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ReviewSpin
March 28th, 2006, 04:18 AM
Alternatives to Windows By Allen Straith

Microsoft has a monopoly on the computer industry. Or so it seems. For years, Microsoft Windows has been the choice of all who had a computer. Apple was for old timers who couldn’t move with the times. Linux was only for geeks. And the rest of us normal folks used Windows. Nothing wrong with that. Right?

Wrong.

The main problem with using Windows and Windows only is that it doesn’t work. Every time I use my computer, I have some sort of problem. MSN Messenger doesn’t work. My CD doesn’t burn. I can’t open my CD Drive. I can’t copy files to a CD. Windows has some sort of eternal error and decides to shut down within two minutes.

And guess what? I am not the only one experiencing these problems. My friends having the same problems, family – and its showing big time. Look at Apple’s stock. Its been steadily rising over the past year or so. Intel is now the core in any new Apple computer. People are beginning to see the difference between ratability and, well…not working.

Want a crash course on the Mac? Lesson 1: It doesn’t crash. Built by the same folks who designed its rock-solid operating system and its award-winning applications, the Mac always starts up and never lets you down.

That is on Apple’s web site. And believe it or not, its true. Ask anyone who has used a Mac. Hardly does it ever fail you. And, when you click on something, it actually works. Imagine that.

So What Else Is Out There?

There are rally two other choices you have, other then Windows, as your Operating System (OS). You can either choose Linux, an Open Source OS that has many different versions – ranging from geek-only use to user-friendly, or you can choose Apple’s OS (currently called Tiger).

I personally prefer Apple’s OS. But honestly, its not a choice for me at this moment. Why? Because in order to use Apple’s OS you have to purchase an Apple computer (there are rumors that this may change very soon). And, by the way, Apple’s computers aren’t the cheapest computers in the market. Now if you want a computer just for Internet and word processing, then go ahead and buy an iBook G4 (or whatever Apple’s low-class notebooks will be called). But if you want to use powerful programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Maya or any games – you’ll want something more powerful, such as the iMac 20 inch wide-screen display (with or without an Intel duel-core processor).

But for those of us who can’t afford a new computer – or who simply doesn’t need one – why can’t we use Linux? Linux, for those who don’t know, is an Open Source OS that people have taken and created newer, better versions of the original code.

Now which version of Linux should you use? If you want to use programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamwever, Xandros is a perfect OS for you. Powerful enough to use any program, versatile enough to use advanced programs like Dreamweaver and Photoshop, and did I mentioned designed to be a user-friendly OS that looks and feels like Windows, but has the reliability of Linux.

There is also Gentoo Linux – an OS that, according to its web site, can be “customized for just about any application or need” – meaning games, Photoshop, Word – you name it, you can use it on a Gentoo Linux Computer.

(For further information about Linux, go to http://www.linux.org or http://www.linux.com — both sites will tell you anything you need to know about Linux. Also, I will be personally trying out Linux within the next few weeks and testing is built-in features, seeing just how versatile it truly is.)

Now its time to learn more about Apple, and why it’s my personal choice (although I can’t afford one). Apple, like I already mentioned, has been climbing up and up on the stock market – and more people have been buying Apple Computers. The key to Window’s popularity is support (much like in the world of console video games) – developers create games and software for Windows because tons of people have Windows – giving them a wide variety of users (and not to mention a big possible user base).

Can this ever change? Of course it can. And, within the next ten years, I’ll be willing to bet that Apple’s OS will become a big time challenger for Microsoft Windows. They may never take over the market, but at least Apple’s OS will begin to see more games (most software you can actually find Mac version’s of – if you look hard enough. You can even find a big list of games for Mac – ranging from RTS games (Civilization III: Complete), to Adventure games (Myst V: End of Ages), and First-Person Shooters (Halo and Doom III) – and many more genre’s.)

In conclusion, I urge you to try some of the free versions of Linux – Duel-Boot, if you must – but don’t suffer with Windows for the rest of your life. Free yourself. And, if you are going to be purchasing a new computer, really discover what you want to use your computer for. Are you a serious gamer who plays games like Guild Wars (not found on a Mac yet) – or a gamer like me, who plays every now and then. Look at all your choices – from Alienware, Dell, Gateway and of course, Apple – which one will suit your needs best? At least try a Mac at your local CompUSA store, and learn the real reason I love Mac’s. In the end, though – it’s all up to what you need your computer for.



ReviewSpin.com


I will be writing a review on Ubuntu soon, as well. Do you guys like this article?

aysiu
March 28th, 2006, 04:20 AM
Windows XP's never crashed on me.
ME--all the time.

Iandefor
March 28th, 2006, 04:23 AM
ReviewSpin.com


I will be writing a review on Ubuntu soon, as well. Do you guys like this article? It's okay, but the line



Want a crash course on the Mac? Lesson 1: It doesn’t crash. Built by the same folks who designed its rock-solid operating system and its award-winning applications, the Mac always starts up and never lets you down. Is an outright lie. Hell, just today I had to reinstall OS X on one of my school's computers because it crashed so hard it couldn't boot, and all the built-in troubleshooting options failed. Wanna know a really good way to crash an eMac? Set the desktop background to change once every five seconds. That does the trick on my school's eMacs. It's been tested at least twice by stupid students!

And people's experiences with Windows vary a lot.

aysiu
March 28th, 2006, 05:42 AM
I can attest to Mac crashing. I've seen far more "rainbow circles of death" in Mac OS X than "blue screens of death" in XP.

Of course, the most crashing I've seen has been in KDE, but that's another story.

BoyOfDestiny
March 28th, 2006, 05:45 AM
I find the article opinionated (which is normal, everyone has biases). I don't recommend apple's site as valid for "benchmarks" and quality, since everything seems to get 5 apples as a rating (Note, I've never been to their page, but here is an article as a source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041104-4371.html).
Also, my uncle, who loves his macs, the hard drive died on it recently. Nothing is bullet-proof... My own experience was in middle school, when they replaced the ancient c64s (man how I missed those) with lc550 ("multimedia" my butt.) I've never used OS X, so I can't comment, except it's probably a good thing it's based on freebsd 4.4.

Also, not sure if you want a peer review on this, but it's dual-boot. :)

Iandefor
March 28th, 2006, 06:12 AM
Of course, the most crashing I've seen has been in KDE, but that's another story. Gah! Begone with you, flamewar-causing demons of Linux :)!

@Reviewspin: I have a few formatting suggestions for you. Keep in mind, these are from my own perspectives on how I would like it to be formatted.

1) Don't capitalise the term "operating system".

2) Don't say Linux can run Photoshop/Dreamweaver. It can't without specialised software.

3)
But for those of us who can’t afford a new computer – or who simply doesn’t need one – why can’t we use Linux? Linux, for those who don’t know, is an Open Source OS that people have taken and created newer, better versions of the original code. The first sentence should read "But for those of us who can’t afford a new computer – or who simply don’t need one"

And, to me, that entire couplet of sentences could be condensed into one sentence and it would read better:

"But for those of use who can't afford a new computer (or don't need one), why can't we use Linux (An Open Source operating system)"

And you don't even need to introduce Linux at all, since it's introduced above that paragraph.

4)
And guess what? I am not the only one experiencing these problems. My friends having the same problems, family – and its showing big time. Look at Apple’s stock. Its been steadily rising over the past year or so. Intel is now the core in any new Apple computer. People are beginning to see the difference between ratability and, well…not working. Second sentence, you can contract "I" and "Am". Third sentence, there should be "are" inbetween "Friends" and "Having".

5)
So What Else Is Out There? Unless that's the header for a new section, only "So" should be capitalized and there should be a comma between "So" and "What"

6)

There are rally two other choices you have, other then Windows, as your Operating System (OS). You can either choose Linux, an Open Source OS that has many different versions – ranging from geek-only use to user-friendly, or you can choose Apple’s OS (currently called Tiger). First sentence would read better with "You really have two other choices than Windows in terms of operating systems"

Mac OS X is still Mac OS X, not Tiger. Tiger is the revision name. The second sentence would read better as

"You can choose either Linux, an Open Source operating system that has multiple versions (Ranging from geek-only to user-friendly) or Apple's Mac OS X."

7)

I personally prefer Apple’s OS. But honestly, its not a choice for me at this moment. Why? Because in order to use Apple’s OS you have to purchase an Apple computer (there are rumors that this may change very soon). And, by the way, Apple’s computers aren’t the cheapest computers in the market. Now if you want a computer just for Internet and word processing, then go ahead and buy an iBook G4 (or whatever Apple’s low-class notebooks will be called). But if you want to use powerful programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Maya or any games – you’ll want something more powerful, such as the iMac 20 inch wide-screen display (with or without an Intel duel-core processor). Couple of changes to the first two-three sentences:

"Personally, I prefer OS X. Unfortunately, it's not a choice for me right now. Why? Because OS X only works on Apple hardware, and Apple hardware isn't exactly the cheapest hardware you can get."

The 4th line onwards can be rewritten like this:

"If you aren't too demanding of your computer, go ahead and buy a low-end Apple notebook. But if you need powerful programs like Photoshop, Maya, or just about any game out there, you'll want something more powerful, such as the iMac with 20-inch widescreen display."

Keep in mind, these are only ideas/suggestions.