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JohnJSal
August 31st, 2006, 03:15 PM
I had big hopes of not using Windows much anymore once I switched to Ubuntu, and for a while I didn't, but I hate to admit that I've started backsliding a little.

My first thought was "Wow, Linux can do everything Windows can, except play games, so I might as well use Linux instead." But then I started thinking in the reverse terms, "Windows can do everything Linux can, *plus* play games" (and I've found that video and audio are better in Windows as well). I realize that's a slightly simplistic view, especially for those of you who do real work in Linux and find it far more efficient. But for a normal user, I'm wondering about the switch.

Like I said, Windows is definitely for games, and booting into Windows to play games is no problem. But I've also notice that video and especially the sound of my audio is poor in Linux compared to Windows. Furthermore, moving my music collection to a shared partition so that I can access my music from both Windows and Linux causes minor headaches as well, because iTunes has to re-import everything, plus I can't use iTunes in Linux anyway. I'm afraid if I try to sync my iPod with some other software in Linux, this will cause problems when I try to do it again with iTunes in Windows.

Anyway, this isn't a Windows vs. Linux thread, because I still want to use and like Linux, but I'm just curious about how often regular users like myself switch back to Windows, and what you use it for.

Thanks,
John

Klaidas
August 31st, 2006, 03:18 PM
I use Windows, I dual boot.
Usage: Mostly school work.

b_martinez
August 31st, 2006, 03:25 PM
No, the games I play are not on a computer,and I have been free of windows since January, 2005.
Bill

Anonii
August 31st, 2006, 03:27 PM
Nope, not using Windows anymore.
I have succesfully emulated the only game I'm playing at the moment, Planescape-Torment. And all my work can be done here. So why would I bother with Windows?

monktbd
August 31st, 2006, 03:30 PM
For more than two years I am Linux only at home.
There is nothing I would need Windows for.
I rarely play and if I do it is old games that mostly run under Linux (wine or native).

At work I use (have to..) Windows although I am trying constantly to open up a bit on Linux there. It is a long process though.

JohnJSal
August 31st, 2006, 03:32 PM
So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.

Bagnaj97
August 31st, 2006, 03:33 PM
I have a dual boot setup with windows, but I rarely use windows. The only thing I use windows for now is video with skype. Once a win32 port of Ekiga has been done I can install it on my friends computers and use it instead of skype.

Copps
August 31st, 2006, 03:33 PM
Have XP and Ubu on a 10GB partition each, with my media on a 60GB standalone partition.

I've not been using Ubuntu (or Linux) too long, so am gradually finding ways to use Ubuntu apps in place of their equivilant Windows versions. So I'm still using Windows, but less and less. I don't imagine I'll ever be inclined to uninstall it completely, just for the "you never know" factor.

audioboxer217
August 31st, 2006, 03:36 PM
I have been weening myself off of windows lately. If I have to boot to windows for a program then I either begin looking for an Open-Source replacement for that program or figuring out how to make it run in Linux.

As for the video and sound problems, I haven't noticed any degredation. Also, (for the video) XGL & Compiz actually make Linux look much better than windows. You will need a pretty good video card and have some patience to get it set up though.

monktbd
August 31st, 2006, 03:36 PM
So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.

This (audio) probably depends a lot on the hardware and the drivers.

My old Soundblaster Live! plays nicely and well.

But it is always like this: Linux is not a different Windows. Both have their advantages and their shortcomings. Everybody has to weigh both and decide where are more advantages and use that OS. My choice is definitely Linux (and Ubuntu right now in particular).

falkenberg_cph
August 31st, 2006, 03:36 PM
I´ve had an unfixable problem with my sound in XP, it would crackle and hiss. I tried anything, used hours, days on troubleshooting.
When i installed linux the problem was gone.

I find that video is as good as on xp.

mjm115
August 31st, 2006, 03:36 PM
Nope.

Both of my desktop computers and my laptop all run Kubuntu Dapper. I have been Windows free for two years now.


So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.

My video is of high-quality with win32codecs installed. I want to switch to gstreamer, but for some reason it doesn't work as well with xine. Maybe it's me.

My audio works great.

audioboxer217
August 31st, 2006, 03:41 PM
But it is always like this: Linux is not a different Windows. Both have their advantages and their shortcomings. Everybody has to weigh both and decide where are more advantages and use that OS. My choice is definitely Linux (and Ubuntu right now in particular).
I have to agree. also if you want to work with closed-source drivers, Freespire is pretty nice, but they are not fully open-source and so far their community doesn't seem to be as good as this one. you're welcome to give it a try though (that's the beauty of a FREE open-source OS.

FuriousLettuce
August 31st, 2006, 04:06 PM
I have two computers - one is set up as a command-line only SSH and Web server, and I wouldn't have it on Windows for any amount of cash. My second computer, the one that I use every day, is Windows. I have tried multiple times to switch completely to Linux/Ubuntu but have always, as you have, slid back.

For instance, no matter how much fiddling, I have never been able to get my optical sound to work, never mind optical passthrough from my xbox 360. Admittedly, this is a driver issue, but it still results in a net loss for me.

I do love Linux; I love the philosophy, I love the security, I love the way that I can customise my computer no end. I just think that, for the most part, it lacks the more advanced functionality that Windows has gained due to greater popularity.

If I had the skills, I would gladly give back as much as I have gained from the Open Source Community, and try to help give it some of the functionality it needs.

With more and more people and companies turning away from Windows and Microsoft all the time, Linux is on the up, I just don't think it's ready to replace a power user's desktop yet.

Dinerty
August 31st, 2006, 05:18 PM
Ubuntu network running here, not used Windows for about a month or so, Very happy linux user here

reacocard
August 31st, 2006, 05:29 PM
I use windows only in vmware for a few tiny little things that don't work with wine. Aside from that, Ubuntu for everything :D

bulldog
August 31st, 2006, 05:33 PM
I use a stripped windows version for gaming only.
All the unnecessary junk removed.

But normally I only use Linux now for almost a year.
And no complaining about video and/of audio but I'm no freak however.
Just play my music and a DVD so now and then.

davebgimp
August 31st, 2006, 05:34 PM
I have dual-boots on all my machines and the only thing I ever use Windows for, ever, is video games because it's just easier for me to deal with than getting them to run with Wine or Cedega. Other than this last, slightly guilty holdout, I've no use for Windows. I already had a couple legal copies of XP and I'm lazy, so whatever. However, I draw the line at Vista. I'll go completely console game before I step into that mess.

bullon
August 31st, 2006, 05:36 PM
i still use windows for music creation (reason, acid, etc.) and gaming, the whole cedega/wine thing hasn't worked out so well for me

Jerome36
August 31st, 2006, 05:44 PM
I currently have two computers. One of them runs Ubuntu, while the other has Windows XP Pro. The Windows machine is my main computer, and gets the most use. At this point I don't think Linux will ever replace Windows, for me, but it definitely has it's place, for things I do.

haiku99
August 31st, 2006, 05:50 PM
So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.


I'm dual booting XP and Ubuntu, audio quality in Linux is equal , DVD playback is definintely better, don't get the occasional skips and jerks I get in XP using two different players. Am using VLC player w/ Ubuntu for web radio and DVD's and like it a lot despite it's various quirks....
Am keeping the windows partition as my printer and scanner are Canon models w/o Linux drivers.

illu45
August 31st, 2006, 05:51 PM
Currently, I use Windows only for gaming when I've got trouble getting a game to run in Ubuntu. Aside from that, I use Ubuntu pretty much exclusively these days.

nickbooker
August 31st, 2006, 05:53 PM
I've been using Linux for most things since before Christmas 2004. It gradually got to the point when I hardly used Windows at all, so rather than trying to share my Thunderbird mailbox between the two I switched to Linux completely.

Since then, I've ran Windows 2000 in VMWare for using Google Earth but since they've released a version for Linux I've had no need. I don't even use Wine.
I'm not a gamer though (nothing that isn't provided in Main or Universe by Ubuntu anyhow - in fact the games I like on Linux aren't available for Windows!)

So yes, I am now Windows free at home, and I use the Computer Science Linux labs rather than the central campus IT services at Uni. The only place I do have to use Windows is when adminning my local primary school's network (even then I take my laptop with me and do as much work as I can from there).

cebobbitt
August 31st, 2006, 06:20 PM
I have a machine that I have dedicated strickly to xubuntu. I had 2 machines , one with xp and one with Linux. I have been using xubuntu now for 3 months so still learning. Well to make a long story short, I gave my xp machine to my sister. I have dial up and a mahine with only 256 megs of ram. I use open box with dillo and its really snappy. All I do is email, IM, and surf the web, so it handles it with ease. I'm really happy with xubuntu and so far its the only distro that I haved tried. As far as games, I don't play games on the computer.

Frank Golden
August 31st, 2006, 06:41 PM
Hi all,
If you look at my signature you will see I dual boot.
Spend about 50/50 between XP/Ubuntu. My laptop uses a Logitech built in
web cam that Ubuntu unfortunately doesn't support yet
otherwise I would spend more time with Ubuntu.
I keep in touch with my daughter and 2 year old grandaughter
using MsnMessenger video VOIP. I can't do that in Ubuntu.
I can do voice using Tapioca in Ubuntu though.

I have a very stable Ubuntu install and I don't game so
when the dev's finally fix my webcam issue I may be away from XP
more often. I did pay for XP so I can't see me really dumping it anytime soon. I think Ubuntu and XP can peacfully co-exist on my
machine.:p

MaximB
August 31st, 2006, 06:57 PM
99% of my time at HOME I use Linux ubuntu
1% f my time at HOME I use winxp - not for gaming
but for "saving" Linux
when I've tried to configure my ATI video card - the xserver crashed a few time and I couldn't edit the file.

at college I study MCSE (Kill me for that...I just want to work).
so I have to use windows.

by the way - the sound in Linux is Much better then in windows for me.

Eddie Wilson
August 31st, 2006, 07:26 PM
Well yes I do. I do use WinXp sometimes for games, but not often. What I use windows for most of all is making backups of the dvd's that I buy. I use One-Click-DvD-Copy and AnyDvD for that. If I thought I could I would use Ubuntu for that also. I do own a legal copy of WinXp so I don't feel too down in the dumps for using it. I've been using computers for over 25 years. With linux I'm having fun again.

Yosho121
August 31st, 2006, 07:33 PM
Several machines use Windows at Home but they're stripped versions.
1 optimized for music with itunes
1 optimized for video with VLC player (though if from what I hear, that Ubuntu has VLC player). That one may go away.
1 optimized for playing games

Just one thing though I AM an audiophile, Videophile toWindows will still have my custom for as long as they keep up the standards I set. If Linux surpasses them noticeably then Linux will get the custom that Windows previousely had. I care more about what can do the better job than what's popular or desired.
BTW the computers that i use for all my work are all Linux.

klytu
August 31st, 2006, 07:34 PM
I had big hopes of not using Windows much anymore once I switched to Ubuntu, and for a while I didn't, but I hate to admit that I've started backsliding a little.

My first thought was "Wow, Linux can do everything Windows can, except play games, so I might as well use Linux instead." But then I started thinking in the reverse terms, "Windows can do everything Linux can, *plus* play games" (and I've found that video and audio are better in Windows as well). I realize that's a slightly simplistic view, especially for those of you who do real work in Linux and find it far more efficient. But for a normal user, I'm wondering about the switch.

Like I said, Windows is definitely for games, and booting into Windows to play games is no problem. But I've also notice that video and especially the sound of my audio is poor in Linux compared to Windows. Furthermore, moving my music collection to a shared partition so that I can access my music from both Windows and Linux causes minor headaches as well, because iTunes has to re-import everything, plus I can't use iTunes in Linux anyway. I'm afraid if I try to sync my iPod with some other software in Linux, this will cause problems when I try to do it again with iTunes in Windows.

Anyway, this isn't a Windows vs. Linux thread, because I still want to use and like Linux, but I'm just curious about how often regular users like myself switch back to Windows, and what you use it for.

Thanks,
John

I use Ubuntu about 90% of the time; Windows about 10%. I use Windows for video editing and playing some old Dos games; also for occassional web surfing of some sites that don't view with full functionality for me under Ubuntu yet.

I never really thought about not using Windows, but I don't think I would ever directly buy a copy of it. I got started in Linux because a friend suggested it and I wanted to learn about Unix. Tried several distros, and liked Ubuntu the most - mainly because of the wealth of community support and because it worked really well on my main computer right "out of the box".

My main way of learning Linux was to just use it. I would just do whatever I planned to do at a particular time using Linux instead. If I needed to learn some new techniques, to find a package somewhere, or to install some new software to accomplish this, I did it as I went along. Over time I discovered I was using Linux more and more; Windows less and less. I found over time that most things I wanted to do worked better using Ubuntu.

The main reason I wouldn't directly buy a copy of Windows is because I don't want pay additional licensing fees if I want to install it on multiple computers. I just don't find it to be a good value as a purchase. Ubuntu, on the other hand is free of charge, which is an excellent value! If I buy a new computer that has Windows already installed, I will probably leave it installed and use it for whatever features it has at the time that appeal to me.

ronnielsen1
September 7th, 2006, 01:22 AM
OH NO!!!!!!!!!!
The last time I use ******* was over a year ago when it caught all the nasty viruses, spyware, adware and malware that was going around. Ihave a confession Ubuntuites, I use Mepis on my primary machine but I am giving the new Kubuntu a test on my laptop. No, I had Xp dual booted and about the third reinstall I thought it wasn't worth it. Throw the ******* away people. It is junk. Is Linux perfect? No, but you can fix it - one problem at a time. Try telling that to the blue screen of death.

dal2k5
September 7th, 2006, 02:22 AM
nope i got rid of windows, now i only run linux!!!!

mitype2
September 7th, 2006, 02:27 AM
I have 2 separate HDDs on my computer. One with Unbuntu and the other has Windows XP.

I have installed Window XP on my wifes computer so she doesn't have a hard time like I am figuring out a new OS. As of right now I know absolutely nothing about Ubumtu. I like the fact I can use Firefox to browse the web but I can't do anything else. I'd like to buy the Ubuntu book but I can't afford 40 bux Oh well. I do like the fact that it is a very fast OS

mitype2

enopepsoo
September 7th, 2006, 02:29 AM
Unfortunately I still have to use Winblows at work. We don't really need to be on windows that much, but it is what the developers are using and used to.

I sometimes start my Ubuntu VM of course ;)

almrking
September 7th, 2006, 02:35 AM
I only use windows when I need to print documents. I have a Lexmark X4270 and the Linux Lexmark Z42 driver does not work all that great. As soon as I can, I'll be buying a printer supported by linux and I'll be rid of windows.

Omnios
September 7th, 2006, 02:42 AM
I started using Ubuntu over a year and a half ago and at first duel booted thinking I would use windows and slowly learn Linux. Anyways didn't realy work that way as solving problems tweeking etc meant for a realy steep learning curve where I learnt more about computers in a bout six months than I have with XP in about 4 years.

Anyways I started thinking windows just sits there like a flower pot where you can listen to music and play games but XP took the computer out of the computer making a XP user like a boring script puppy. With Ubuntu I revived my love of computing and learning how to do stuff with it. I also spend a lot of time on this forum and have done huge amounts of reading on different topics and problem solutions.

My Windows partition keeps getting smaller and smaller and may get even smaller still.

Now I only use win to play one game as it will not run in wine and now finding I realy do not want to boot into win to play it.

iampoch
September 7th, 2006, 03:29 AM
Honestly I find merit in both platfors amd love both of them like kids :) But honestly, I find Ubuntu a better OS than XP. It boots faster and is more secure. Unfortunately, it's still not as idiot-proff as I want it to be. I had my sister try Ubuntu but she didn't like it that much.

There are also some programs that I really love in Windows that aren't available in Linux like Google Desktop (which honestly beats gDesklets hands-down), YM8 and Trillian (to which Gaim is no real susbtitute), ZoneAlarm (admittedly, I haven't messed around with Ubuntu's bundled firewall yet), and iTunes (which is honestly the BEST music management software there is). I also use Photoshop occassionally, and my Motorolla Software doesn't have a Linux version. All these make me keep coming back to Windows. And, yeah, I don't want sustitutes, I want all of these ported over to Linux. Games aren't an issue for me since I don't use my PC to play games, I'm more of a console man.

Honestly, I really don't see myself using only one OS in the future. Like I said I do see merit in both and love both of them. If I had it my way, I'd even be triple-booting to Linux-Windows-MacOS, if only Mac'll release their OS as a separate purchase now that it uses Intel architecture. Hey, it's not bad to dream, right? :)

armware
September 7th, 2006, 04:17 AM
i dual boot (ok, i triple boot with vista, but we all know that's temporary). i would be 100% linux if it weren't for my job requiring .net programming. i am working (as i type, actually) on getting vmware or qemu running windows with visual studio. once i get that running, i can do work in linux and never (ok, rarely) have to do an actual boot into windows. and, of course, games. the thing is i only have games installed in windows because i have windows. meh.

fiver22
September 7th, 2006, 07:58 AM
I'm dual booting Ubuntu 6.06 and XP Pro -Since installing Ubuntu 2 months ago I have gone over to Windows maybe twice -but my girlfriend is a different story: she's a high-school teacher and thinks Open Office is crap so she's constantly booting into XP to run MS Office (mostly Word) -her biggest complaint seems to be that Open Office cuts stuff off that she prints -I haven't looked into this at all so I don't know if it's a configuration thing or not.
I'd be more than happy with just Ubuntu but when the person you love wants Windows you keep it on your HDD.

pcjunkie
February 20th, 2007, 12:00 PM
Still a Windowz lazy bugger...
I have to as I use allot of Audio Engineering gear like Native instruments and FL studio...none of this works well under Linux, if it did, I would use Ubantu exclusively...

Main Use is Multimedia...
Macromedia and Adobe run fine.
Web programming and websites being a hobby...

I love Ubantu, It's a little bit hard at first but I find it 200% faster than Windows when doing the usual of installing basic multimedia, web authoring and programming tools / packages.

The only issue I had is in Windows I can install a simple PHP apache My SQL server in seconds. (wamp) In Linux / Ubantu so far I have had a few problems and getting it all in the one package has been tricky...

Sarteck
February 20th, 2007, 12:32 PM
When Microsoft and Novell struck that big deal a few months ago, there was something about blurring the lines between OpenOffice and MS Office--i.e., making the two more interchangeable. If that really happens, then I'll be happy, because I won't have to ask potential employers what type of format to send my resume in as. ^_^

Other than that, I really have no reason to use Windows. Most games I like to play are older, and are perfectly capable of being run in Wine. Linux is more secure, and I can ask you guys here how to change my computer into just about anything I want it to be. Heh.

hannaman
February 20th, 2007, 12:46 PM
I am a Certified Solaris Admin and a Microsoft Certified Professional, but work almost exclusivly with Solaris. I kept XP installed on my desktop and laptop at home because when I go home I don't even think about work and I was lazy.

About 5 months ago, my XP installation started acting up (again) and freezing or not booting up completely and my virus and firewall software started telling me that they would soon stop protecting my computer if I didn't pay up (again). I downloaded Ubuntu and put it on my laptop first, since I was the only one who uses it. I eventually got tired of fighting XP and put Ubuntu on my desktop also. My wife, who cannot even spell computer and uses it just to surf the web hasn't complained once.

Now I am taking a class that requires Access, so I am CrossOffice for that, but once the class is over, so is Access. Now if my company will stop using that crappy time sheet website that requies IE, I get rid of that and wine also.

orb9220
February 20th, 2007, 12:58 PM
I am sorry for me anyway. I would love to be a All Ubuntu bean, But I find the multimedia and graphics,CDRW apps still behind the windows conterpart.

Music has been catching up and I use Amarok in gnome for my music needs.

CDRW programs for ripping my DVD movie collection are making some strides,but still lack features of windows DVDshrink and DVDecrypter which I run in wine but with a few bugs making them quirky. Using multi-sessions in cd burning is still in it's infancy.

Video editing and conversion in a gui is still lacking in power and ease of use.
Graphic programs suck alot with very limited features except a few glowing ones.

People always jump on me just use this and just use that. But I say like the Linux creedo is?
"Have it my way"?

Or well just open a term and enter: avidemux --d 3re--dfe fgwe >avi.2 )()ow dg>hdc<>temp1
(Noter:sarcasic fake command in term). I mean give me a break! If I can't do it in the gui I am not interested in how powerful the term is. The reason is I do not have the time or memory recall that i had when I was younger to memorize all that cryptic flag crap.

If you love the cli term and typing in all the commands with all the possible flags Great for You! I mean that. But for me a GUI is just that a Graphical User Interface.

And my other pet peave is kernel updates breaking xserver all the time. It is becoming such a headache for me I am considering locking down kernel versions and graphics drivers so I don't have to deal with these issue's.

That and OK,Ok I admit it Splinter Cell doesn't run with wine. That is why I will keep a dual boot setup.

nick.inspiron6400
February 22nd, 2007, 08:43 PM
I have Windows there, but i dont use it.

I got so fed up with spyware and viruses i gave up.

daxdog
February 24th, 2007, 08:15 PM
I wish I could get rid of Windows, but Linux isn't there yet. I cannot use my Dell PocketDJ 5GB MP3 player in Linux. Also, I cannot get iLumina software to run even using Wine.

It kills me everytime I have to use Windows on my computer. It dual boots. Linux runs great, but Windows crawls. I have no spyware or anything in Windows - it just runs like crap.

jamil_1
February 24th, 2007, 08:20 PM
hi evey body how can i acces my files created in windows through linux and vice versa

bulldog
February 24th, 2007, 08:26 PM
hi evey body how can i acces my files created in windows through linux and vice versa

Well jamil,you opened a topic about this and I replied on that one.
Maybe you can read it first before you ask your question in multiple topic's?

Thanks for your patience.

Ek0nomik
February 24th, 2007, 08:39 PM
I run both Windows & Linux on my Laptop.

fjf314
February 24th, 2007, 08:52 PM
I have only been running Ubuntu for a couple of weeks, but I'm using it more than anything else right now. Initially, I dual-booted with Ubuntu and Windows XP. I messed a few things up and decided it would be easiest for me to just re-install Ubuntu. At that point, I decided I may as well take the plunge and just remove XP from my system. I figured this would work out since it would force me to learn how to use Linux, instead of knowing I can just run back to Windows if something goes wrong.

As far as audio and video are concerned, my audio has been great with Dapper. I have a Soundblaster Audigy 2 and it worked fine right off the install. I was amazed I didn't have to find any drivers for it considering it never worked with Windows without drivers. The quality thus far seems the same as what I got in Windows. I can't really make a judgement on video because I haven't really used video with Ubuntu too much. I configured everything so that I could play DVDs and then put in a DVD to make sure that it worked, but beyond that I haven't actually watched anything yet.

Now the only time I use Windows is when I am at work, where I don't really have a choice.

birddseedd
February 24th, 2007, 09:05 PM
hi evey body how can i acces my files created in windows through linux and vice versa


I have a ntfs partition that i mount as /media/storage. this same partition is mounted as d: in windows. i used to use fat to do this. i gues ntfs is not supported.

mdsmedia
February 24th, 2007, 09:18 PM
I work as a tax accountant in Australia as my 3rd "job", that is I have 2 jobs where I'm employed and work for myself as a tax accountant.

Tax software in Australia is in the dark ages, that is it only runs on Windows.

Access to our tax office portal requires Windows, not necessarily IE but Windows.

I have one game that I've had since long before I installed Ubuntu, in October 2005. I haven't tried to run it in Linux because my knowledge of Linux isn't terribly advanced. Bit by bit I'm learning, but I don't have a lot of time to learn it. I waste too much time as it is ;).

My 2 employed jobs are Windows only. Nothing much I can do there.

Having said that, I have Ubuntu dual-booting on my laptop and my desktop, and I'd say that about 95% of my time on either PC is spent in Ubuntu. I upgraded the desktop to Edgy a couple of weeks ago, but left the Laptop on Dapper, because it's my main workstation.

I don't have much difficult tech work, graphics, audio and video editing, burning, DVD playback to do. My needs are usually pretty basic, but more than your "surf the web, email, write a letter". I do have some demands of my computer that average joe doesn't have, and I've found that generally Linux does it all. Overall I just find Ubuntu more comfortable than Windows.

Ohh...and I dislike Microsoft, XP is sluggish, WGA stinks, DRM and software patents should be blown up, open document rulez OK?, OGG....well I hear it's better than MP3 and soon we won't be able to use MP3 on any platform....so OGG rulez too OK!! :guitar:

skiddly
February 24th, 2007, 09:34 PM
Im still a newbie with a 80gig hard drive partitioned into 2 40g xp and 40g ubuntu,have got a few teething/learning probs sorted and am using ubuntu more as time goes on it will take time for me learn all ineed to ie commands for terminal etc but i hope to rid of windows once and for all eventually:guitar: rock on linux

Wartooth
February 24th, 2007, 09:37 PM
I'm a few days into having my permanent Ubuntu machine, but I have a feeling my XP box is going to be around for quite a long time, as buggy as it is.

I have to learn AutoCAD. No serious option for me to run AutoCAD2000 on Linux. I've heard rumors about making it run with WINE, but have found no real instructions or evidence.

I am also currently using Rosetta Stone online as part of my effort to learn German. I've just found out this morning that there is no Shockwave plug-in available for Linux. Another big downer.

Everything else that I can try to do on my Ubuntu computer, I will, and I am aiming to have this machine be my main computer, but until those two issues are cleared up, and possibly more in the future, I have to keep XP around. :/

urk_nono
February 24th, 2007, 10:10 PM
Windows-diminishing process is at 92,5%

I started out with my 160gb hdd with XP only, now I only allow 12gb of XP on it.

robophred
February 24th, 2007, 10:13 PM
I have been using ubuntu for about a week now. The sound definitely is superior on windows, as sound here is crackled. I have dual booted, and I don't plan on ever giving up windows. I never had any virus or spyware problems with it. Currently I use linux as my primary, but I have to always keep going back to windows to make and play my online game mods.

It seems that inherently, linux is better than windows, but only by a small amount. It is all the drivers/services/antivirus requirements that have to run in windows in order to get safe use out of it that slows it down and screws it up. Windows runs fine, its all the bloatware and other poorly made programs that do all the crashing.
That being said, it seems all the open source programs on linux are a lot better made than the for-purchase release-and-forget software for windows.

gitano1
February 24th, 2007, 10:15 PM
I have an iMac as well as a dual boot Ubuntu/XP machine. Windows is still necessary for certain media functions, copying DVDs and downloading music files from certain servers. Unfortunately, there is software for those functions which is specific to Windose and essentially irreplaceable. The majority of my usage is either in OSX or Ubuntu. They are just much more stable and bug free. I suspect that there will be a steady growth of new users in the wake of Vista which promises to be the least user friendly Windows OS yet.

retrorob
February 24th, 2007, 10:19 PM
I now use Linux exclusively at home. I still use Windows at work though. I have to say that Ubuntu is the first flavor I have been able to use as my primary OS. The interface is easy enough for my family to use, but it has enough depth for me to spend time just tinkering. Does anyone else just lose themselves in the packages. Man, theres enough goodies to keep you going for a long time!

robophred
February 24th, 2007, 10:24 PM
I now use Linux exclusively at home. I still use Windows at work though. I have to say that Ubuntu is the first flavor I have been able to use as my primary OS. The interface is easy enough for my family to use, but it has enough depth for me to spend time just tinkering. Does anyone else just lose themselves in the packages. Man, theres enough goodies to keep you going for a long time!

I completely agree. I tried debian first on my laptop, and had too many problems and general slow running that I ended up thinking linux was what most people here seem to think of 'windose'. Ubuntu was a major changing point when I installed it last week, I love the tweaks they did over the original gnome available on debian.

MeeMaw
February 24th, 2007, 10:31 PM
I use Windows at work (I have to, just like many of you) but at home I use Linux. I still have a drive with XP on it and can interchange the drives in this computer, but haven't used the XP drive since before New Year's. I installed Linux in July of '06 and have been using XP less and less ever since. :) :)

Mozork
February 24th, 2007, 10:38 PM
I have dual boot to, but since Ubuntu has been my standard boot option I have used windows rarely. I mean, for what (except gaming) should I use windows? I even stopped gaming as much as I did before Linux, because I don't want to switch every time I feel the urge to play any stupid PC Game.
For Work (I go to University) i can fortunately use Linux too, because it has everything I need, well even most of the university Computers have Linux (and only Linux), but not Ubuntu. It's Debian I think, with a vast range of different desktop environments upon your choosing, it's great. :D

floke
February 24th, 2007, 10:49 PM
No more Windows ever, ever, ever, since last night. Had a dual boot setup, never needed to use XP, but there was always the 'just in case' thing hanging about. Anyway, after a few beers and a few anti-MS (i.e. what MS are really like) threads, and with my anger sufficiently roused, I killed my (shrinking) XP partition. All gone. And very, very good it feels too.

Ballmer, you can kiss my ****.

geekgod
February 24th, 2007, 10:54 PM
I haven't used ******* in 9 months but it wasnt until 2 months ago that i deleted the partition. ahhhhhh disk space glorious disk space.


:guitar:

Ek0nomik
February 24th, 2007, 11:06 PM
I hope to delete the Windows partition completely one of these days...

aysiu
February 24th, 2007, 11:11 PM
I've moved this to the Cafe from Absolute Beginner.

ixus_123
February 24th, 2007, 11:21 PM
I use Windows for one piece of software :(

Polar ProTrainer - it's logging & graphing software for a sports watch / heart rate monitor I have for my running.

Pain to duel boot so I have just installed XP in VMware but can't get the infared USB dongle to work (to sync with the watch) so am going to try installing the alternative to vmware (name escapes me).

karellen
February 24th, 2007, 11:42 PM
I use windows for: webcam in yahoo mess, talk in google talk, some web development in macromedia (but not very often), sometimes power point presentations (open office it's still behind...)...I've give up gaming long time ago :D

linux_kid
February 24th, 2007, 11:47 PM
No, but Windows uses me.
Mr. Gates is hogging up a 20.1GB partition on my hdd.

I know, I know, I should shrink it. You don't have to tell me that.

EDIT: I'm going to go shrink it right now!

floke
February 24th, 2007, 11:52 PM
Go Linux_Kid (kill it all - you know you want to)

izanbardprince
February 25th, 2007, 12:23 AM
You can pick up a copy of Cedega, it's not that hard to install it and the 32-bit libraries on a 64-bit Ubuntu system, it's freaken sweet!

No, I have no further use for Windows, I don't miss the viruses and spyware and all that bundled crap one bit.

zaratustra
February 25th, 2007, 12:28 AM
I have Windows in vmware beacuse I need Matlab(exactly matlab:/, could not get it work on linux) for some colleage activities... only for that

Pikestaff
February 25th, 2007, 12:29 AM
Here's how it went for me:

I have both a desktop and a laptop computer. I installed Linux on my laptop at first, because I figured I needed my desktop for Windows programs/games. But I soon found myself enjoying it so much that I began using my laptop even more than I did before, just so I could use Kubuntu.

So after about a month of this I figured, why not make my desktop a dual boot so I can use Kubuntu most of the time, and Windows XP for games? So about a week back I backed up my stuff and started turning my desktop into a dual-boot. But about halfway through, Windows seemed to get corrupted or something... it wouldn't boot and was being a pain. So I thought "what the heck" and wiped the whole drive and now I'm running pure Kubuntu on both of my computers.

So yeah, I don't use Windows except at school, and I'm quite content thus far... although I am just starting out. :popcorn:

linux_kid
February 25th, 2007, 04:29 AM
Go Linux_Kid (kill it all - you know you want to)
Thanks for the encouragement, Steve.K

StewieHead
February 25th, 2007, 04:41 AM
I split my time between OS X and linux. I haven't used a windows machine in almost a year and I have no plans of doing so in the future either. Windows can't give me anything that OS X and linux can't apart from huge security holes and lots of viruses. eew.

master5o1
February 25th, 2007, 04:55 AM
Microsoft Windows? Isn't that a virus? Heck no I'll never install that thing on my computer!

(lol)

AndyCooll
February 25th, 2007, 06:23 AM
I confess that I still use *******. I have a VMware XP image that I use solely for playing Football Manager.

Apart from that this house is Linux only.

:cool:

Kateikyoushi
February 25th, 2007, 06:54 AM
Last year I bought myself a 17" notebook for gaming and video editing, I played 2 games with it during the whole year and don't have the time to go to LAN meetings either.
So the only thing I use windows for is video editing, when ubuntu studio is out I will try to force it on my PS3 and then sell the other notebook.

mtn
February 25th, 2007, 06:58 AM
Like I said, Windows is definitely for games, and booting into Windows to play games is no problem.


Have you tried Open Arena (http://openarena.ws/)? the open source Quake III, runs sweet fro me.
Also PlaneShift is a open source and free Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMOGPG) that, although I have not had time to get in to it, looks really nice. Well worth a try.
Other games to try are BZFlag (http://bzflag.org/) a “free multiplayer multiplatform 3D tank battle game” installable through Synaptic, as well as Globulation 2, LXDoom and Trigger.
Linux Game Publishing (http://www.linuxgamepublishing.com/) have a range of titles for sale that are worth looking at as well.

What about Windows games on Linux?
To play a good variety of Windows games, for a small price you can purchase TransGames, Cedega (http://www.transgaming.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&file=index&func=display&ceid=29). From my limited experience this is an excellent way to get Windows games going on Linux, with lots of titles supported.




Furthermore, moving my music collection to a shared partition so that I can access my music from both Windows and Linux causes minor headaches as well, because iTunes has to re-import everything, plus I can't use iTunes in Linux anyway. I'm afraid if I try to sync my iPod with some other software in Linux, this will cause problems when I try to do it again with iTunes in Windows.


I would suggest not using iTunes (I don't own an iPod) but why not download DRM free music from one of the many many sites legitimately selling DRM free music? When I set up my brothers desktop PC with Ubuntu we tried his iPod with Rythembox and this worked straight out the box to move files back and forth. Or even better, put Rockbox (http://www.rockbox.org) on your iPod and start using the open source OGG file format!

I dumped Windows a week after installing Linux, 2 years ago, and now find it annoying as hell if I have to use a Windows box...it just does not feel right and I can't remember where thing are!

(Apologies if any (or all) of these suggestions have already been posted)

floke
February 25th, 2007, 08:40 AM
Absolutely. The Windows filesystem's a complete bodge. When I first started using Linux I was (as I would be) confused as hell about it, but booting back into Windows to try and find stuff soon became a hellish trudge through inexplicable-arrangement-land.

Deathshrimp316
February 25th, 2007, 09:16 AM
I don't have Windows installed at the moment (formatted to get rid of Vista - don't worry I didn't pay for it) but I will have to install XP again just for Age of Empires 3, which doesn't co-operate in wine or cedega.

Haven't been using Ubuntu for all that long, but I can't wait for a windows-free world.

super breadfish
February 25th, 2007, 12:02 PM
I have XP installed for using my TV card. I don't know how to use it in Ubuntu.

I also use it for printing because the printer drivers in Ubuntu are near useless. Though my printer is broken anyway so I might end up with a more Linux-friendly one unless I can fix it.

Hopefully I'll be able to fix these to issues soon and be done with Windows for good.

EmilyRose
February 25th, 2007, 02:41 PM
I haven't used windows since I installed Ubuntu over a month ago now... I still have 15 gigs set aside should I for some reason decide that I want/need windows for something, but am thinking now it'll probably just get integratedinto my Home partition here soon... I just have no desire/use for it anymore=)

Next.Step
February 25th, 2007, 02:44 PM
I use xp only for a few programs...I confess...
for Dreamweaver 8, Photoshop CS2, InDesign CS2, and for Acrobat Pro 8
and for M$ Office 2007 why there isn't an office suite like that for Linux?

Bezmotivnik
February 25th, 2007, 03:17 PM
Linux was always a secondary OS for me and I find myself using it less and less. It's only about 10% of my use, at most. Just doesn't cut it for most stuff: Kludgy, buggy, half-finished apps, no support for some of my peripheral hardware and buggy drivers for my "Linux-supported" printer, primitive wireless, buggy multimedia apps, etc. No news here.

I use it for web-browsing and e-mail in the office. That's about it. It's OK for that, and in some ways seems to be slightly better than XP running the same software (FireFox, Thunderbird, Gaim). I don't hate Linux, I just realize (after seven years or so) its practical limitations. I have an eccentric fondness for it, as one might for the slow child who tries hard and has good intentions. :)

steven8
February 25th, 2007, 03:25 PM
No, I don't use windows anymore.

madfrageris
February 25th, 2007, 03:31 PM
Yes, I do, mainly because I can't make my modem work in Linux. Also, my hunger for games dictates the use of this operating system. Anyway, I barely imagine my life without dual-boot system, even though I didn't have any Linux problems remaining.

TubaTodd
February 25th, 2007, 03:34 PM
My home is now Windows FREE, but my PC at work (issued by the school) is running Windows 2000.

Bronto
February 25th, 2007, 03:47 PM
Yes I am.
Reasons:

At home:
- I like watching movies on TV using the TV Out facility offered by my graphics card.
- I like to relax by plying a game without tinkering for 30min. to make it work.
- I like to browse the LAN with ease.

At work:
- I need to browse the LAN with ease.
- I found no real replacement for our accounting/inventory applications (Yes I am aware of Compiere but I don't have the time to adapt it to our legislation and I really hate Oracle).
- I need to be able to use any printer/scanner/web camera/projector/photo camera etc. without manual intervention (like copying a .ppd file into a certain location using the root account).
- I need to be able to produce professional graphics (raster and vector) using the CMYK color space.
- I need the power of Visual Basic (the real one not that stupid .NET crap) in my Office Suite (yes I'm talking about Access here).
- And maybe the most important thing I need users which are not learning in schools how to use Excel but how to use a spreadsheet.

Well I could go on and on with those reasons, but I also want to enumerate some of the problems I've encountered lately with my GNU/Linux experiments.

I will start by mentioning that I've recently finished going in production with 5 GNU/Linux based servers which provide the services below to 100 or so users.

1 Firewall/Router/VPN Gateway - Endian Firewall
1 Web/FTP server - SMEServer (CentOS based)
1 Mail server - Debian + Zimbra
1 Database/Webapps server - Ubuntu Server (6.10) + PostgreSQL + MySQL + Apache + PHP
1 File/Print server - SMEServer (again)

I've enumerated all that just for the record and to let anyone know that I know my way around in Linux (and Windows).
I'm really satisfied with the servers' performance and I'm convinced that in the server world Windows has lost. But we're talking about desktops here.

I usually test every new release of Kubuntu, Fedora, Debian. I do this using VMware Worksation and every test is done in a virtual machine with at least 384 MB of RAM while the testing host has 2 GB of RAM. Some of my (humble) observations are:

- There is a real cult in GNU/Linux about disabling NumLock (even if it's activated by default in BIOS). It is at least unpleasant (after 16 years of accumulated reflexes) to try to enter an IP address using the (disabled) numeric pad.
- There is a real cult in Ubuntu/Kubuntu about graphic tablets/tablet pc's enabled by default in X and providing those real nice error messages in console which may scare away any average Joe User.
- There is a real cult in GNU/Linux about not providing an easy access to the average Joe User to the network settings/shares.
- The Ubuntu approach of using sudo for root privileges is against any system safety policy (that's safety not security). How will a sysadmin guarantee the stability of a GNU/Linux Workstation when any average Joe User has access to system files just by using his login password?
- In general, the current day distro's are focusing towards Home Desktops (bad move, in my opinion, without proper support for gaming/multimedia) instead of focusing on Workstations which should complete the already successful servers in any business environment.

reacocard
February 25th, 2007, 04:14 PM
- The Ubuntu approach of using sudo for root privileges is against any system safety policy (that's safety not security). How will a sysadmin guarantee the stability of a GNU/Linux Workstation when any average Joe User has access to system files just by using his login password?

Very simply. Just deny the user admin access in the Users & Groups setup dialog by unchecking 'Administer the System' in the 'User Privileges' tab.

MkfIbK7a
February 25th, 2007, 04:27 PM
i have never actually owned a computer that ran windows...

RichJacot
February 25th, 2007, 04:31 PM
My home is winbloz free. I only use it when I have to at work, which is really only for outlook and a few other internal only apps..

Bronto
February 25th, 2007, 04:51 PM
Very simply. Just deny the user admin access in the Users & Groups setup dialog by unchecking 'Administer the System' in the 'User Privileges' tab.

I'm well aware of all that but there is not that simple for every situation.

Example:
I've just installed Feisty Herd 4 - Kubuntu (2 hours ago). Everything went fine until I decided to update the system. I've followed the path any average user will follow: I've clicked on the adept updater icon.
The update process started fine then I've got a message about a nice value bla-bla. Clicked on "Cancel"... and finally "...segmentation fault" in console.
After examining the error messages I've got to the conclusion that the installer was trying to access the X Server as root (which is not possible with sudo nor su).

Solution:
$sudo passwd root
.....
.....
$sudo apt-get install sux
$sux
......
$apt-get update
$apt-get upgrade

Went perfect...

I don't think that the problem was solvable with sudo (no matter how many rights my user account had) but I'm not an expert so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Ezra
February 25th, 2007, 05:01 PM
I use Linux 99% of the time, my laptop dual boots XP and Kubuntu 6.06 (X driver support was dropped and Vesa is too slow), XP is really only there so the tech guys at the company that made it can use it when they test my faulty CD drive. My desktop though is Linux only.

Zuuswa
February 25th, 2007, 05:17 PM
Nope. I've been windows-free for 7 months, and I dont have a single complaint!

wireddad
February 25th, 2007, 06:14 PM
There is no hope for me.

macogw
February 25th, 2007, 09:18 PM
No, not when I have the choice.

At work I have no choice. Must use Windows. One of the guys has Fedora on his desk computer there, but I don't have a computer to myself, so I can't do that (and Quickbooks won't run on Linux).

SSamiK
February 25th, 2007, 09:42 PM
No, been completly windows free since I deletet my dualboot setup when upgrading from Breezy to Dapper. Since then I've convertet most of my family to Ubuntu as well, only my old man left in Windows. Somekind of genealogy program he's using, witch he apparently cant live without, is holding him back.

macogw
February 25th, 2007, 09:47 PM
SSamik, show him GRAMPS. I know a professional genealogist who is jealous of it (it makes some very nice charts). It can work directly on the GEDCOM as well. Just tell him to export a GEDCOM, import it in GRAMPS, and it should work fine.

pirothezero
February 25th, 2007, 10:00 PM
I currently have xp on my laptop but am looking to install sabayon along with it to evaluate it as a substitue. Got ubuntu with kde/gnome/xfce on my main rig and ubuntu server on two computers that I have as test machines for random stuff.

xp however will be the last ms os I own so vista and all appearing children can shove it.

RedSquirrel
February 25th, 2007, 10:16 PM
No I never use it. I have found suitable replacements for the windows apps I was using. I really like the idea of not having to pay for any software. That's just for starters; there are lots of reasons I prefer linux over windows.

Kingsley
February 25th, 2007, 10:33 PM
I'm still dual booting but I haven't logged into Windows in almost 3 months. I use Crossover Office to occasionaly use essential programs like Windows Media Player, Microsoft Office, or Internet Explorer.

macogw
February 25th, 2007, 11:26 PM
I'm still dual booting but I haven't logged into Windows in almost 3 months. I use Crossover Office to occasionaly use essential programs like Windows Media Player, Microsoft Office, or Internet Explorer.

In the case of Excel, I can see MS Office being "essential" but why the others? IE runs in Wine with IEs4Linux. Even for Excel, though, Gnumeric is a great copy of it (much much better than OOo Calc).

Craftycorner
February 27th, 2007, 03:31 PM
I've a double hard drive w kubuntu & windows xp home cuz I can't get nero 6 to run on my kubuntu and cuz i've a scanner that's not linux compliant :( i didn't buy xp home tho, it came with my computer lol :lolflag:

Foudre
February 27th, 2007, 09:46 PM
I dual boot, but not like i have xp any more, i have a half version of vista, the rc1 cracked itself for me, so i'm like ok it won't expire, so free vista with no support i can do that, on vista i play games dx10 runs so much better on my computer then dx9 did, and my games run nicely, plus i have a radio station i run on windows, plan on making it work on linux, but my ip changes every time i log on so mantaining listeners without telling a few freinds kinda is hard, since the pls has to be changed every time i log on or off, i wish this network had static ips

deese64
March 1st, 2007, 09:41 PM
I mostly use windows for work purposes. (eg. Cisco Vpn)

LMP900
March 1st, 2007, 10:32 PM
While I can say that Ubuntu is my primary OS and I no longer have any Windows machines, I do use Mac OS X from time to time.

I've got nothing against Windows. But for now, I feel that Ubuntu offers me more. This could change when Windows 7 comes out in 2009 or Mac OS X Leopard later this year, but for now, Ubuntu is the best OS for my situation.

muguwmp67
March 2nd, 2007, 07:09 AM
I still need my windows partition to connect to a client's IPSec VPN appliance (sonicwall).

kevbro
March 2nd, 2007, 08:05 AM
Iam a newbie to Linux (6.06 dapper), we have 2 computers connected via an ethernet hub. The main computer has XP and is connected directly to the internet - currently ataying with XP due to CADsoftware, Nero, scanner, DivX recording, and DV editing.

The second pc has 2 HD's one with Ubuntu the other HD has XP,dual boot with GRUB - the printer is connected to this pc although this took me about 2 weeks to get the Brother printer/scanner working with linux. The applications available GIMP, open office are excellent. Downloading from a kodak Digital camera was simple

Installation on this pc was easy and painless - network detected, audio and sound are great, web browsing better.

My only difficultes are in getting Azureus working properly - have just installed Automatix 2 - this installed Azureus simply and so far is downloading as good as I had in XP.

My biggest hurdle now will be burning downloads to DVD and / or DivX - Cannot get DivX installed - instructions seem hard to follow - none of the instructions I have follwed to date work exactly as suggested (frustrating).

Wood ditch XP completely once all the requirements are met.

Hallvor
March 2nd, 2007, 10:22 AM
Yes. I double boot. But only because of my Lexmark all-in-one which just doesn`t work under Ubuntu, and because of some weird 3-4 second freezes every 20 minutes which drops all my connections in aMule... So i basically use Windows whenever I want to scan something or download a large file from the ed2k-network. Bittorrent works like a charm under Ubuntu, though.

Bear
March 2nd, 2007, 02:28 PM
Windows free. No more for me...\\:D/ :-D

umattu
March 3rd, 2007, 04:43 PM
At home, I have 4 machines and not one runs windows. I have a dapper laptop, a dapper server, an edgy desktop, and an edubuntu edgy desktop. Unfortunately I have to support Windows at work and use Windows at work.

There have been many obstacles that I have encountered along the way to being windows free, gaming, ofcourse, is the biggest one. In this area Wine has come through for me, I play CSS which runs great in Wine, and WOW which also runs great so I am happy. There have been other things that have gotten me cursing ubuntu, but that is the drive that keeps me loyal to this OS. I am dedicated to make all of my computing needs aplicable in ubuntu.

1 year MS free and counting!!!

bytor4232
March 3rd, 2007, 05:02 PM
I use it for a few things.

1. Once a year I do my taxes on it (well, my wife does the taxes).
2. I have an HP all-in-one photo printer that I use windows to print with. I could set it up on Linux, but I very very rarely print anything to be completely honest. When printing stuff like driving directions or stuff for my D&D games I can tell it to use only the black cartridge an print in very low quality. Saves on ink. For printing photos I just put the SD card in and select the images to be printed.
3. Netflix. I cat watch streaming movies, and it only works under IE. It sucks, but its a proprietary player and I have to use it under Windows and IE.

And of course

4. iTunes. Rythmbox and Amarok are cool, but they are nowhere near as awesome as iTunes when it comes to syncing to the venerable iPod. I have a complex matrix of smart playlists that refresh my iPod when I connect it to iTunes. When I skip songs or have listened to a song, it gets rotated off the iPod for a certain period of time, typically I have to adjust this based on the last time I've synced. I devote a certain amount of space to unrated songs, which I call wild songs, that get rotated. Currently one, two, and three star songs never make it onto the iPod, and I'm free to change that. More space to "four star" songs, which get rotated as well. And five star songs simply stay on the iPod. I also have other playlists I sync to it, like tv shows and new albums I've just purchased. Oh, and I buy all my music on iTunes. I love music, but am not an audiophile, the quality I get from buying/burning/importing_mp3 is fine for me.

I've always kept an install of Windows around. You just never know when the kids need it for school. Over time, however, I've used it less and less. I only hop on iTunes about once a week, sometimes less. We have to watch Netflix Watch Now under it, but again, we are only in there about once a week to watch movies online. So I'm very rarely in the XP world. If I could, I'd never boot into it, but as the PC world stands, thats not possible.

bytor4232
March 3rd, 2007, 05:10 PM
Iam a newbie to Linux (6.06 dapper), we have 2 computers connected via an ethernet hub. The main computer has XP and is connected directly to the internet - currently ataying with XP due to CADsoftware, Nero, scanner, DivX recording, and DV editing.

The second pc has 2 HD's one with Ubuntu the other HD has XP,dual boot with GRUB - the printer is connected to this pc although this took me about 2 weeks to get the Brother printer/scanner working with linux. The applications available GIMP, open office are excellent. Downloading from a kodak Digital camera was simple

Installation on this pc was easy and painless - network detected, audio and sound are great, web browsing better.

My only difficultes are in getting Azureus working properly - have just installed Automatix 2 - this installed Azureus simply and so far is downloading as good as I had in XP.

My biggest hurdle now will be burning downloads to DVD and / or DivX - Cannot get DivX installed - instructions seem hard to follow - none of the instructions I have follwed to date work exactly as suggested (frustrating).

Wood ditch XP completely once all the requirements are met.

I had a hard tiem with DivX too. Here's what I did:


# apt-get install mplayer
# cd /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/
# sudo sh install-css.sh


I only ever used mplayer for movies under Linux. I like it, and it always seems to work. Make sure you install css otherwise you won't be able to play dvd's.

After you get mplayer installed, and If you have a DVD burner, check out devede. It takes anything mplayer can play and makes a DVD iso image from it. Very cool.

mtn
March 3rd, 2007, 05:25 PM
Iam a newbie to Linux (6.06 dapper), we have 2 computers connected via an ethernet hub. The main computer has XP and is connected directly to the internet - currently ataying with XP due to CADsoftware, Nero, scanner, DivX recording, and DV editing.

I may be off the mark here, but have you tried GnomeBaker as substitute for Nero? Available to install through Synaptic or Automatix2.

AusIV4
March 3rd, 2007, 05:34 PM
I mostly use windows for work purposes. (eg. Cisco Vpn)
At this moment I'm using Kvpnc to connect to my school's vpn on Kubuntu. It works quite well.

As far as the original question, I boot windows very rarely. Sometimes when I miss a TV show, I'll boot to windows and download it on iTunes, and every once in a while I'll boot back to windows to play games with some friends. I have three computers, and only one of them as a windows install. I've been using Ubuntu on all of my computers since December of last year, and I've booted to Windows less than 10 times since then, and at least two of them were when I was trying to configure wifi and wanted to know for sure there was a signal in my current location (turned out there wasn't).

lavs23
March 3rd, 2007, 08:18 PM
I use Windows very rarely. Occasionally I do some work from home on SolidWorks in Windows. Other then that I have Office for some school work (use OpenOffice.org most of the time but if it's a group project then I use Office so the formatting doesn't screw up) and Adobe CS2 for my wife running using vmware and seamlessrdp. Solidworks is the only reason I still have a Windows partition.

BOBSONATOR
March 3rd, 2007, 09:43 PM
Yes for games, sony vegas, and sometimes CS2.

kevinlyfellow
March 3rd, 2007, 09:54 PM
I bought a laptop with preinstalled linux (system76) and left my windows desktop 3000 miles away when I moved!

Mateo
March 3rd, 2007, 09:58 PM
I use it for media center, since mythtv isn't very good except for the tv part.

afljafa
March 4th, 2007, 01:28 AM
I use it for media center, since mythtv isn't very good except for the tv part.

:lolflag: - Funny post.

I was thinking just this morning how well Mythtv compares to all it`s competition.

LookTJ
March 4th, 2007, 02:43 AM
dual boot - XP
usage - gaming

linux_kid
March 4th, 2007, 04:10 AM
I have M$ in as a guest os, if that puts it any less thean dual booting it...

Reasons:
Printer (Lexmark X2205)
HP Support (its highly entertaining to complain to those people)
Windows Movie Maker (someone tell me if this works in wine)
Quicktime (dont have time to extract a tar.gz file and ./configure it)

Cloudy
March 4th, 2007, 04:12 AM
When I come home I use Windows. My laptop at the dorms is purely Ubuntu, but here at home I'm dualbooting between Kubuntu & Windows.. and the PC's always booted into Windows and I'm too lazy a sod to reboot into Kubuntu. (:

Mateo
March 4th, 2007, 04:42 AM
:lolflag: - Funny post.

I was thinking just this morning how well Mythtv compares to all it`s competition.

for the TV aspect, but other features aren't so good. Mythvideo in particular is irritating. It is nothing more than a file browser. It merely launches mplayer, it doesn't even act as a frontend.

afljafa
March 4th, 2007, 05:03 AM
for the TV aspect, but other features aren't so good. Mythvideo in particular is irritating. It is nothing more than a file browser. It merely launches mplayer, it doesn't even act as a frontend.

Well thats entirely incorrect. Mythvideo and Mythdvd use as default their own internal player now that handle things quite well. They will even handle dvd menu`s.

konungursvia
March 4th, 2007, 07:06 AM
I dual boot, the only thing I can't live without in ******* is Corel Wordperfect for my writing needs. Wish I could Wine it, doesn't work.

crunchyfox
March 6th, 2007, 08:48 AM
I still use windows all the time... i have windows 2k on my laptop which i use mainly for work. i have a windows xp live cd which i also use for work, and use spybot S&D ad-aware and avast virus scan All the time on my girlfriends XP box.....my computer... linux....which im still slowly learning and fighing with on a daily basis to get all my games working.

kevbro
March 7th, 2007, 12:53 PM
Thanks I had installed gnomebaker, did not think it would do Divx (mpeg4) or even DVD for that matter as it labels them as 'data' - have burnt a couple of DivX CD's

noneofthem
March 7th, 2007, 01:22 PM
I only use Windows at work but I already proposed switching to GNU/Linux to management. Unfortunately as a major US American company they are unlikely to listen. Time will show...

steevc
March 7th, 2007, 01:40 PM
I have to use XP at work. At home my main PC only runs Kubuntu and does just about everything I need. I have another PC running Win98 that the kids use to play some old games. I have to use that now and again when something doesn't work on Linux. The last time was when I wanted to print some boarding passes from the BA site. It didn't work from Firefox on Kubuntu, but did from FF on Win98.

There's a couple of other things like programming my Comfort home control and my Logitech Harmony remote that I use the Window for, on the company laptop. I've not tried those apps on Wine yet. The Logitech one uses some app called from the browser, so I'm not sure how that could work.

I'm not into games, so that's not an issue.

muncrief
March 8th, 2007, 07:04 PM
Yes, I use Windows XP under VMware workstation to play most browser multimedia. For some reason, there aren't any fully functional multimedia browser plug-ins for Linux. If you're lucky, you can get some kind of embedded multimedia to play, but progress bars and fast-forward, rewind, and pause buttons haven't been implemented for the most part. Even keyboard shortcut controls for plug-ins rarely work.

I'm not sure why this is, since Linux developers seem to have produced all the codecs necessary. It's no longer a proprietary codec problem, it simply seems to be a refusal by Linux developers to implement this basic functionality for some reason.

Of course Linux, in 2007, is never going to gain any significant desktop OS market share if it doesn't provide robust and easy to use multimedia functions for the average user.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ubuntu, but I'm an engineer and use it because it's a superior engineering platform. However, I see no reason why it couldn't also be a superior desktop OS, and knock the socks off Windows Vista, if only someone would finally acknowledge the 800 pound elephant in the middle of the room. It has to fully, and simply, support multimedia. That has become part of the definition of a modern desktop OS.

I'm encouraging Ubuntu (and I donate actual cash to them) to offer assistance to the multimedia developers in hopes that they can finally get one (all we need is one, and I don't care if it's Totem, Mplayer, VLC, etc.) multimedia player/browser plug-in to fully and simply support multimedia, like Windows XP does. Once this is done, I believe that Ubuntu could become the desktop OS of choice. It already has Beryl, which is far superior to Aero, all it needs is modern multimedia and it will be the hands down winner as far as I'm concerned.

dyous87
March 8th, 2007, 07:06 PM
On my personal laptop I have nothing but Ubuntu. My home desktop is dual booted and I only use Windows for some games and for testing web sites on the windows platform, or if Macromedia Flash is being buggy under wine when I'm doing web development.

peter771
March 28th, 2007, 08:12 PM
Why use just one OS?
I use Mac os x, linux and windows.
I only use windows for the odd game and tv, everything else OS X and linux!

The main advantage is windows stays clean as it isn't open to spyware and viruses, I don't keep uninstalling and installing programs as I use to when I only used windows.

But besides the fact windows runs better when not under heavy use I prefer OS X and linux, not because they are "better" or "safer" but because they do what I want to do without all the hassle(OS X more than linux).

I hear a lot of people say "I hate windows" and "windows sucks" (I even say it when fixing my dads pc) even though this is my opinion at times I still have to use it due to the course I am doing (Bsc Software Development) and because my dad is an incompetent computer user who is reluctant to even try a different operating system (ubuntu).

getaboat
March 28th, 2007, 11:44 PM
I have to use XP at work. At home my main PC only runs Kubuntu and does just about everything I need. I have another PC running Win98 that the kids use to play some old games. I have to use that now and again when something doesn't work on Linux. The last time was when I wanted to print some boarding passes from the BA site. It didn't work from Firefox on Kubuntu, but did from FF on Win98.

There's a couple of other things like programming my Comfort home control and my Logitech Harmony remote that I use the Window for, on the company laptop. I've not tried those apps on Wine yet. The Logitech one uses some app called from the browser, so I'm not sure how that could work.

I'm not into games, so that's not an issue.

Ditto almost.

Work laptop is XP, my main PC is now Edgy, shared House PC is Dapper. W98 looks after the printers and scanner and the stuff not moved to Ubuntu. W98 and Ubuntu get along just fine. However the kids XP boxes don't like the W98 box or Ubuntu. I'll sort that out at sometime.

Games - I get bored after 1 second.

alextj
March 28th, 2007, 11:49 PM
After unsuccessfully trying to get used to GIMP and trying to run Photoshop on WINE, I gave up.
Running Windows XP in Vmware Sever, just because of Photoshop.

LookTJ
March 28th, 2007, 11:52 PM
Nope I haven't used Windows since October 2006(came back in January 2007 for a month then deleted again :D). Right now, I dual boot Xubuntu and Sabayon(Xubuntu: xfce debian based on ubuntu, Sabayon:KDE portage based on Gentoo)

Mateo
March 29th, 2007, 12:13 AM
yes, for media center, because mythvideo can not change the zoom on the fly, because ati overscan is terrible, and because lirc is pretty mediocre as well.

steevc
March 29th, 2007, 09:20 AM
Ditto almost.

Work laptop is XP, my main PC is now Edgy, shared House PC is Dapper. W98 looks after the printers and scanner and the stuff not moved to Ubuntu. W98 and Ubuntu get along just fine. However the kids XP boxes don't like the W98 box or Ubuntu. I'll sort that out at sometime.

Games - I get bored after 1 second.

I just acquired an ancient Toshiba laptop (T8100) that has Win2K on it. I'm tempted to keep that as it will do for programming my multi-remote and home control as I mentioned before. I did try booting a Kubuntu CD, but it seemed to freeze after a while during the boot. That may be because it only has 128MB. It also only has a 6GB drive, so dual booting is not really an option. Maybe I'll move the kids' PC to Kubuntu now as they hardly run their old windows games these days.

AndyCooll
March 30th, 2007, 07:44 PM
Finally ...I'm happy to report that this house is Linux only.

Although I've been using Linux for a couple of years now, I've always needed to keep using an XP VMware image to play a game. Well at last I've managed to get the game working with Wine, and so finally the XP image can be laid to rest.

Unfortuantely I still have to use XP at work.

:cool:

67comet
August 23rd, 2007, 06:24 AM
On my MacBook Pro its running Mac OS X with Parallels running Windows for MS Projects.

Other than that, ALL my computers at home are running Linux only. Ubuntu Server 6.10 on my server (http://www.openlug.com), 7.04 on my Media Computer, son's computer (he loves games), my computer and Linux Mint on my wife's HP Notebook (dv4000).

At work on my teaching Podium I've got Ubuntu (with xubuntu-desktop, kubuntu-desktop and edubuntu-desktop installed for showing it off) running on a BIOS booted hard drive behind Windows XP. I hit F9 when I boot to select which hard drive to select, if not it defaults with no grub interaction to the MS hard drive.

At work on my workstation, friggin' windows. It is on the LAN and they constantly dig around in our junk, so I can't hide it on there like I do my teaching podium.

If anyone know an application that can save in .mmp format for MS Projects lemme know and I can get rid of Windows all together.!

GFree678
August 23rd, 2007, 06:27 AM
I have XP running in VMware for the occasions I need to use Windows software (which is not often, but I don't want to cut off my link with the rest of the world.)

I also have another computer running XP which serves as a way to connect my phone and access the internal memory on it. Linux doesn't support my particular model, yet Nokia PC Suite for Windows does, so that's what I use.

Tiekyl
August 23rd, 2007, 06:45 AM
I have a dual boot, but I have to boot into windows far too much for my liking. I'm on a sims 2 kick right now, and its too much of a hassle to reboot to do web surfing and the like. Otherwise, when I am gonna be off the game for a while, I use ubuntu all the time.

r_l
August 23rd, 2007, 09:08 AM
Would love to switch to Ubuntu completely, but unwillingly I still need MSword in XP for work stuff.

I have some very long documents to edit and OOwrite is no good in transfering long documents with complicated formats from MSwords (e.g., subdocs, masterdocs, and auto TOC, field references). In addition, its search-and-replace function for formating is really a joke. I would love to have switched completely to UU if OpenOffice was better.

stuh84
August 23rd, 2007, 11:28 AM
The only Windows installs on my Macs and PC's are within VMWare, and thats for Guitar Pro (it has a Mac port, but it tries to default to the onboard sound, and I use an external firewire audio interface), and for watching Champ Car Race Director, as its Windows only for some benign reason.

I have no actual installs, just OS X on the macs, Ubuntu on the desktop PC, and Ubuntu and Mandrivia on the laptop.

I use Windows at work, but it is customised to all hell to behave very little like windows, and I use Ubuntu Server in a VM for the important parts of the job anyway :)

Paqman
August 23rd, 2007, 01:03 PM
Like many, I play games in Windows. I also use it for web design, as the Linux aps i've used (NVU, Quanta+, etc) just don't come close to Dreamweaver. I've taken to using Dreamweaver in a VM though, so I guess I actually have Windows twice on my Desktop! :lol:

marco123
August 23rd, 2007, 01:48 PM
Nope. I've been completely free for months now. - It's hard to explain. it's kind of like being stuck indoors, say waiting for a hospital appointment, then finally getting out of the place and it's a beautiful summer day with the smell of cut grass in the air. Aaahhhhhh.:):)

Kimm
August 23rd, 2007, 02:17 PM
To help with the OPs Sound Problem, I find that if I raise the volume on my speakers and lower the PCM volume in alsamixer (or xfce4-mixer, or whatever program you want to use) I get far better sound quality.

Just make sure that no other program changes the PCM volume later (for example by using ESD instead of Alsa directly)

TaTaE
August 25th, 2007, 11:56 AM
no windows in my house for 4 years now. still waiting for improved OOo though. :)

ironfistchamp
August 25th, 2007, 12:05 PM
I use Windows more than Linux now. It's faster booting, plays my games (big gamer) and I find the audio to be of a higher quality.

Shame really :(

xpod
August 25th, 2007, 12:41 PM
I keep an XP drive purely for calling my isp`s tech support now it seems:)

Calling their bb tech support is a major challenge at the best of times(even for Windows users) and although i always start out with Ubuntu(?) i do have the machine with an XP drive right there if needs be...

We have TV,Phone and the BB with our isp and i`ve had many occasions to call them up unfortunately.I came to the conclusion very recently that i could probably call the Broadband TS dept up with the toaster plugged in and they would`nt know any different,just as long as i told them it was Windows.

All their grief has been well worth it in the long run i`m happy to say:)

AndyCooll
August 26th, 2007, 01:55 AM
I've got an XP VMware image, however since I successfully got my Football Manager game working using Wine it's simply been gathering dust. And apart from that VMware image this house has been Windows free for the last couple of years.

However, I do still use Windows ...every day at work. :(

:cool:

ryno519
August 26th, 2007, 02:40 AM
Stopped using Windows altogethor about a month ago and haven't missed it a bit. GNU/Linux (Did he really just say that?) is my preferred development environment. I can't stand developing on Windows anymore. Glad I don't have to anymore.

vexorian
August 26th, 2007, 03:15 AM
There's a moment I use windows and it is when I am into some public computer, then I plug my flash disk and load portable, open source apps, there I use code::blocks, firefox and mingw all in one the best of the open source world (in my opinion)

Perhaps it may count as "using windows" when I start virtual box and use my virtual machine, I use it as a bridge, I can develop windows apps there ( I started a lot of projects before I moved to ubuntu, and there are also a couple of cross platform projects I got), it is also there as a chance to use MSOffice in case openoffice's compatibility with the evil formats is not good enough for me (haven't have the need for MSOffice yet) and most importantly it is the only way to use my scanner, it is a bless that virtualbox can actually "plug" one of you USB devices to the virtual machine...

I do have a windows partition, but I have not booted it in months, it is installed mostly because my brother also uses this computer and he uses windows, otherwise I would have cleaned it already.

Regarding games, yeah, I also used to be a gamer, I managed to find games that are fun but that's possibly because I tend to like old school games, I am able to play warcraft III with WINE, but without bnet for a lot of reasons, some thing I am trying to do is warcraft III modding, it is very hard since the world editor will not work correctly in WINE, so I am depending on a lot of alternate tools, and making mine myself...

If I was the kind of gamer that loves the newest proprietary games I guess I would have to stick to windows.

jon.reeve
August 26th, 2007, 03:31 AM
I've totally switched one desktop and two laptops to Ubuntu and Xubuntu. Since Xubuntu is a lot more lightweight than Windows XP, my laptops run faster and better. The fonts look so much cleaner on the screen than on Windows, and I have installed compiz-fusion too on my desktop which makes for a much nicer user interface than would be possible under my previous OS. I haven't regretted switching for a second. I was dual-booting for a little while, but every time I booted into Windows I'd have to deal with some new problem like a virus or having a fragmented hard drive which I don't have to worry about at all anymore. Plus as an anarchist I love the open source philosophy and want to support the spread of that idea.

greymongrey
August 26th, 2007, 03:53 AM
I've been Windows free here for about a month. I don't miss it at all, especially since Crossover Office will run Photoshop 7 and Dreamweaver 8.

bobbybobington
August 26th, 2007, 04:34 AM
No windows for my machines, and I don't think I've even touched another machine with windows for like 2 months.

andrewpmk
August 26th, 2007, 05:03 AM
I stopped using Windows several months ago because my Windows XP installation has gotten slow, even with 2GB of RAM. Before then, I used Windows, Ubuntu and various other Linux distributions off and on. I have all sorts of junk on there -- bloatware, dozens of autoupdaters, antivirus and antispyware and maybe even some viruses that slipped through those that slow it down to a crawl. At some point, I am going to reinstall it, but that's a pain in the *** to do - much harder than installing Ubuntu. I've lost interest in gaming - I mostly use my computer for web surfing these days. I do have a laptop with Mac OS though, since I didn't like the Windows laptops on the market (and they all have poor Linux support).

:::
August 26th, 2007, 01:44 PM
Well, I use Windows at work.


On my own Computer I don't use Windows anymore. But then again, I also do have a iBook running OS X, which I still use for image editing.

Johnsie
August 26th, 2007, 03:14 PM
I use Windows for video conferencing, gaming and instant messaging. Linux simply doesn't cut it with those. I also like a windows program called TVU which lets me watch forigin TV channels for free. SteekyTV for Linux is ok for some things but TVU has some different channels that I like. So yes, Windows is still necessary for somethings. I guess I could use virtualization instead but I'm not sure that Windows Vista(which sucks) would run well that way and I'm too lazy to install another operating system on what is already a dual boot computer, oh and it would use too much space on my Linux partition.

Linux works better on my computer, but lacks alot of quality software.

hakimaki
September 2nd, 2007, 03:57 PM
I have windows installed only on one of my desktops which I use soley for syncing my pocketpc. Windows will be gone once I find an app that syncs with my pda or i buy a palm. My other comps run strictly linux.

Yizi
September 2nd, 2007, 04:16 PM
I use dual boot,
I use Windows for designing and Ubuntu for other things :)

helliewm
September 2nd, 2007, 04:32 PM
100% Linux since July 2006. I tried to remove WGA from XP and wrecked it completely:) I bought Linux Format and the disc of the month was SUSE SLED which worked out of the box. I was hooked discovered Ubuntu shortly afterwards.

I work from home and get a Computer Allowance to spend as we wish so I am fortunate in that I can pick my PC/Laptop and software. NO one mines what we use.

I have since been promoted and I am in charge of IT for whole rather large orgainsiation which is great.:) Its really down to me in consutlation with my senior colleagues.:):)

Fonon
September 2nd, 2007, 04:54 PM
I use Windows for gaming, and for printing. But that's it.

nest
September 2nd, 2007, 05:02 PM
i have dual boot. (i just need it for working, sadly).

and i use windows everytime in work. so...i just use linux when im not working.

but now that i istalled ie6 (what i need for working). i use it mostly of the time in my home :)

a12ctic
September 2nd, 2007, 05:54 PM
havnt used windows on my desktop for over 4 years now, and on my server for over 7 =]

orange2k
September 2nd, 2007, 07:20 PM
Until a few months ago, I had a dual boot system with XP.
But I was running short on HD space, so I simply erased the windows directory and all the programs, to be able to download more torrents.
Once I burn all that stuff to DVDs, Im gonna reformat the drive to ext3, and voila, good bye windows!!!
No more NTFS, no more MS, no more spyware, trojans and viruses to worry about...

Frak
September 2nd, 2007, 07:38 PM
Still use Windows.
My job requires it.

vikrant82
September 2nd, 2007, 08:01 PM
Use it at work and to manage my music [Basically my ipod with the laptop... ]. Ya I knw there's a gtkpod but it needs a serious work with its music tagging abilities.

Moreover nothing works as fast as this nifty MS tool called Synctoy to synchronize my IPOD folder with one on hard disk. I normally keep on adding music and visit my XP like in 15 days to organize all those albums.

dpj23
September 2nd, 2007, 08:55 PM
I run Windows in VMware... I would suggest the same for anyone else...

misfitpierce
September 2nd, 2007, 08:56 PM
simple and plain... NO :)

Veta
September 2nd, 2007, 09:06 PM
I don't have a printer hooked up to my laptop (which runs only Kubuntu), so I print at school, which runs XP. But, I don't game and my job has little to do with computers at the moment. My other half uses dual boots on his computers because he has to for school (he's in IT).
V-chan

FunkyMunky
September 6th, 2007, 09:50 PM
basically, windows only for gaming, since many games don't work at all or perform very poorly on cedega/wine. however, now on the secondary school i'll need to know how to work with Illustrator and Photoshop so i hope that wine or vmplayer does the job. i know about gimp and inkscape, and i'm allowed to work with them, yet i have to learn the ones mentioned above.

oh and sometimes a friend comes around who doesn't have net connection at home and i find it very annoying when he boots to windows just to download, install and use live messenger and watch youtube videos, even though that perfectly works on my xubuntu box :mad:


but if gaming happens to go into the same direction as unreal tournament, all the id software games and some other commercially succesfull games, then i will wipe the ntfs partition with passion :)

bobbocanfly
September 6th, 2007, 09:59 PM
I have one computer [Intel Pentium P4, 512mb RAM] running Ubuntu and another [Core 2 Duo, 1gb RAM] running OEM Windows. Have to use Windows for school as they wont accept ODF for homework, though i do all the writing in Ubuntu and transfer it to .doc (or whatever it is now) in MSOffice. Hate having to use Windows.

Will hopefully be able to get Windows off the good compuiter (Or at least stick it in a tiny partition and leave it to rot unless i need it for Office) and get Compiz Fusion on the massive graphics card and use the current Ubu one as a SAMBA/Web server.

userundefine
September 6th, 2007, 11:03 PM
I use Linux exclusively at home after ditching the last use of Windows I had (a few games) a while ago. I use Windows at work. It makes me realize how limited and unusable I find Windows to be now. I personally could never go back to using Windows for my home system because so much of what I do is just so seamless in Linux. I run a LAMP on localhost for web dev work, yes this can be done in Windows but it's not the same, I run all my music/chatting/downloading with gnu screen through a single terminal (tilda) that drops in and out on key press, I ssh files over to a remote server all in the same terminal. I have an incredibly powerful shell that's native and isn't limited even as the cygwin stuff is. I can easily compile code and keep my entire system up to date and secure with one command, meaning every piece of installed software, not just whatever Microsoft pushes out. Virtual desktops? Incomparable.

I don't do what some others do, like webcams or bluetooth and all that, so I can't speak to that. As far as a productive environment goes, though, I can't see using much but Linux. A friend of mine on OS X was telling me about a program called Shapeshifter that lets you change the GUI. I looked it up and it basically gives you skins. For $20. I'm spoiled I guess, because with gnome-look, kde-look, and the countless WMs and DEs on Linux, I'm kind of puzzled because that functionality seems like customization that should be available by default. I get that luxury with Linux, and it's gratis and libre.

No, for all intents and purposes, I do not still use Windows at all.

LT1Caprice57L
September 7th, 2007, 12:50 AM
I've been running Ubuntu on my laptop for over a week. I've hardly touched my XP Pro desktop since, except for adding to my iPod.

warmotor
September 13th, 2007, 08:25 PM
I still boot to XP on my primary box to play BF2 from time to time. Other than that I found that the audio tools for my audigyZS card native to Ubuntu were actually superior to those I had to install and manually configure for windows. As a Desktop system I really do think Linux is a superior platform. It was a little time consuming to get dual monitors working on my ATI X800PRO and writing to my existing NTFS was a little bit of a pain but in the end my system is solid and does everything I need that my XBOX360 won't.

I'm pained to admit my webserver is running on XP, I tried XAMMP on Fedora, Ubuntu and Slackware and I kept running into annoying issues - half an hour after XP installed it worked perfectly. I actually like spending time getting Linux to work, but I didn't care enough about serving up my webpage to eff with it for more than a couple days. I hate M$ but they make a pretty idiot proof OS. I also use this box to serve up remote goodies to the rest of my computers... XP + Samba = easy as hell.

I could not get wireless access to work correctly in Linux either, so my media center PC (used to stream content to the big screen and big stereo in the living room from my webserver/fileserver box) is using XP. I even bought a supposably supported 802.11 chipset, but whatever.

The wife's machine is basically a dedicated WoW terminal so Linux didn't make any sense there either.

So... I've got 4 computers running at any given time, and 3 of them are running XP because, hey, it just works and those 3 boxes are strictly utilitarian. The one PC I give a crap about, the one that I actually sit down and use is running Linux and the rest will fall in line when I have the time to make linux work, or it just works as well out of the box as XP.

And yeah, I do kind of hate myself.

Sayers
September 13th, 2007, 09:34 PM
Windows cant do 1/1000th's what linux can do. I hate windows. I have to use it at school and it is hell. HELL!

karellen
September 13th, 2007, 11:01 PM
I still boot to XP on my primary box to play BF2 from time to time. Other than that I found that the audio tools for my audigyZS card native to Ubuntu were actually superior to those I had to install and manually configure for windows. As a Desktop system I really do think Linux is a superior platform. It was a little time consuming to get dual monitors working on my ATI X800PRO and writing to my existing NTFS was a little bit of a pain but in the end my system is solid and does everything I need that my XBOX360 won't.

I'm pained to admit my webserver is running on XP, I tried XAMMP on Fedora, Ubuntu and Slackware and I kept running into annoying issues - half an hour after XP installed it worked perfectly. I actually like spending time getting Linux to work, but I didn't care enough about serving up my webpage to eff with it for more than a couple days. I hate M$ but they make a pretty idiot proof OS. I also use this box to serve up remote goodies to the rest of my computers... XP + Samba = easy as hell.

I could not get wireless access to work correctly in Linux either, so my media center PC (used to stream content to the big screen and big stereo in the living room from my webserver/fileserver box) is using XP. I even bought a supposably supported 802.11 chipset, but whatever.

The wife's machine is basically a dedicated WoW terminal so Linux didn't make any sense there either.

So... I've got 4 computers running at any given time, and 3 of them are running XP because, hey, it just works and those 3 boxes are strictly utilitarian. The one PC I give a crap about, the one that I actually sit down and use is running Linux and the rest will fall in line when I have the time to make linux work, or it just works as well out of the box as XP.

And yeah, I do kind of hate myself.

why hate yourself? :confused:
an OS is just a tool, at least in my vision. if it does the job and suits your needs, what's the problem?

DownTown22
September 13th, 2007, 11:04 PM
Sure do still use Windows. Use it at work on a daily basis. And I still use it at home - haven't got Ubuntu/Linux working yet, but soon...very soon.

spamzilla
September 13th, 2007, 11:45 PM
My wireless internet in ubuntu works really slowly (read: slightly quicker than dialup) so I don't use it too much. I'm hoping this problem gets fixed in gutsy so i can finally scrap XP :D

science4sail
September 14th, 2007, 04:44 AM
I have to share a computer, so I have a dual-booter.

Except for when I'm playing games (the ones that don't work on Wine), I use Linux.

oxygala
October 5th, 2007, 10:23 PM
i wiped windows off my both desktop and laptop right after feisty release. i needed windows just for football manager and some other applications which either linux has a good equivalent or wine handles pretty good.

Spinx
October 6th, 2007, 05:13 PM
On my home I use Ubuntu. Open office has taken the place of MS Office. Firefox and Thunderbird replace Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, Skype is working and Banshee load my iPOD Nano. I am a happy convert. Unfortunately at work I am restricted to Microsoft XP

phen
October 6th, 2007, 11:12 PM
>>Do you still use Windows at all?

no

ger_mulvey
October 6th, 2007, 11:33 PM
I have a dual boot Ubuntu 64bit and xp pro. With Ubuntu as the primary system. xp is there purely for games even though I rarely use it. As wine can be hit and miss on some games I just find it simpler. Plus I stripped xp down to it's bones and removed all the excess that I didn't need, all the default windows apps like ie and msn etc.
The day will come when all games will work perfectly then I can just format the partition and become windows free. Although I could live without the games anyway. Incidentally beta testing Vista converted me completly to Linux even with the free copy M$ gave me.
If I can get css running I can remove windows but all the guides seem to not quite get it going!

arkara
October 7th, 2007, 12:04 AM
its not about windows vs linux i know linux is better and will get better
linux can cover all your need besides gaming...
but linux is about the IDEA the FREEDOM the CHOICE the ability to adapt to your needs
and most of all to get you to know something about computers

yashoda
October 9th, 2007, 11:03 PM
Nice question, JohnSal!

I use Ubuntu on my laptop, but my wife keeps the "big" computer with Micro$h1t on it.

I use the XP computer a few hours a week - I run Norton, and often an online scanner to check and remove viruses... but that's it.

Interestingly enough - my wife's using the laptop much more these days.

Ubuntu starts up a lot faster, and it's all pretty intuitive.

Of course - not just cos it's Linux... but cos it's Ubuntu.

-grubby
October 9th, 2007, 11:48 PM
So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.

mines better than windows

iPower
October 10th, 2007, 12:29 AM
i use windows xp pro sp2 for solitaire and wma

Darkagentx
October 10th, 2007, 01:06 AM
I still use windows, I rather like vista for some things, it's just a little slow sometimes. Happy to use ubuntu for most tasks~

stratty96
October 10th, 2007, 03:38 AM
I just got off of windows about a month ago. I'm not a gamer so not being able to play games is not a big deal. I mainly use my computer for Internet surfing, email, and media. I have seen nor heard any degradation in the videos or music. I haven't had any problems since I have switched to Ubuntu. I was surprised to see that my computer was this fast. On windows it was so slow. I can't see a reason to switch, besides what would I go to Vista? :lolflag:

justinin3d
October 10th, 2007, 03:43 AM
being a gamer has I am I still use XP (eventually Vista probally), I use Ubuntu for fun (upgrading to Gusty Gibbon Beta soon), plus I love the beryl effects :D.

adamorjames
October 10th, 2007, 03:45 AM
>>Do you still use Windows at all?
Yes, not on my main computer though.

skipb
October 10th, 2007, 04:30 AM
Only at work (no choice). I have XP installed on VIrtualBox just in case but I never use it.

dpar
October 10th, 2007, 05:20 AM
Nope. My little used windows drive crashed, so I filed it.

vishzilla
October 10th, 2007, 07:43 AM
I have a dual-boot, i switch over to Win only for minute problems like bank sites which adhere to IE which is really irritating. Else, very happy with my Ubuntu

meho_r
October 10th, 2007, 09:46 AM
Now - only for games. What to say - Win is ... a toy ;)

red_Marvin
October 10th, 2007, 09:52 AM
I've had a dual boot for a long time now, but recently deleted Windows entirely (except for a backup image at an external drive) since I figured that the space could be put to better use.

TeaSwigger
October 10th, 2007, 09:59 AM
Only so I can use my HP scanner. :( That's effectively 10gb taken up just to run a scanner. World's biggest driver?

TekNullOG
October 10th, 2007, 07:32 PM
I only use windows to broadcast music from events. IDJC (http://www.onlymeok.nildram.co.uk/) is almost perfect in Ubuntu but it is a pain in the *** to manage multiple sound cards and drivers for broadcasting live feeds rather than just a playlist.

Also, music recording seems to be a little easier under windows and causes me less problems. (maybe it is due to lack of drivers for creative products)

I almost never use Windows except for sound stuff as I've mentioned above. I've tried to come up with solutions to completely turn my back to Windows but I have not yet succeeded.

What it comes down to is audio. In Ubuntu 7.10 (released next week), they fix all video and screen problems but I don't think they've simplified the sound management yet.

It should be as simple as default sound card is default till external sound card is plugged in. Every time I remove a sound card, I have to reset my drivers and only have the programs actually make the switch while others still try to use the unplugged sound card. (for example) I also hate having to try to figure out what port # an input or output is on my sound cards to configure music softwares. It should be more intuitive.

On the other hand, I will give a lot of credit to the developers of Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). It is really simple and easy to use for editing music files. This is the one audio thing I have never had trouble with in Ubuntu. Good job guys!

Anyways... hope my feedback is appreciated.

crusty_collins
October 19th, 2007, 06:51 PM
Only for games EVERYTHING else I can go better on Linux

helliewm
October 19th, 2007, 07:32 PM
No never, I am 1000% Ubuntu.

Helen

popch
October 19th, 2007, 08:26 PM
Just bought an elderly tablet pc. Until I get around to install everything needed to use the pen and such WinXP Tablet Edition keeps its partition on the disk.

tractordriver88
October 22nd, 2007, 08:12 PM
I just got Ubuntu going, so I'm still an avid daily Windows user, but hope to get moved over when the odds and ends are all set when I have more time. Some of my video editing utilities are Windows Only and are very unstable in Wine.

Toffeeapple
October 22nd, 2007, 08:24 PM
nope...

in three weeks I have gone from windows XP to Ubuntu 64 there was a brief interval of dual boot but it has now passed and I'm totaly Ubuntu.. : )

rookie_paul
October 22nd, 2007, 08:24 PM
Yes, I do, but only if forced to do so. It isn't Linux-zealotry. More simply, I have a quite old machine and Windows take about five minutes to get ready. Xubuntu is a Formula One in comparison. So, I use Windows only for apps not available for Linux.

aroth87
October 22nd, 2007, 08:30 PM
I have a scanner that isn't Linux friendly, so I keep Windows around for the rare occasion when I need to scan something. Otherwise I'm all Linux all the time. The last time I booted into Windows Ad-Aware asked me if I wanted to check for updates since the definitions were 90-some days old. Thats been a couple of months ago...

Adam

Nevon
October 22nd, 2007, 08:31 PM
Yes, I use windows for gaming, dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, and other windows/mac-only applications.

Jolly-Swagman
October 22nd, 2007, 09:15 PM
Yes we still have to rely on ******* on both the Wife's comp and mine as are into photography and Graphic design and the odd games.
Manly still need to use canon scanner and high quality canon printer for Photography printing unfortunately Linux is not satisfactory there yet
And a few other programs that we use, unfortunately still only run under *******

Have on my machine Ubuntu 7.10 on 40GB partition / 160GB Sata

Tri boot to - Xp Pro on 200GB sata drive Part /50GB x 4

other various linux distro's on 80 GB IDE testing purposes

Also have Server with Ubuntu as distro

And our Firewall is also linux based distro

All in all very satisfied with Ubuntu, just wish didnt have to still use *******, lol

ticstah
October 22nd, 2007, 09:37 PM
I've moved my laptop completely to ubuntu, but I've got a decent sized partition of XP Pro on my desktop. multi-track audio recording and video editing still seem a little iffy in linux.. although I'm always to keep trying. (I had a bad experience with ardour and jack.. it just shouldn't be THAT hard..).

also, I got adobe premiere elements for christmas last year, I'd feel bad if I dropped it so soon!

potentia
October 23rd, 2007, 01:32 AM
All the time. The software available for Linux is inferior.

I like being able to customize my OS, but after a while I have to go back to Windows to get my work done.

A poll in a thread tells that people like and miss the suprior game support in Windows the most. I think that tells a lot about the average Linux user. Young male who looks upon an OS as a hobby. Sure, I understand that an OS like Linux, with a big community is great hobby, but when you need a computer for getting serious work done, and when your work depend on professional software, then Linux isn't great stuff.

Frak
October 23rd, 2007, 03:22 AM
All the time. The software available for Linux is inferior.

I like being able to customize my OS, but after a while I have to go back to Windows to get my work done.

A poll in a thread tells that people like and miss the suprior game support in Windows the most. I think that tells a lot about the average Linux user. Young male who looks upon an OS as a hobby. Sure, I understand that an OS like Linux, with a big community is great hobby, but when you need a computer for getting serious work done, and when your work depend on professional software, then Linux isn't great stuff.
Pixar created its last 5 movies on Linux.

kamaboko
October 23rd, 2007, 04:55 AM
every day

stuh84
October 23rd, 2007, 10:18 AM
At work yes, at home no, all OS X and Ubuntu here. Used to use other distros of Linux too (Elive and Fedora), but I put 7.10 on me Laptop the other day.........this has convinced me to never have to leave Ubuntu.

samb0057
October 23rd, 2007, 01:29 PM
Haven't used it in months

Nunu
October 23rd, 2007, 01:30 PM
I used it often but i got tired of saying hail marry the whole day long for swearing so much :D

PartisanEntity
October 23rd, 2007, 01:33 PM
I have to use it every day at work.

At home or privately so little in fact that I killed off the XP partition while wiping my HDD for the Gutsy install. I will continue to use it occasionally through VirtualBox, mainly for Photoshop and the syncing issues for my Nokia phone, although I am looking forward to see if opensync will now work (it didnt for me on Feisty).

Sensenseppl
October 23rd, 2007, 02:45 PM
Only at work.

At home I use it with VMWare, but only if I want to work with Photoshop or if someone forgot to unmount my external NTFS-HD.

In my opinion, the choice for regular users is not Windows XP or Linux, but Windows Vista or Linux. They would have to get used to Vista's new feel in exactly the same way they would have to get used to Ubuntu Linux. So why choose Vista, if you can have a free, more secure, more reliable and less ressource-demanding operating system that simply works?

I already installed Ubuntu on serveral PCs of friends of mine, who hardly user computers at all, and they lived happily ever after... :)

^^Snoop^^
October 23rd, 2007, 03:46 PM
I'll be dual-booting as I need Windows for gaming. Can't be bothered messing with VM's and would rather have full functionality for my games.

brk3
October 23rd, 2007, 03:56 PM
nope :)

troy1of2
October 23rd, 2007, 04:02 PM
So does everyone find that their video and audio are of high quality in Linux? My audio especially sounds very muffled.

Back when I was dual booting I never noticed any difference in audio quality on my machines. It's probably a hardware thing.

aktiwers
October 23rd, 2007, 04:29 PM
I only use Windows on Public computers.. would never install it on any of my PC's.

svdb
October 23rd, 2007, 05:05 PM
I still use Windows for my FPS and RTS games, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Encore DVD, Canous LetsEdit, and for watching movies because dual screen on tv doesn't work for me with Ubuntu. :lol:

For all the rest, meaning: just email and web, I use Ubuntu. That's all it's good for IMHO. :biggrin:

Frak
October 24th, 2007, 12:23 AM
Still have it in two partitions (One physical, one virtual), just in case, but don't use them except for office '07, which I mainly use my virtual partition.

EDIT
Also, our library has two PC's running Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon.

Dr Small
October 24th, 2007, 12:30 AM
I gave up Windows. :D
No longer have it on my hard drive!

cad
October 24th, 2007, 11:11 AM
USE Windows if you want to. But remeber to use it without Administrator privileges. Create a non-admin account and use it. Works like a charm TRUST ME

de_valentin
October 24th, 2007, 02:21 PM
After 3 months of Feisty and now Gutsy the only reason to boot windows is to play a game all other stuff like sketchup and even arcgis i do in Gutsy with the help of Virtualbox works great for me.

Patrick-Ruff
October 24th, 2007, 02:24 PM
I've been using mac os x more than anything lately. after leopard is released I'll probably only use windows when I want to use my laptop or at school. but at the moment all my stuff is on my osx desktop.

tille
October 30th, 2007, 01:16 PM
I use Windows, well mostly for when i play CS :)

jayaramk
October 30th, 2007, 01:26 PM
gave up windows 2 months back....... got fed up with those viruses.... and system crashing every time!!!

lisc998
November 1st, 2007, 01:26 PM
I need to find a simple label printing program for Linux, Open Office is too clunky for that. I currently use 602 Software under XP.

Also, I use Develo ethernet over mains adapters, and the software that sets up the encryption only runs under Windows.

Tim

Stop Press!!

I just thought that I should email Develo about this, and they have posted software that runs under Linux! They are truly wonderful people!

handy
November 1st, 2007, 01:44 PM
I've been free of the need to use MS products at home for 2 years.

My 2 machines run Linux distro's or BSD, whatever I'm looking at at the time, my wife has to use a Mac to run Sibelius music software, (thankfully they do at least make a Mac version of Sibelius).

I have 3 drive drawers in my main machine, & I still own a drive with XP on it (which lives on a bookshelf) which now that I think about it, I should repartition to use the ext3 format & stop wasting a perfectly good drive. :-)

murt
November 1st, 2007, 01:47 PM
Why would i need windows!?
Ok, the games.
But everything else actually works, and if it dosent you have this brilliant forum!

Bloch
November 1st, 2007, 02:40 PM
I use my pirated windows XP on the 2nd partition for

A. Filling in VAT returns (it uses special encryption software you download from the tax website)
B. Occasiional powerpoint files I have to transklate - openoffice seems shaky and slopw on these
C. Once or twice for Sunday newspaper freebie software - a quiz program for example

sixstorm
November 1st, 2007, 07:24 PM
I review hardware for NVNews.net so I have to use XP and Vista. I just got my 8800GT so I'm stoked! :D

bluedragon436
November 1st, 2007, 07:43 PM
I would have to agree with Murt.....I would much rather use Ubuntu seeing as how if I have an issue I can get on here and usually find the answer....or post a new post and have an answer shortly there after...whereas if I were to try the same with Microsoft I would have to call and most likely they wouldn't be able to help me after spending hours on the phone most of which on hold...so I will run MS for my few games I play and other than that I am completely converting over!!!

murt
November 27th, 2007, 11:41 AM
I use my familys computer to syncronize my iPod, and the rest i do with my linux computer.
That about your sound and video playing bad sounds creepy (hoho), i have no such problem.

davtaine
November 27th, 2007, 12:59 PM
No, no, hell no.

Linuxratty
November 27th, 2007, 02:40 PM
I use it for games and watching DVD's and videos that won't work in Linux (I'm talking to YOU,Animal Planet!)

b0ng0
November 27th, 2007, 02:50 PM
I use windows all the time, mainly for music editing and some other programs that don't run under Ubuntu. Oh and games.

Overall i'd say my computing time is split 2/3 Ubuntu (for general use) and 1/3 Windows (for more specialised stuff). I didn't install Ubuntu to replace Windows though, just to avoid using Windows so much and also to support open source.

defenestratos
November 28th, 2007, 09:57 AM
Like, what is a 'normal user'? I am sure that in our minds we are all normal users. I think of myself of a normal user. I use Open Office, Firefox, Rhythmbox, Digikam and Skype. It is totally sweet.
The normal user is normally motivated to make the shift to linux because he or she or it is fed up with paying for something which is crap and doesn't inspire or want to help develop their life. There are practical, moralistic and fiscal reasons for the shift.
What we got going here is a true community of users and I personally feel less isolated running linux than Microsoft. Linux people care about eachother for the most part. When I hit a problem with Linux I know I don't need to sit on hold for 30 minutes before talking to a drab employee who doesn't care about me, the OS or his job. Rather I get online and start communicating with other people and feel motivated.

Vince4Amy
November 28th, 2007, 09:59 AM
I keep my main computer which is used as a server with Windows XP home on it. This is for compatibility purposes with the software that some people in my family use. My other 4 computers run OpenSUSE 10.3.

Irihapeti
November 28th, 2007, 10:31 AM
I only use Windows if I'm working on someone else's computer.

black_magician
November 28th, 2007, 10:36 AM
I still have a desktop with XP on it. It spends most of its day in the off position. Every once and a while I'll play a game on it. It's mostly for just storage though.

I turned it on today. and after a few hours, steam was coming out of my ears. some process was taking up all of the CPU and windows doesn't exactly handle those things well. couldn't open the task manager to end it, and had to restart about 3 times. I was so thankful to come back to my Ubuntu.

nagius
November 28th, 2007, 10:58 AM
I really only use windows xp for games, so still have to dual boot ,but I rather use Ubuntu for almost everthing else. It's much faster and I don't need to worry about viruses, spyware etc.

The support in the forums is very helpful and made changing to ubuntu (more than a year ago now) much easier.

nagius

AmericanYellow
November 28th, 2007, 11:59 AM
I dual boot Ubuntu with Windows XP on my desktop PC, I have Ubuntu on my HP laptop, and have Windows Vista on a tablet. I recently got my tablet and I was so excited and thought that it would be all that I use. I recently realized that I use Ubuntu for everything except Music and Audio Production, which I don't really do anymore because of lack of time. Makes me feel like I wasted money buying a tablet with Vista, though I like Vista a lot. I want to dual boot Vista and Ubuntu on my tablet, Ubuntu doesn't work well with it:(. Anywayz, there's not much use for Windows nowadays! Bye Microsoft.......:lolflag: (joking)

BigSilly
November 28th, 2007, 01:38 PM
Not any more. Not at all. I used to dual-boot with XP, but I got rid of it with Gutsy. Now I am happy!

prezbedard
November 28th, 2007, 04:49 PM
I dual boot

I boot into windows about once a week to every 2 weeks to use quicken. Also sometimes my ipod gets screwed up by gkpod/ rhythmbox and I need to restore using itunes. anyone else run into this?

Otherwise its all Linux.

LegoAddict
November 28th, 2007, 04:54 PM
I use it on my laptop for games (yeah, I know Civilization IV and Myst Online run under wine, but I have a reason for using Windows) and Photoshop CS2, that one day when I have internet on my laptop will force to run under Gutsy.

My problem is that Gutsy likes to randomly freeze on me, which makes doing anything at all quite problematic. Therefore I'm stuck on Windows even for word processing. The horror. That also means that I can't play my games under Ubuntu, which ironically are two of the games that actually work.

But I think I've nipped that one as soon as I run some tests...

ewr2san
November 28th, 2007, 05:09 PM
A virus plus HDD failure were enough to convince my wife to try Feisty Fawn back in Jun on our main PC. After 3 months her laptop just kept getting slower and slower so the re-install was Feisty, eliminating the last windows install we owned.

The improvements to Open Office were the last barrier that needed to fall to get her to switch. Upgrade to Gutsy went well, and after strugling with a new Epson All in one Printer everything is working well.

I cant imagine switching back, and dual booting is too much of a hassle. Wine however might be something Id consider if there were anything I desparately needed from the windows world.

x0as
November 28th, 2007, 05:13 PM
Laptop still runs xp, next one will run vista. Everything else runs linux :)

2cute4u
November 28th, 2007, 06:36 PM
I've never used windows. \\:D/