ago, but with the advent of Mac OS X, I'd recommend Mac's to any normal desktop user who asks me what new computer they buy.

"With out walls and fences there would be no need for windows and gates!"

Yeah, gaming is the one reason I wish I could have waited for an intel based mac. I love my G5, but very limited on the game selection.

I have several friends who run Linux, and if I wasn't running OS X, that is what I would be running.

Originally Posted by ToxIk

I'm not going to go into any great detail, seeing as I could write pages on this stuff.
But the jist of it is I'm fine with WinXP, because, well, it works.

Exactly. Installation of complicated programs is a breeze, and they work. In linux, installation of applications can turn into a real ordeal.

Mparker.. Genera? It is a small world then!
Have you heard of the VM of one of the old LispM's that now runs on a Linux kernel?

Edit: just watched HHGTTG movie -- sucked big time.

I knew they were working on it, I haven't really kept up. If I want to reminisce about the old LispM goodness I've got a Symbolics XL1200 with Genera 8.3 sitting in my spare bedroom. Haven't powered it up in awhile though, as it dims the lights in the neighborhood when it comes on.

OK - what I'm picking up here is that you guys like Windows because it's easier to write code for, easier to debug, easier to integrate, easier to load.....etc...etc...etc.....the one common denominator being....its easier for the software guys....

But you've got to understand (as I'm sure that you do) that 99% of the Windows users are on the OTHER side of the glass - ie- we're sitting at a desk, staring at a monitor with the 'blue screen of death', or suddenly, the keyboard quits working and you have to reload a driver, or you're trying to set up a simple home network (I still haven't got THAT one - thank God for USB flash drives!)...and I don't believe Linux (from what I've read and seen - I've never used a machine with it loaded, and, to be quite frank, I think one would probably have to have a deeper understanding of the inner workings to use it) is any better - the Mac operating system (is that the OS X that I see referred to) gets more comments as being a more stable platform, but I've never used it. All I'm interested in is turning on the machine and having it run my software (believe me, I realize that that is, in fact, asking a LOT, but I don't think its too much to expect) - instead of new bells and whistles, why not concentrate on making the OLD ones better?

So, and I realize that I've been kind of rambling here, when it's all said and done...I'm sorry,guys, but Windows still sucks...but since I can't draw my AutoCAD pictures with that new Abacus that David is going to send me (), I'll just have to struggle on and deal with what I truly believe is a substandard operating system, and now they introduce one that's even worse!

My NEXT machine will probably be a Mac.

I'll behave now.

-whatever

-Lou

Ah, but Lou, you COULD run a software called Parallels, which will allow you to run some Windows applications in a windowed mode right under Mac OS X. I don't mean in entire OS emulation mode, like virtual PC, but rather in a Mac OS Window with a Windows application running in it. Additionally, you don't take the emulation hit if the Mac machine you are running it on is one of the newer Intel based machines, since the rerouted calls are not to x86 to PowerPC emulations, but x86 to x86 reroutes. Put simple, very very close to native speed. So much so that you'll likely not notice anything different.

I plan to give exactly that a shot very soon. AutoCAD, bless it's soul, is the single application which keeps me from going totally Mac. I'll let you know how it goes.

Obviously, I'm a Mac user, but I'm not religious about it like many in any of the 'camps'. I use and have programmed in UNIX, Linux, VMS, xBSD and Windows, and simply prefer the Mac interface and stability. Since my family and friends consider me the 'tech', I end up helping them all with issues. I never, and I mean never, have to help someone after I've transitioned them to a new Mac. Not having a virus in years doesn't hurt either...

Take care,
John

Yes, I've heard Macs are stable and work really well. And aren't the target of hackers and trojans and viruses (oh my!). And parallels sounds really good to me too. I think next time I might try a dual boot Mac/linux machine.....

Excuse my ignorance, but is the Mac OS based on UNIX? Mayhap that's why it's so stable...?

James.

Yes, Mac OS X is Unix-based (*not* linux based, and yes there is a difference).

Also, Parallels runs the entire Windows in a virtual machine but can hide the windows desktop so individual applications appear to be running on the Mac desktop. It's a pretty neat trick, but it's just a visual trick and not a fundamentally different approach to virtualization.

I'm still waiting for Mac-on-Mac virtualization. I've got VMware VM's that are on their 5th or 6th physical machine by now, one of them I know started on a 330mhz P3 w/ 512MB RAM, and is now running on a multiprocessor 64-bit Opteron w/ 4GB RAM. Upgrading machines is a simple matter of installing VMware and copying over the VM files.

I use OS X and will never buy a windows based PC again -----unless I have to. OS X is stable as hell --- I've been using it for about 3 years and I haven't had any issues --I don't think I've ever had to reboot it. No viruses to really worry about. If you're not into "building your own computers " and you don't specifically need windows, then I don't see any reason for using windows. But sometimes you do need windows, as in the case of Autocad (basically). I think if you appreciate styling and function, an Apple computer running OS X is about as close as you're going to get to a computer you can "love". Otherwise most computers I deal with are a shotgun away from meeting the big mainframe in the sky.


Justin